Taliban video shows 17 beheaded Pakistani soldiers

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press – 5 hours ago

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — The Taliban released a video Wednesday that they say shows the heads of 17 Pakistani soldiers captured in a cross-border raid from Afghanistan this week and beheaded.

In violence Wednesday, a bomb in a railway station in Pakistan's southwest killed at least five people, police said, and the leader of an anti-Taliban militia was killed in Peshawar in the northwest.

The Pakistani Taliban's bloody cross-border raid Sunday night showed the threat still posed by the group, despite multiple army offensives. Increasingly, the militants have used sanctuaries in eastern Afghanistan to attack border areas in Pakistan's northwest [....]

The Pakistani Taliban said in the video that they killed 18 soldiers, but 17 heads were displayed on a bloody white sheet on the ground outside. Several militants whose faces were covered were standing around the heads, holding weapons they said were captured from the soldiers.

The Associated Press obtained the video by email Wednesday from Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan.

The beginning of the video contains a voice recording by Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in which he says the militants will continue to battle the army until Pakistan's government stops supporting the U.S. and enforces Islamic law throughout the country. It was unclear when the message was recorded.

The Pakistani military said previously that 13 troops were killed in the cross-border raid into the country's northwest Upper Dir region, and seven of them were beheaded. Four others were reported missing at the time. The military did not immediately respond to request for comment on the video [....]

Pakistan Army facing greater threat from al-Qaeda: observers
The News (Pakistan) June 28, 2012, From Print Edition

Islamabad--The Pakistan Army, which is in the forefront of battling terrorist groups in Fata, is now facing a progressive campaign from the top terror outfit al-Qaeda to damage its standing and credibility.

“We have seen some developments that indicate that al-Qaeda has launched a vicious attack on Pakistan Army which is a major threat to its designs,” well-connected sources here in the federal capital revealed.

The sources said that in July 2010, a message by al-Qaeda had first discussed the role of Pakistan Army in the global war against terror in detail and offered twisted justifications for launching a Jihad against Pakistan.

A video was then released in January 2012 by the TTP, which is hands in glove with al-Qaeda, discussing the role of the army in defending the Muslims. The video stated that “the units of this Army played a singular role alongside the British in the World War I in handing over Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque to these Infidels”. It also claimed that during the 1800s, Syed Ahmed Shaheed was killed by the Pakistan Army soldiers.

Then in March 2012, the al-Qaeda propagandists again justified a holy war against the Pakistan Army while making a hitherto unverified claim that Pakistani forces were holding 10 senior Taliban leaders in jail.

Similarly, on the first death anniversary of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2012 the al-Qaeda in its rhetoric on the internet launched a tirade against the army, even threatening to assassinate senior army officers.

“What we are witnessing is a progressive attack on the Pakistan Army and its credibility. The al-Qaeda and its allied organizations are under tremendous pressure and they are battling for their life. It is a desperate attempt to fight back.”

The sources pointed out that the TTP had also recently launched a psychological campaign for its recruits against the Pakistan Army showing forged and doctored photographs of an alleged Pakistan Army tank destroyed in Swat, torturing of Taliban prisoners, Pak Army troops resting and enjoying themselves with the US troops in mountainous areas, etc.

The sources pointed out that the army had [....]

Cavaet on the second article: "Federal" anonymice speaking in Pakistani media are usually way way more complicated in nature than in the US media; just offered on a "buyer beware, as we don't have the decoder ring yet" basis. It sure is an interesting, cryptic piece, though.

Taliban storm eastern Afghan district, killing 10

AFP, June 28, 2012

KABUL: Hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed a remote district in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, sparking a fierce 12-hour battle in which 10 people were killed, including four civilians, an official said.

Afghan security forces fought off the attack in Kamdish district of Nuristan province, which began in the early hours of Friday morning, with the help of Nato air strikes, provincial spokesman Mohammad Zarin told AFP.

Zarin said more than 20 militants – who he said had infiltrated the district from across the border in Pakistan – were killed in the counter-attack.

“More than 20 insurgents were killed and as many injured in the counter attack, their bodies still lay in the battlefield,” he said  [....]

Travel advisory: Govt issues list of ‘no go’ areas for foreigners
By Our Correspondent, The Express Tribune, July 2, 2012

The federal government on Sunday issued a list of prohibited areas for foreigners to visit and directed police and law enforcement agencies to bar entry of foreigners in these places, an official document revealed.

Cantonment areas – including all those places where sensitive and important installations fall – 10 miles from the Line of Control in Kashmir have been declared off limits for foreigners.

[....]

The so-called “no-go” areas for foreign visitors in Balochistan include Pishin, Quetta, Bugti Agency, Kohlu Agency, Sibi district, 35 miles border area of Qilla Saifullah, Zhob Agency, Loralai.

The government has also declared Mosa Khel in Punjab and Bannu district and the special scanning border area of Dera Ismail Khan as off limits for foreigners [....]

Pakistan secretly permitting lethal NATO supply via air
By Kamran Yousaf, The Express Tribune, July 1, 2012

ISLAMABAD: In blatant disregard to foreign policy terms approved by parliament this year, Pakistan has secretly allowed US-led Nato forces to use its airspace for transporting lethal supplies to Afghanistan, official sources revealed.

It is not clear when the permission was granted but it is believed to be a stop gap arrangement between Pakistan and the United States till they finalise a deal on the resumption of vital land routes for foreign forces in Afghanistan.

But the move is likely to spark a strong public backlash in view of parliament’s resolutions which state that Pakistan’s territory, including its airspace, shall not be used for transportation of arms and ammunition to Afghanistan.

A credible source told The Express Tribune that the foreign office and the defence ministry were at odds with each other over allowing Nato planes to carry weapons.

The foreign office opposed the decision considering it a violation of parliament’s resolutions. However, it eventually started issuing non-objection certificates (NoCs) to such planes after pressure from defense authorities [....]

Taliban kill eight Pakistani police and prison officers
Gunmen shot dead eight Pakistani police and prison guards early on Thursday in an audacious predawn raid in the eastern city of Lahore.

By Rob Crilly in Islamabad and agencies, The Telegraph, 12 Jul 2012

It is the second attack on security personnel in the province of Punjab in three days, igniting fears of a new round of terrorist strikes far from the lawless north-west where Taliban militants are based [....]

The Pakistan/US kabuki show for the citizens of Pakistan now completed, the US money spigot is being re-opened, barring any protestations from Congress (and, as the suitably cynical already suspected, will be retroactive):

First war on terror bills sent to Washington since OBL raid
By Shahbaz Rana, The Express Tribune, July 19, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Now that ties between Pakistan and US are fast thawing, Islamabad has sent the first Coalition Support Fund (CSF) bills to Washington since the US Navy SEALs raid to hunt down Osama bin Laden in May  last year.

The Joint Staff headquarters has sent fresh CSF claims to Pentagon, a senior official from the finance ministry told The Express Tribune. Neither the ministry nor the US Embassy in Pakistan disclosed the exact amount of the claims, but it is said to be between $500 and $600 million.

During the earlier stalemate, both the military and civilian leadership had maintained national pride and sovereignty were more important than financial gains. Pakistan had decided not to send any receipts for expenditures incurred from the May 1, 2011 US raid which killed Osama Bin Laden to the air strike that claimed the lives of over 24 Pakistani soldiers at the Salala check post on November 24.

However, the first bill sent to Pentagon since the raid in Abbottabad on May 1 last year is, interestingly, for expenditures incurred during the same period.

The US Embassy in Islamabad refused to comment on the recent development. “For information on new claims filed by the Pakistani government, you will have to refer to them,” said the embassy’s spokesman Mark Stroh.

Replying to another question, Stroh said Obama’s administration had notified the Congress regarding reimbursement of existing claims worth $1.1 billion. According to standard procedure, the Congress has 15 days from the day of the notification to object to the claims. If no objections are raised, the administration is allowed to complete the transaction [....]

US intends to reimburse Coalition Support Fund: Pentagon
By Fayyaz Yaseen, News Pakistan, July 20, 2012

Washington: (Thursday, July 19, 2012) The United States of America has said that it intends to pay back $ 1.1 billion owed to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF).

 Speaking to a private news television channel, a reporter from Washington said that the amount will be paid to Pakistan soon. Pentagon spokesperson, while commenting on the development, said that the US was pleased with the reopening
of the Ground Lines of Communication. He also added that relationships with Pakistan have always remained critical to the US.

 The spokesperson further added that Pak-US relations were entering a new phase and were getting past some of the obstacles encountered over the past two years.

 The spokesperson did not comment on the signing of any agreement.