Update on South Korean Hostages

protester (C) collects posters of the remaining 21 South Koreans held hostage in Afghanistan after a rally near the U.S. embassy in Seoul to demand negotiations between the U.S. government and the Taliban for the safe return of the hostages August 3, 2007. A South Korean delegation arrived on Thursday in the Afghan province where 21 Koreans are held hostage in an attempt to hold direct talks with Taliban kidnappers and peacefully end the two-week ordeal. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho (SOUTH KOREA)



Taliban accepts face-to-face talks with S. Korean government

The Taliban accepted to hold face-to- face talks with the South Korean government on 21 hostages, a purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told Xinhua from an undisclosed place on Thursday.
Ahmadi said the Taliban is disappointed with the Afghan government as it did not show sincerity in the negotiations.
He also said 16 hostages are not in good condition, while two female hostages are in very serious condition.
Earlier Thursday, some media reports quoted Afghan officials as saying South Korean diplomats in Afghanistan were seeking face-to- face talks with the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Sharif Mangal, spokesman for Ghazni governor, told Xinhua that local tribal elders are facilitating and seeking a place for a direct meeting between Taliban commanders and the South Koran ambassador to Kabul.
Waheedullah Mujadidi, chief negotiator for a delegation of local tribal elders talking with the Taliban, said he had resigned from his job as the Afghan government failed to ensure his security. "Some bombs were found before my house," he said.
Taliban rebels killed two male South Korean hostages on July 25 and July 30 separately to press Afghan and South Korean authorities to meet their demands.
Up to now, the Afghan government has not agreed to release Taliban prisoners as the Taliban has demanded to exchange for the hostages.
A total of 23 South Koreans were kidnapped by Taliban militants on a road in the central Ghazni province on July 19.
Source: Xinhua





Body of second slain S. Korean hostage back home

The body of Shim Sung-min, who was killed by Afghan kidnappers Monday, was transported to South Korea on Thursday.
Shim, kidnapped by militants in Afghanistan with 22 other South Koreans on July 19, was found shot dead in central Afghanistan Tuesday, five days after another South Korean hostage was executed.
Shim's body arrived at the freight terminal of Incheon International Airport aboard an Emirates flight and was received by his tearful younger brother Hyo-min and officials from the church that organized the trip, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.
Shim's family said Shim's body will be donated for medical research after a funeral ceremony on Saturday.
The Taliban are still holding the remaining 21 hostages and warned of more killings if the Afghan government does not release jailed Taliban members.
Source: Xinhua



Foreign Muslims look at the South Korean conservative activists' protest, demanding the safe return of Korean hostages in Afghanistan, after their Friday prayers in front of a mosque in Seoul August 3, 2007. A South Korean delegation arrived on Thursday in the Afghan province where 21 Koreans are held hostage in an attempt to hold direct talks with Taliban kidnappers and peacefully end the two-week ordeal. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho (SOUTH KOREA)

U.S. vows to win release of South Korean hostages

The United States said Thursday that it will make "all pressures need" to free South Korean hostages held by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
"All pressures need to be applied to the Taliban to get them to release these hostages," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said.
He said the United States will have cooperation with Afghanistan and South Korea "to get these people released unharmed, to get them released peacefully and safely."
Boucher declined to elaborate on what pressures or efforts were being used or considered but said they included the option of military force.
Boucher made the remarks ahead of a weekend visit by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who will meet with U.S. President George W. Bush at Camp David.
The coming U.S.-Afghan summit is expected to discuss some issues of mutual interests including the war on terror, counter narcotics and the U.S. contribution towards rebuilding of the post- Taliban Afghanistan.
Taliban militants abducted 23 South Koreans on July 19, and have shot dead two of them so far. They threatened to execute the remaining if the Afghan government fails to meet their demand which includes the release of their eight Taliban comrades.
Source: Xinhua


Seoul seeks direct talks with Taliban

A South Korean delegation arrived yesterday in the Afghan province where 21 Koreans are held hostage in an attempt to hold direct talks with Taliban kidnappers and peacefully end the two-week ordeal.
The Taliban have killed two Korean hostages, accusing the Afghan government of not negotiating in good faith and ignoring their demand to release rebel prisoners. The Taliban have insisted on direct talks with the Koreans, but Seoul has no power to free prisoners from Afghan jails.
"The team, including the Korean ambassador, which has come for the release of Korean nationals, say they have come to speak to the Taliban about choosing a venue for talks," Ghazni Provincial Governor Mirajuddin Pathan told reporters.
"They say they have come to hold direct talks with the Taliban," he said.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean church volunteers, 18 of them women, in Ghazni province on the main road south from Kabul on July 20. Two male Koreans have since been killed.
The South Korean government is under intense pressure to bring the captives home, but has no power to meet the key Taliban demand - the release of rebel prisoners.
The Afghan government has refused to give in to the demand, saying that would only encourage further abductions.
Instead, Seoul has gone on a diplomatic offensive to try to find a way out of the crisis that avoids either a risky military rescue bid or further Taliban killings of captives.
South Korea and the United States, which has more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, agreed not to use force to free the hostages, but Afghan troops also warned villagers of a possible offensive in the area where the captives are held.
Source: China Daily/agencies


S.Korea denies to give ransom to Afghan kidnappers

The South Korean government has never paid money to Taliban militants for the safe of South Korean hostages, said South Korean Presidential Spokesman Cheon Ho-seon on Friday.
Cheon made the remarks in response to a report by the weekly magazine Newsweek, which cited an alleged senior Taliban commander as saying that a Taliban group received money from South Korea after the kidnapping. It also reported that a South Korean envoy, a Ghazni member of Afghan parliament and some government negotiators may have been talking to the Taliban group.
"The Newsweek report is groundless," Cheon said.
"The South Korean government is not in a position to give a direct answer to the Taliban's demand that its prisoners be swapped for South Korean hostages. Through the direct contacts, we intend to stress that our capabilities to meet Taliban demands are limited," he added.
Taliban militants kidnapped 23 South Koreans in Ghazni on July 19. They have killed two South Korean hostages so far.
Source: Xinhua


Withdrawal of S.Korean troops from Afghanistan to be conducted as schedule: S.Korean official

South Korean Presidential Envoy for the hostage issue in Afghanistan said Friday that the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan would be implemented by the end of this year as scheduled.
Baek Jong-chun, who returned from Afghanistan without apparent progress in the solution of the hostage issue in Afghanistan, told reporters upon his arrival to the Incheon International Airport that South Korea will not change its schedule of the pullout of its troops despite the Afghan kidnappers demand an immediate withdrawal.
Baek said the South Korean government is still determined to do its utmost to secure the release of the hostages through direct contacts with the Taliban.
"I met with Afghanistan's president and key cabinet ministers in Kabul and obtained their agreement to do their best for the swift release of the Korean hostages," said Baek, who is also the chief secretary to President Roh Moo-hyun for foreign and security policy.
"I'll disclose more details later. I want the media to approach the hostage crisis more carefully as many lives are at stake," he said.
On the way back to South Korean, Baek paid a brief visit to Pakistan and met with officials there. But Baek didn't give any comments on his visit to Pakistan. South Korea's Presidential Office said Thursday that Baek visited Pakistan was aimed at seeking Pakistan's cooperation in the hostage issue.
Baek left for Kabul on July 26 and left there on Aug. 1.
Source: Xinhua


S.Korean political leaders to visit U.S. to seek resolution on hostage crisis

South Korean political leaders announced on Wednesday their plan to travel to the United States this week to seek resolution for the release of 21 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan.
"We politely appeal to the U.S. government and the United Nations to shift their stance and help prevent these imminent killings," said leaders of five major South Korean political parties at a joint statement.
The party leaders issued the statement after a rare emergency meeting here.
"The humanitarian support is desperately needed from the international community in order to save the lives of these innocent civilians," the statement said.
Afghan militants demanded for release of Taliban prisoners in exchange for the release of South Korean hostages. However, the Afghanistan government has repeatedly announced not to conduct any prisoner-for-hostage deal with the kidnappers. The South Korean political party leaders' statement and their planned U.S. visit are widely regarded as an effort to urge the U.S. side for more flexibility on the hostage crisis.
According to the local media, the party leaders are expected to leave for Washington as early as Thursday and will meet with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the hostage issue.
They also plan to visit Afghanistan or other concerned Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan after the trip to the U.S., said local reports.
A total of 23 South Koreans were held as hostages in Afghanistan on July 19. The kidnappers have executed two male hostages so far as a warning to the South Korean and Afghan government.
The families of the hostages on Wednesday visited the U.S. embassy in Seoul to appeal for U.S. help in resolving the hostage issue.
Source: Xinhua


S.Korea denies meeting between hostages and S.Korean negotiators

The South Korean government on Wednesday denied a report that South Korean negotiators will meet with South Korean hostages in Afghanistan.
South Korean government negotiators have been stationed in the southern Afghan province of Gazni since the beginning of the hostage crisis, said an official of the Presidential Office.
The negotiators have never received any notice from the Taliban that they would be allowed to meet with the hostages, he added.
An earlier report by the Afghan Islamic Press said that South Korean negotiators would be permitted to meet with South Korean hostages.
A total of 23 South Koreans were kidnapped by Taliban militants on July 19. The militants killed two male hostages separately on July 25 and July 30 and threatening to kill more hostages if their demand was not fulfilled.
Source: Xinhua

Police foil suicide bomb attack in Eastern Pakistan

Police foil suicide bomb attack in Eastern Pakistan

16:05, August 02, 2007

A suicide bomber and a police man were killed in a failed suicide attack on a police training center in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province Thursday, police said.
The security men tried to stop a suspected bomber when he climbed the wall of the training center and entered the building in the city of Sargodha.
Police said that the suspect first fired at the policemen, killing an assistant sub-inspector and injuring another policeman.
The elite police force returned fire, killing the attacker at the scene.
The police found an explosive-laden jacket when they searched the body of the suspect, who wanted to blow himself up in the center.
The police also recovered a pistol and a hand grenade from the suspect.
District Police Officer Sheikh Muhammad Omar said that the alleged bomber, who was in the age of 22, was being identified.
He said that a police parade was the main target of the bomber, which was scheduled to begin after 10 minutes of the attack. Some 900 police recruits were supposed to take part in the parade.
He said that when the policemen tried to stop the attacker, who tried to run towards the parade area.
In another incident, five policemen were injured in a bomb blast near a traffic police headquarters in the city of Gujranwala, some 60 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.
Iqbal, a commander of the bomb disposal squad, said that a time device was used for the blast.
Attacks on police training centers have increased in parts of Pakistan in recent days especially after the army stormed the Islamabad's red mosque last month.
Source: XinhuaA suicide bomber and a police man were killed in a failed suicide attack on a police training center in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province Thursday, police said.
The security men tried to stop a suspected bomber when he climbed the wall of the training center and entered the building in the city of Sargodha.
Police said that the suspect first fired at the policemen, killing an assistant sub-inspector and injuring another policeman.
The elite police force returned fire, killing the attacker at the scene.
The police found an explosive-laden jacket when they searched the body of the suspect, who wanted to blow himself up in the center.
The police also recovered a pistol and a hand grenade from the suspect.
District Police Officer Sheikh Muhammad Omar said that the alleged bomber, who was in the age of 22, was being identified.
He said that a police parade was the main target of the bomber, which was scheduled to begin after 10 minutes of the attack. Some 900 police recruits were supposed to take part in the parade.
He said that when the policemen tried to stop the attacker, who tried to run towards the parade area.
In another incident, five policemen were injured in a bomb blast near a traffic police headquarters in the city of Gujranwala, some 60 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.
Iqbal, a commander of the bomb disposal squad, said that a time device was used for the blast.
Attacks on police training centers have increased in parts of Pakistan in recent days especially after the army stormed the Islamabad's red mosque last month.
Source: XinhuaA suicide bomber and a police man were killed in a failed suicide attack on a police training center in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province Thursday, police said.
The security men tried to stop a suspected bomber when he climbed the wall of the training center and entered the building in the city of Sargodha.
Police said that the suspect first fired at the policemen, killing an assistant sub-inspector and injuring another policeman.
The elite police force returned fire, killing the attacker at the scene.
The police found an explosive-laden jacket when they searched the body of the suspect, who wanted to blow himself up in the center.
The police also recovered a pistol and a hand grenade from the suspect.
District Police Officer Sheikh Muhammad Omar said that the alleged bomber, who was in the age of 22, was being identified.
He said that a police parade was the main target of the bomber, which was scheduled to begin after 10 minutes of the attack. Some 900 police recruits were supposed to take part in the parade.
He said that when the policemen tried to stop the attacker, who tried to run towards the parade area.
In another incident, five policemen were injured in a bomb blast near a traffic police headquarters in the city of Gujranwala, some 60 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.
Iqbal, a commander of the bomb disposal squad, said that a time device was used for the blast.
Attacks on police training centers have increased in parts of Pakistan in recent days especially after the army stormed the Islamabad's red mosque last month.
Source: Xinhua



Taliban attack kills Afghan policeman, wounds three

A Taliban attack killed one policeman and wounded three others in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province, the police said Thursday.
Taliban militants ambushed a police van in Rashidan district on Wednesday evening and caused the casualties, Hajji Zaman, a local senior police officer, told Xinhua.
Ghazni has witnessed rising Taliban violence this year. Taliban militants abducted 23 South Koreans on July 19 and have executed two of them.
Due to Taliban insurgency, over 3,600 people have been killed in Afghanistan this year.
Source: Xinhua

Pakistani cop, militant die in suicide attack

A Pakistani police commando escorts Lal Masjid chief cleric Abdul Aziz (second right) and his legal team upon their arrival for an appearance at an anti-terrorist court in Rawalpindi yesterday. Some 11 soldiers and 75 people, mainly militants, inside the mosque complex were killed during the raid on Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, which ended a month-long standoff with the mosque’s followers who wanted the imposition of Shariah in Pakistan


Pakistani cop, militant die in suicide attack
Published: Friday, 3 August, 2007, 01:57 AM Doha Time



LAHORE: An Islamic militant and a policeman died yesterday when officers foiled a suicide bombing at a Pakistani police school, the latest attack since the army stormed a radical Islamabad mosque.
The attack in the central city of Sargodha in Punjab province comes amid a wave of violence that has killed more than 200 people across the country in recent weeks, piling pressure on key US ally President Pervez Musharraf.
The Islamic militant tried to enter the police training facility with seven kilograms (15 pounds) of explosives strapped to his body as dozens of recruits ended their morning parade, Sargodha police chief Sheikh Omar said.
“He was a suicide bomber but police foiled his attempt,” Omar said, adding that casualties would have been “heavy” had he succeeded in entering the training area.
He said security officials at the gate of the school stopped the suspect, in his early 20s, who pulled out a pistol and opened fire, killing one police officer and wounding another. A hand grenade was also found on his corpse.
“A constable on duty shot him dead. His presence of mind saved many lives,” local police officer Nasar Hayat said.
“The bomber apparently had full details about the morning’s drill schedule but it was just by chance that the person in charge today called off the drill about five minutes early,” Hayat added.
Police said the attack appeared to be a “continuation” of attacks on police and the army in apparent revenge for the siege and storming of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque in the capital, in which more than 100 people died.
Fifteen people were killed on Friday when a suicide bomber attacked a group of policemen during fresh protests at the mosque.
In another incident yesterday, a small bomb placed under a cart exploded near a traffic police office in the industrial city of Gujranwala, near Lahore, wounding eight people, including four police, police said.
Pakistan’s military said that General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff of the British Army, called on a senior army commander in Peshawar yesterday before visiting the restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan.
It said in a statement that Dannatt met with Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mohamed Masood Aslam at the Peshawar corps headquarters and later travelled to North Waziristan, in Islamist North West Frontier Province.
There, he was briefed by local government and military officials on steps being taken to curb extremism and terror-related activities in the region.
Fresh violence erupted in the tribal belt overnight, with militants firing six rockets at a security forces checkpost in the troubled Bajaur district which borders Afghanistan, security officials said.
Rebels also targeted a checkpost along the frontier in North Waziristan, they said. Neither attack caused casualties, they added.
A local lawmaker, Nek Zaman Haqqani, in a statement urged the government to “stop treating tribesmen as enemies.”
He said 18 people killed in clashes in the area on Tuesday were tribesmen and not militants, as the army had claimed.
Religious scholars and Muslim clerics in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, said they would launch a protest campaign today to press their demand for the withdrawal of troops from regional checkposts.
Black flags would fly in markets and on rooftops, and they would wear black armbands until their demand was met, local cleric Sadar Abdul Rehman said, adding that troops should be deployed only at the border.
The area has seen some of the bloodiest attacks in the past month since pro-Taliban militants scrapped a 10-month-old peace deal with the government on July 15, days after the carnage at the Red Mosque. – AFP

Drive to check unauthorised sale of SIM & 3G WiMAX

The News - International, Pakistan

Drive to check unauthorised sale of SIM
By our correspondent

KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has started checking unauthorised sale of new subscriber identity module (SIM) from August 1 across the country to ensure that new mobile connections are issued after proper documentation.
“Various teams of PTA Zonal offices at Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Multan would carry out surprise checks and inspections in their respective areas,” said a statement on Thursday.
“The PTA would start sealing those franchises which were not complying with PTA regulations on issuance of new cell phone SIM and concerned company will be asked to cancel its franchise. After these inspections, companies will also be asked to take remedial measures and ensure implementation of PTA directives in this regard.”
It said the PTA had taken a number of steps to deal with this issue and has directed cellular mobile companies to ensure that new SIM were sold only through its franchises or authorized dealers.
“Similarly, mobile companies are running ads in the press wherein they have advised their users to get their connections transferred in their names if they have not as yet done so. Companies are also sending short messages to subscribers in this regard,” added the statement.
It said the PTA had directed the mobile companies to get their data streamlined at their end by August 31, 2007. The companies would provide complete data of their subscriber’s to NADRA for verification purposes, added the statement.



3G WiMAX coming to Pakistan soon
By our correspondent

LAHORE: The Chairman, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik, has said that 3G technology WiMAX would get its way into Pakistan market within a couple of months.
“A Gulf-based company is rolling out this technology in the region soon to help introduce eight-digit mobile phone numbers,” he said while speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Thursday.
He urged the local businessmen to benefit from the opportunities in mobile phone handset manufacturing by setting up units as Pakistan is presently spending huge foreign exchange on the import of millions of sets every year.
Talking about the rising mobile phone density in the country, he said that the number of mobile phone subscribers had swelled to 65 million as two million new subscribers are added every month.
He said that mobile teledensity in Pakistan had touched the enviable mark of 45 percent in just few years.
About fixed line phone growth in the country, Malik said that the growth in this conventional telecom system was now stagnant. “More lines were being laid to provide triple play facilities to the people i.e. internet, telephone and TV in the towns like Lahore and Islamabad.” Responding to a question, the PTA chief said that the Authority’s efforts to curb the mobile phone theft in the country had started yielding positive results. The use of IMEI system had led to blocking of 100,000 stolen mobile phones in the country over a very short period of time.
He said that the business friendly policies had attracted foreign direct investment worth $1.9 billion each during the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
He said that new entrants in the mobile phone sector had led to great competition in this vital segment of the Pakistani economy, development of more physical infrastructure and creation of jobs.” The number of cell sites in Pakistan has touched the level of 11,800 in June 2007 from 360 in 2003.” Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI President, Shahid Hassan Sheikh, urged the chairman PTA to ensure the provision of DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service to industrial zones in Pakistan that are suffering because of inadequate DSL services.
The LCCI President said that it was generally observed that whenever there is rainfall, a large number of phone lines go out of order for having connection with underground cable; this is an issue of prime importance for any business firm or industrial concern.
The PTA should give the issue a special consideration as it is pre-requisite for keeping pace with fast growing economy.
Shahid Hassan Sheikh said that line rent being charged by the PTCL was too high so it should be curtailed as in the year 2006, the PTCL earned a profit of Rs20.77 billion.
He urged the PTA Chairman to direct mobile operators to improve quality of their services as the services of some of the mobile operators is not up to the mark.
He also invited the attention of the Chairman towards the repeated disconnection of internet services being provided by ISPs through PTCL.
The LCCI President said that all the banks are charging 15 per cent interest on loans for whole year, the PTCL is charging a surcharge of 10 per cent on late payment.
This is too high surcharge for late payment, this surcharge is totally unjustified and tantamount to exploit the customers, it is suggested that the surcharge is reviewed and brought at par with bank rate.

British general lauds Pak efforts to combat terrorism

Chief of General Staff of UK Army General Richard Dannatt


British general lauds Pak efforts to combat terrorism
By our correspondent
The News - International, Pakistan
PESHAWAR: Chief of General Staff of UK Army General Richard Dannatt called on NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai here on Thursday and lauded Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism.
They exchanged views on the law and order situation in the region and the steps taken by the government to control militancy and terrorist activities.
The governor said that the use of force in certain parts of Fata was a part of the overall strategy of the government. However, he said, they were simultaneously focusing on developing social sectors and creating economic opportunities on a wide scale so as to protect the young generation from falling prey to militants.
For this purpose, he added, they have chalked out a very comprehensive plan costing two billions dollars, which is envisaged to be implemented over the next nine years or so.
Replying to a question, the governor said that the problems in Fata are the outcome of the developments in Afghanistan, especially after 9/11. “The area has been in the grip of tension ever since.”
Orakzai said the government had done much more than any other country to check terrorism.
The same level of commitment should be displayed by Afghanistan as well, he added. General Richard Danatt appreciated the efforts of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and assured the governor of his country’s continued support to Pakistan in all its endeavours. Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, the general stated that reasonable progress had been made by Nato forces. He stressed the need for social sector development in the war-torn country.

554 foreign students deported from madrassas

Provinces to check mushroom growth of madrassas: 554 foreign students deported from madrassas, NA told

* Rs 469.5m compensation paid to families of terror victims
Daily Times, Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The government has so far deported 554 foreign students from seminaries across Pakistan, while cases of another 717 such students are under consideration for deportation, the Ministry of Interior told the National Assembly (NA) in a written reply to a question on Thursday.
It said that all the foreign students failing to submit no objection certificate (NOC) from their respective governments would be deported and no foreign student allowed admission in Pakistani seminaries in future.
The ministry said that 12,395 of the total 13,500 madrassas across Pakistan had been registered during the government’s drive to regulate seminaries and no religious school could be opened without the government’s NOC under the new rules. It informed the House that the government had paid Rs 469.54 million compensation to the families, who lost their members in terrorism incidents during 2006-07.
In reply to another question, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the provincial governments had been directed to maintain biometric record (database) of all prisoners in different jails with the assistance of NADRA. He said that biometric equipment would be installed at all prisons, which would help improve the overall law and order situation. Sherpao said the government had also decided to update red book on quarterly basis and develop information-sharing mechanism at the district level. He said the provinces had been asked to collect information about seminaries fanning extremism or militancy and media campaigns should be arranged to discourage suicide attacks. He said that Fatwas (edits) of reputed religious clerics denouncing extremism should be given space and time in print and electronic media respectively.
Sherpao said that the provinces had been ordered to re-arrest all terrorists released from jails under the Anti-Terrorism Act and check mushroom growth of seminaries. The provinces had also been asked to propagate “rational” interpretation of Quranic verses on Jihad by religious scholars. He said that since July last year the government had launched a campaign against extremism and militancy, hate literature and Khateebs fanning sectarian hatred.
He said a modern immigration control system “PISCES” was being installed at 18 entry/exit points to check the entry of terrorists in the country. The system is functional Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad airports, KPT and Ghass Bandar seaports in addition to Wagah Railway Station and Wagah land route. Sherpao said the government had also launched Rs 1.1 billion fingerprints identification project, under which the FIA had so far taken 240,000 fingerprints. staff report

Tribesmen get visas for Pak-Afghan jirga

Tribesmen get visas for Pak-Afghan jirga

Staff Report
Daily Times, Pakistan
PESHAWAR: Pakistani tribesmen nominated for the joint Pak-Afghan peace jirga starting on August 9 in Kabul visited the Afghan consulate on Thursday to receive travel documents required for a visit to Afghanistan.
“Are you a jirga member?” an Afghan guard asked a tribesman from North Waziristan while welcoming him to the consulate. Afghan diplomats were seen enthusiastic while dealing with jirga members.
Despite strong pessimism that the Pak-Afghan jirga cannot succeed without the participation of the Taliban, Pakistan’s delegation members and Afghan consulate staff looked hopeful.
“Inshallah, the jirga will deliver the desired results,” a jirga member from North Waziristan told Daily Times at the consulate where special arrangements were made to issue visas to tribesmen. The Interior Ministry has directed all passport offices in the NWFP to prepare passports for jirga members on a priority basis.



Inclusion of women in peace Jirga sought
By our correspondent
The News - International, Pakistan
PESHAWAR: Civil society organisations have asked the government to give representation to women in the Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga being held in Kabul in the second week of August.
In a press release issued here on Thursday, the Alliance for Protection of Human Rights (APHR), a group of civil society organisations, flayed the exclusion of women from the three-day peace Jirga to be held from August 9 to 11.
The alliance said that women constituted 48 per cent of the population of Pakistan. It pointed out that women were also the victims of the violence gripping Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
It was highly regrettable that the Pakistani authorities did not nominate women for the Jirga, depriving them of the chance to air the grievances and suggest steps for bringing about a durable peace in the region, it added.
The HPHR members, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Aurat Foundation, Khwendo Kor, Shirkat Gah, Sungi Foundation, Human Resource Management and Development Centre, Strengthening Participatory Organisation and Noor Education Trust, deplored that the Pakistan government had totally ignored women while appointing delegates to the Jirga, while at the same time the Afghan government gave due importance to women by including them in the proposed peace forum.
The APHR asked the Pakistan government to forthwith name woman delegates for the Jirga so that the whole population of the country is duly represented. It said the lack of women would make the Jirga a fruitless exercise. It urged the government to give 33 per cent representation to women on the Jirga to make it a truly representative gathering.