Pakistan Taliban free 17 kidnapped youths from Bajaur

The Taliban have freed 17 young men from north-west Pakistan who they seized four months ago, officials say.


About 30 youths were abducted in early September after they inadvertently strayed across the Afghan border.

Several managed to escape over the past few months. At least eight more are still being held by the militants, an official in Bajaur tribal area said.

The Taliban said they kidnapped members of the Mamund tribe because it supported the Pakistani government.

Over the past few years, influential members of the Mamund tribe have sided with the Pakistani military and raised private militias to fight the Taliban. The Pakistani government says the co-operation has helped clear the area of Taliban influence.

The youths, reportedly ranging in age from 10 to about 30 years old, were at a picnic to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid and had mistakenly crossed the border from Bajaur to take a bath in a spring, when the militants seized them.

At the time of the kidnap there were reports that the militants had demanded Taliban prisoners be released. But local administration officials told the AFP news agency that the 17 youths had been "freed unconditionally".


Two boys who escaped in October spoke extensively to the media about their ordeal.

Securing the long, porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has long posed a major challenge to the authorities.

The Pakistani government says that many militants have based themselves across the border in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, from where they are known to have carried out attacks in north-western Pakistan.

Public’s interest in politics grows as PTI gets active

LAHORE: The growing popularity of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) can be judged by the fact that the city’s bus stands, markets and shops are abuzz with discussions and speculations about the next political setup, which is a welcoming sign given that people have seldom been enthusiastic about politics.

Before the PTI became politically active, existing political parties were busy securing their contacts in the establishment for the next general elections. However, the scenario has changed dramatically with the unprecedented rise of the PTI, and the induction of established politicians into Imran Khan’s party. Though there are reservations about some of the new PTI members, given their long history in previous governments, people are still optimistic about prospect of the next government.

It is no secret that the country’s two major political parties are weary of the PTI’s increasing popularity and grass roots support. This is the first time since supporting Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, that the educated classes have attended political gatherings in such large numbers. Although all the political parties claim to have the “full support” of the public, their gatherings show that the reality is otherwise.

Imran Khan has proven that he has a certain charisma, which has encouraged students, women, schoolteachers, celebrities and people from other walks of life to participate in his rallies in Lahore and Karachi. These people were never forced to attend the conventions, a charge that is frequently directed at other parties, and instead did so because they felt that Imran could help eradicate the plague of corruption and bring lasting change.

His rallies portray the picture of a political gathering in which people from all walks of life are supposed to participate, not those who merely chant slogans in favour of their leaders.

It is intriguing to see political heavyweights trying to muster support from their former supporters, as their future outside the government looks bleak, since questions about their wealth and offshore accounts cannot be dodged forever.

“I sincerely hope that the coming elections are not rigged because that is the only way to defeat Imran Khan since people in the country and abroad are fully supporting him,” a fashion model that attended the PTI convention in Lahore told Daily Times.

“I postponed a photo shoot to attend Imran Khan’s Jalsa because I believe he could make a positive difference for our country, which will be home to my children when I am gone,” she added.

It will be a huge challenge for the cricketer-turned-politician to keep up with the hopes of the public, who consider him the best candidate for the future of the country. If the mainstream political parties want to win the 2013 elections, they will need to revamp their style and focus on engaging with more extensively with the public.

Pakistan Rangers seize US military equipment

KARACHI: Pakistan Rangers have seized sensitive military equipment belonging to the US and Nato on security grounds, Express News reported on Friday.


According to the Ranger officials, the equipment will remain under their control until further orders are received from the government.

The rangers, for the purpose of storing the military supplies, have rented a yard namely Mega6 at the Port Qasim.

So far, 250 containers have been offloaded at the Mega6 yard.

It was reported earlier that the US has decided to export all its cargo, including military hardware and arms, out of Pakistan.

Sources told Express News that the break in supplies has frustrated US authorities to the point where they are now weighing various options to move around the cargo stranded at various locations in Pakistan.

According to sources, US cargo, stranded in Pakistan, is worth millions of dollars and US authorities have serious concerns over the safety of the cargo as it includes Humvee vehicles, dumpers, anti-aircraft guns, special carriers of anti-aircraft guns, vehicles specially built to jam communications, cranes and sophisticated weapons.

Pakistan journalists 'threatened by security' personnel

Two senior Pakistani journalists say they have received threatening messages after raising questions over the military's role in their respective television shows.

Both suspect the threats have emanated from Pakistan's powerful security establishment and its premier intelligence service, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

The ISI was widely accused of killing a local journalist, Saleem Shehzad, in May 2011.

It vehemently denied the charge.

Journalists' organisations say at least 29 journalists have been killed in Pakistan during the last five years, many of them specifically for their work.Messages

A senior journalist, Najam Sethi, disclosed at a television talk show on Wednesday night that he had received "serious" threats from "both non-state and state actors".

He said if these threats did not cease, he would be "compelled to take names of the organisations and officials" who were behind them.

Without naming any intelligence service, he said its operatives were "in touch with and threatening several other senior journalists".

"If anything bad happens to me or my dear ones, the security establishment will be responsible” Hamid Mir Pakistani journalist

"We did not speak about this before because we did not want to destabilise things, but the time has come when all of them should come forward and speak about it publicly," he said, speaking in Urdu.

"This is not the age when the intelligence operatives should be threatening their own civilians. A state within the state is not acceptable," he said.

Mr Sethi is the main analyst at a late night news show on Pakistan's Geo TV in which he has been offering comments critical of the military's role.

His disclosure comes a week after another senior journalist, Hamid Mir, sent out an email to journalists' bodies around the world claiming that he had been receiving threatening messages from what he called "the security establishment".

Mr Mir is the host of Geo TV's popular talk show, Capital Talk.

Mr Mir wrote in his email that these threats have emerged following two talk shows he did which contained critical comments about the military.

"I am sure that the security establishment of Pakistan is once again angry with all those who raise questions about the political role of the army," he wrote.

He added: "If anything bad happens to me or my dear ones, the security establishment will be responsible."

A commission constituted to investigate the May 2011 killing of journalist Saleem Shehzad is investigating the role of the ISI, among others, as a possible suspect in the case.

Journalists working on security-related issues say they have always been threatened and intimidated by the intelligence agencies and have often been forced to under-report "sensitive" issues.

But in recent months, they have increasingly spoken out in public on the issue.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released the text of Mr Mir's email last week, which contains the text of an SMS message he had received.

According to Mr Mir, the SMS read, "I have not seen a real bastard than you. I wish somebody comes and strips you naked. I hope some army man has not done real dirty with your dear ones."