Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Pakistan announces army offensive against Taliban
Pakistan's prime minister told the nation May 7 that the armed forces were being "called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists" who have forcibly occupied part of the country's northwest, sending thousands of civilians fleeing from the region in the past week.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani's announcement, made in a late-night, televised address, signaled the final collapse of a fragile peace accord between the government and Taliban forces in the Swat region.
Gillani's address came on another day of intense but scattered clashes.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani's announcement, made in a late-night, televised address, signaled the final collapse of a fragile peace accord between the government and Taliban forces in the Swat region.
Gillani's address came on another day of intense but scattered clashes.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: army offensive against taliban, pakistan, pakistan prime minister, peace accord, Taliban, taliban forces
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Is Pakistan burning?
When Pakistani Taliban came within 60 miles of Islamabad, nearly took over Buner, and were seemingly pushed back by Pakistani security forces, it radically ratcheted up concerns in Washington about the ability of the democratically elected government of Pakistan to hold out. Coming after the Zardari government signed away its right in the Swat Valley, allowing the writ of Sharia to prevail, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not mince words, accusing the government of "abdicating" to the Taliban.
President Obama, while "deeply concerned" reassured people his administration "can make sure that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is secure." Speaking at his 100th Day press conference April 29, he said he was confident because "the Pakistani army, I think, recognizes the hazards of those weapons falling into the wrong hands."
That's more faith than some analysts are bestowing on the leadership.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
President Obama, while "deeply concerned" reassured people his administration "can make sure that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is secure." Speaking at his 100th Day press conference April 29, he said he was confident because "the Pakistani army, I think, recognizes the hazards of those weapons falling into the wrong hands."
That's more faith than some analysts are bestowing on the leadership.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: 100th day press conference, afghan taliban, buner, pakistan, pakistani army, pakistani taliban, pakistans nuclear arsenal, President Obama, Swat Valley, Taliban, zardari government
Monday, April 27, 2009
Pakistan is ‘abdicating to the Taliban', Secretary Clinton says
The Pakistani government "is basical ly abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress on April 22 in an unusually blunt statement that reflects the unease within the Obama administration about an agreement authorized by President Asif Ali Zadari last week.
The agreement would permit sharia, or Islamic law, in the Swat Valley - just 100 miles west of the capital, Islamabad - and was reached after the Pakistani military failed to rout Taliban fighters there.
Clinton, appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tempered her remarks by saying that the Pakistani government needs to improve its delivery of justice and services - precisely what leaders there aim to do with billions of dollars in new U.S. assistance.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com/
The agreement would permit sharia, or Islamic law, in the Swat Valley - just 100 miles west of the capital, Islamabad - and was reached after the Pakistani military failed to rout Taliban fighters there.
Clinton, appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tempered her remarks by saying that the Pakistani government needs to improve its delivery of justice and services - precisely what leaders there aim to do with billions of dollars in new U.S. assistance.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com/
Labels: Clinton, islamic law, obama administration, pakistan government, pakistani military, president asif ali zadari, senator clinton, Swat Valley, Taliban, taliban fighters, United states
Monday, February 2, 2009
Taliban strike with regularity: impose a ban on the education of girls
I have such fond childhood memories of summer holidays in the Swat Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, a place well known among Pakistanis for its breathtaking views, cool summer climate and lush fruit orchards. But today the Swat Valley is experiencing heartbreaking pressures, as the Taliban strike with disconcerting regularity and, among other atrocities, impose a ban on the education of girls.
Even before this ban was put in place on January 15, more than 100 schools for girls in Swat, as well as more than 150 such schools in the greater Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), had been shut down, many after being bombed or torched, leaving approximately 100,000 girls out of school. Radio announcements warned girls that they could be attacked with acid if they dared to attend school, and teachers have been threatened and killed. Recently, five more Swat Valley schools were bombed.
The attacks and threats have not been confined to school girls. Women and girls have been ordered to wear full veils. Directives have been issued requiring that women be accompanied by male family members in public places and forbidding women from carrying compulsory government identification cards displaying their photographs.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Even before this ban was put in place on January 15, more than 100 schools for girls in Swat, as well as more than 150 such schools in the greater Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), had been shut down, many after being bombed or torched, leaving approximately 100,000 girls out of school. Radio announcements warned girls that they could be attacked with acid if they dared to attend school, and teachers have been threatened and killed. Recently, five more Swat Valley schools were bombed.
The attacks and threats have not been confined to school girls. Women and girls have been ordered to wear full veils. Directives have been issued requiring that women be accompanied by male family members in public places and forbidding women from carrying compulsory government identification cards displaying their photographs.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: ban on the education of girls, childhood memories, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, government identification cards, pakistan, Swat Valley, Taliban, Taliban strike
Friday, May 2, 2008
Oil Painting was not invented in Europe but by Buddhist painters of Bamiyan
Oil painting was not ‘invented' in Europe during the Renaissance, but was in use by Buddhist painters of Bamiyan, in present day Afghanistan. This is no mere conjecture, but has been proved by an international group of scientists.
All art history books now need to be rewritten.The world was in shock when in 2001 the Talibans destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan.
Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D.
The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery. Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), that the paintings were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was "invented" in Europe, ESRF said on its website.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
All art history books now need to be rewritten.The world was in shock when in 2001 the Talibans destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan.
Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D.
The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery. Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), that the paintings were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was "invented" in Europe, ESRF said on its website.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghan region, Afghanistan, ancient colossal Buddha statues, Bamiyan, Buddhist painters, discover, Europe, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, invented, Oil Painting, paintings, Taliban
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