Seven soldiers, 25 militants killed in Kurram clashes

Independent confirmation of the death toll was not immediately possible as the lawless tribal region is barred for journalists. — File Photo by Reuters

PESHAWAR: Dozens of heavily armed Taliban militants attacked a Pakistani military post on Tuesday, sparking clashes that killed seven soldiers and wounded another 10, the military said.

Helicopter gunships were mobilised when the fighting broke out in the same Jogi area as clashes that killed six soldiers on Jan 25 in the Kurram tribal region.
At the time, security forces claimed to have taken control of Jogi, which is strategically located near the Orakzai tribal region, birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
A senior military official told AFP that “more than 300 Taliban militants attacked” the checkpost at around midnight in central Kurram, which is on the Taliban route into North Waziristan and onto the Afghan border.
Security forces retaliated and killed around 25 militants, but seven soldiers were also killed and 10 others wounded, the official said.
Independent confirmation of death tolls is largely impossible in the tribal belt, a Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold barred to journalists and aid workers.
“Heavy fighting continued until this morning,” the military official said.
Local administration official Sher Bahadur confirmed the military deaths but put the number of wounded paramilitary at 12.
Last July, Pakistan launched an offensive to evict militants from Kurram, mirroring operations that it has carried out — with limited success — across much of the rest of the tribal belt, only for militants to regroup and return.

India cricket at low ebb after whitewash

The Big Four of Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman contributed only 834 runs across four tests against Australia.—AFP

ADELAIDE: The pealing of the bells at the cathedral adjacent to the Adelaide Oval sounded more like a death knell to India’s players on Saturday as the tourists slumped to 4-0 series defeat by Australia and one of the lowest ebbs in its cricket history.
India’s 298-run defeat mercifully ended a series that began as a highly anticipated clash between two sides with a burgeoning rivalry but instead finished with an ignominious defeat for a team that played some of its worst cricket in many tours to Australia.
India lost two tests by an innings margin, and two by over 100 runs. It would likely have been an innings drubbing here too had Australia skipper Michael Clarke enforced the follow-on.
The sweep by Australia mirrored the 4-0 series win by England over India last year, making it eight straight test defeats for India away from home.
The manner of those series defeats would put immense public pressure on selectors to make drastic changes, but acting captain Virender Sehwag has urged them to show patience.
”They should be upset with our performances and I totally agree with them,” Sehwag said. ”But this is the time the fans should back the team, back the players.
”When we won the World Cup, everybody was happy and everybody was cheering … now is the time we need the support from everybody. They should back their own team.”
Sehwag himself will be one of the veteran batsmen whose test future will come under scrutiny. Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman are the other experienced players who had uninspiring tours and will be vulnerable if major changes are made.
Sachin Tendulkar, at 38, is coming to the end of his career and was unable to reach that elusive 100th international century. However his semi-majestic position in Indian cricket, plus that quest for the 100th ton, should protect him from any batting shakeup.
The Big Four of Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman contributed only 834 runs across four tests.
Indeed it was young middle-order batsman Virat Kohli who scored the only hundred for the tourists in the series —a brilliant 116 in the first innings here.
”Whenever we were building partnership we were not able to convert them to big ones,” said Sehwag, who stood in as captain for the final test because Mahendra Singh Dhoni was suspended because of slow over rates.
”It’s not the high expectation taking its toll …unfortunately we haven’t played well as a batting unit. We were looking forward to this series. We have let down our team.”
Sehwag agrees a team review is in order after this defeat but said more onus should be on individual players to lift themselves.
Sehwag himself hasn’t scored a test century since August 2010 —that’s 19 innings since his 109 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
”I haven’t been scoring hundreds overseas in the last few tours. I need to work on my game to score hundreds when I go overseas. It’s something for me to work on … nothing to do with the team.
”We’re all experienced players and we’re all working hard on our batting skills, and I am confident we’ll do well in the coming series.”
India’s next test series is at home against an in-form New Zealand in September, and will not undertake an overseas test series until it to tours New Zealand in March 2014.

Rehmarkable turnaround gives Pakistan series win

Rehman (2nd L) is congratulated after dismissing England's Eoin Morgan. -Photo by Reuters

ABU DHABI: Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman took a career best 6-25 to help Pakistan humble England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, to give them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The 31-year-old twice took two wickets in successive overs to dent England’s chase after they were set a 145-run target on a weary fourth day Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch, bowling them out for 72 – their lowest against Pakistan in all Tests.
Rehman’s effort overshadowed Monty Panesar’s 6-62, in his first Test for 30 months, which finished Pakistan’s second innings at 214 in the morning.
This is England’s first series defeat after being unbeaten in their previous nine since their loss to the West Indies in early 2009 — a sequence which saw them rise to world number one in the Test rankings in August last year.
Pakistan won the first Test in Dubai by ten wickets. The third Test will also be played in Dubai from February 3.
Skipper Misbah-ul Haq said Pakistan wanted to make a match out of it after setting a tricky target.
“We knew that it would be difficult so we wanted to make a match out of it,” said Misbah, who has now won eight Tests with one defeat since taking over in October 2010.
“Our bowlers led by Rehman responded well and this is a great win.”Strauss showed his disappointment at the woeful effort.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” said Strauss, whose side last lost two Tests in a row against South Africa in July 2008.
“We must acknowledge how well Pakistan bowled and they thoroughly deserved the series win.”Rehman was ably assisted by off-spinners Saeed Ajmal (3-22) and Mohammad Hafeez (1-11) in a match which saw spinners dominate from the first day.
England lost their top four batsmen in the space of just 37 balls after an extra cautious start on a difficult pitch.
England captain Andrew Strauss topscored with 32 before he became one of Rehman’s victims during his maiden five-wicket haul.
In the penultimate over before tea, Rehman trapped Kevin Pietersen (one) and two balls later bowled Eoin Morgan (nought) to raise hopes of an unlikely win for Pakistan.
Sensing they could only upset their rivals through early wickets, Pakistan opened the bowling with off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez who responded well by catching Alastair Cook (seven) off his own bowling after England had edged cautiously to 21 by the 15th over.
Bell, promoted to number three after Jonathan Trott was unwell, was all at sea against master spinner Ajmal and his tentative push went through his legs to hit the stumps. He made only three.
Pietersen, who has been woefully out of form making just 16 runs in the series, managed one before Rehman trapped him and in the same over had the equally out of form Morgan bowled to dent England’s hopes of a victory.
Rehman then accounted for Trott (one) and Stuart Broad (nought) in the same over to leave England 7-68.
Ajmal dismissed Graeme Swann (nought) and Matt Prior (18) to complete his 100 Test wickets in his 19th match before Anderson was caught off Rehman to give Pakistan a sensational win.
England’s previous lowest against Pakistan was 130 — made on two occasions at The Oval in 1954 and Lahore in 1987.
Earlier, Pakistan lost their last six wickets with the addition of 89 runs after resuming at 125-4, with all hopes pinned on Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.
Panesar took three of those wickets to finish with his eighth five-wicket haul in Tests.
Azhar Ali (68) and Asad Shafiq (43) added 88 for the fifth wicket before Panesar struck.
But England’s decision to take the second new ball as soon as it was due paid rich dividends as Anderson removed the dangerman Ali with a sharp rising delivery which caught the edge and was caught behind by Prior.
Broad then had Adnan Akmal (13) caught by Strauss in the slips off an ambitious drive in the next over as Pakistan wilted.
Rehman (10) and Ajmal (17) added an invaluable 36 for the eighth wicket before Panesar wrapped up the innings by taking the last two wickets.

Five dead in poll violence in India’s Manipur state

A torn poster depicting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and General-Secretary of the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland, Thuingaleng Muivah. - AP Photo.

GUWAHATI: Five people were killed in election related violence in India’s isolated, northeastern state of Manipur, police said on Saturday.
Among those who died were a woman, a security guard and three election duty staff, when suspected tribal rebels attacked a polling booth in the state’s Chandel district.
“The militants are suspected to be from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland faction,” a police officer said.
No group, however, has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Strife-ridden Manipur, bordering Myanmar, is the first of five Indian states to go to polls in early 2012 to elect a state legislature.
The Congress party, which leads the federal coalition government, is expected to retain office.
CorCom, an alliance of seven separatist Manipuri groups who view India as a colonial power, blamed the Congress government for “degeneration of the Manipuri society … to the present state of social, moral, economic and political bankruptcy.”
“We are fighting against the Indian occupation of Manipur.
So as a part of fighting Indian occupation we ban the Congress and their agents in Manipur,” the alliance said in an e-mail received by Reuters late on Friday.
The group claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a Congress candidate’s home last week.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. - File Photo

DAVOS: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday there was no chance of a military coup because the army favoured democracy and stability in the country.
In an interaction with the media here on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, he said: “I don’t think there will be a coup in Pakistan ever. There is no threat to democracy.”
The prime minister said no state institution, military or people wanted a coup and all were in favour of democracy.
He said Pakistan today is a functioning democracy with a fully empowered parliament. “We have a vibrant civil society, free media and an independent judiciary.”
Mr Gilani said the international media was taking a keen interest in the change in Islamabad’s ties with Washington after the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a Nato attack on two military posts on Nov 26.
The incident was a “turning point” and caused bad blood between the two governments, Mr Gilani said.
The prime minister said the Defence Committee of the Cabinet decided to redefine terms of engagement with the United States and, as an initial move, cut off supplies for Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, got the Shamsi airbase vacated and boycotted the Bonn conference on Afghanistan.
“In the light of recent events, we are reviewing our relations to build a long-term relationship on the basis of mutual respect, trust and interest.”
In reply to a question, Mr Gilani said former president Musharraf took decisions without taking the nation into confidence. “If there is no support of the public no one can win a war.”
He said Pakistan was against “illegal and counter-productive” drone strikes and had conveyed its concerns to the United States.
Mr Gilani said Pakistan was paying a heavy price for peace, progress and prosperity of the world.
When asked about the presence of the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, he said it was a global failure of intelligence agencies.
Asked by an Indian journalist about the likely fallout of another Mumbai-style attack, he said: “Ifs and when do not make a story.”
He recalled his visit to Mohali last year to see the World Cup semi-final at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, observing: “We have resumed comprehensive dialogue with India. We are in the process of normalising trade relations, which will benefit both countries.”
Pakistan wanted good relations with all its neighbours and if India had any information, it should share it with Pakistan, the prime minister stressed.
He termed Dr Singh a “genuine person” and said he (Mr Singh) too was desirous of resolving all issues with Pakistan, including Kashmir.
The prime minister said Pakistan attached importance to its relations with Afghanistan as a peaceful and stable neighbour was in “our strategic interest”. “We see Pakistan as a factor of peace, stability and development in the region.”
He said Pakistan was cooperating with its partners in Saarc and ECO for promoting economic collaboration.
Mr Gilani pointed to the challenges the country faced. “We have to eradicate terrorism, we have to create more jobs for our youth, we have to invest in energy and physical infrastructure, and we have to pay more attention to health and education.
We are facing all these challenges upfront and squarely.”
The prime minister said his government had been pursuing a policy of reconciliation with other political forces. He said reconciliation was a legacy of Benazir Bhutto.
“Our policy of reconciliation has resulted in adoption of the landmark 18th Amendment by consensus in both houses of parliament.”
He said under the 18th Amendment, the President had voluntarily surrendered his powers to parliament and the federation had agreed to transfer resources and responsibilities to the provinces.
He said it could rightly be described as a quiet revolution towards building a strong and prosperous Pakistan.
Pakistan had immense potential and was endowed with riches, the most important of which was its young population, Mr Gilani said.
He said Pakistan was at the confluence of South, Central and West Asia, serving as a natural land bridge between the energy-rich and the fastest growing economies of the world.—APP

Pakistan reduced to 198-7 at lunch

(41 minutes ago) Today

Monty celebrates another wicket. -Photo by AP

ABU DHABI: England were closing on a series-levelling win against Pakistan in the second Test after taking the stubborn wicket of Azhar Ali at Abu Dhabi Stadium in Saturday’s morning session.
Ali hit a fighting 68 and added 88 for the fifth wicket with Asad Shafiq (43) before England took three wickets before lunch, leaving Pakistan under pressure at 198-7, a lead of 128 with only three wickets intact.
Spin duo Abdul Rehman (10) and Saeed Ajmal (11) added an invaluable 26 runs for the unbroken eighth-wicket stand until the break.
Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning last week’s first Test in Dubai by 10 wickets. The third and final Test starts in Dubai from February 3.
Left-arm spinner and chief tormentor Monty Panesar got one to turn across Shafiq’s forward push and the ensuing edge was well taken by James Anderson in the lone slip. Shafiq hit five boundaries during his 138-ball stay.
Panesar has figures of 4-59.
Before Shafiq’s dismissal, Ali completed his 13th half-century with a couple off Graeme Swann, raising his team’s hopes of setting a decent target.
But England’s decision to take the second new ball as soon as it was due paid rich dividends as Anderson removed the dangerman Ali with a sharp rising delivery which caught the edge and safely landed in keeper Matt Prior’s gloves.
Ali hit eight boundaries during his 195-ball knock.
Stuart Broad then had Adnan Akmal (13) caught by Andrew Strauss in the slip off an ambitious drive in the next over as Pakistan wilted.
England used their second review when Anderson trapped Rehman in front of the wicket, but television replays showed the ball was missing the stumps, much to the frustration of the fielding side.

Panetta believes Pakistan knew Osama hideout

(4 hours ago) Today

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta. — File Photo

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the US in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May.
Panetta told CBS’s ”60 Minutes,” in a profile to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.
Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify bin Laden’s presence in the compound. He has since been charged by Pakistan with treason. Panetta said he is ”very concerned” for the doctor.
Panetta still believes someone in authority in Pakistan knew where Osama bin Laden was hiding before US forces went in to find him.
Intelligence reports found Pakistani military helicopters had passed over the compound in Abbottabad where US Navy SEALs discovered and killed bin Laden last year, according to excerpts of Panetta’s interview.
“I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound. Don’t forget, this compound had 18-foot walls… It was the largest compound in the area.
“So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, ‘What the hell’s going on there?’” Panetta told CBS.
The Pentagon chief said that concern played a significant factor in Washington not warning Pakistani officials of the impending raid: “It concerned us that, if we, in fact, brought (Pakistan) into it, that — they might…give bin Laden a heads up,” he said.
Panetta acknowledged he did not have “hard evidence” Pakistan knew of the Al-Qaeda leader’s whereabouts.
US Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden on May 2 in a raid on a compound in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, and later buried the 9/11 mastermind at sea.