15 March, 2009

Pakistan police battle protesters as crisis grows
Mar 15, 2009 … Police fought running battles with stone-throwing anti-government protesters Sunday after authorities tried to detain opposition leader …
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090315/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

Pakistan protesters clash with police
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan — Police clashed with stone-throwing protesters today as opposition …
www.latimes.com/news/la-fgw-pakistan-
protesters15-2009mar15,0,7195375.story

Militants torch NATO trucks in Pakistan: police
AFP
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Taliban militants in northwestern Pakistan torched eight trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces in neighbouring Afghanistan in …
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALe
qM5i6zLgkylacbNOkp-N6n2JOgprCJg

‘House arrest’ for Pakistan’s Sharif
BBC News – UK
The leader of the opposition in Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, has been put under house arrest, although the interior minister has said he is free to move where he …
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7944525.stm

Belmont Club “ Pakistan again
By Richard Fernandez
The Asia Times highlights the greatest proximate danger from fast-breaking developments in Pakistan. The truce between the Taliban and the fracturing Pakistani government has released thousands of fighters to begin an offensive in …
pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2009/03/15/pakistan-again/

Pakistan opposition leader Nawaz Sharif arrested › Japan Today …
Police put opposition leader Nawaz Sharif under house arrest Sunday to stop him from leading anti-government protests, his spokesman said,…
www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/
pakistan-opposition-leader-nawaz-sharif-arrested

Pakistan arrests opposition leader Nawaz Sharif – Democratic …
Pakistan arrests opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. … The move against former Prime Minister Sharif shows Pakistan’s determination to squelch Monday’s rally in the capital Islamabad but risks igniting anger among his supporters. …
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/
duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3783493

Pakistan opposition leader Sharif placed under house arrest – The …
By fkarimi
Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League – N (PML-N), was ordered confined to his residence in the city of Lahore from 8 a.m. Sunday, said the party’s acting President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. The police detention order said the move …
cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/15/pakistan-
opposition-leader-sharif-placed-under-house-arrest/

Desicritics.org: Tension in Pakistan – Where Will This Lead?
By Ashish
Politics: Tension in Pakistan – Where Will This Lead? – Pakistan is again in the middle of incredible political turmoil, something that the country thought it had escaped from.
desicritics.org/2009/03/15/023729.php

Pakistan police clash with protesters amid rising crisis
Xinhua – China
ISLAMABAD, March 15 (Xinhua) — Pakistan police clashed with the protesters in eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday as the prevailing political crisis …
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/15/content_11015371.htm

Pakistan ex-PM ignores ‘arrest’
BBC News – UK
Pakistan opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has defied an apparent house arrest order to head for a protest in Lahore. Describing the order – denied by the…
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7944527.stm

Militants torch NATO trucks in Pakistan
ABC Online – Australia
Taliban militants in north-western Pakistan have torched eight trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces in neighbouring Afghanistan in a pre-dawn attack, …
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/
03/15/2516695.htm?section=world

Pakistan’s Sharif Defies House Arrest to Join Protest March
Bloomberg – USA
Earlier, police had surrounded Sharif’s home in Lahore, put him under house arrest for three days and detained scores of other leaders of his Pakistan …
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2060
1087&sid=aYZVWbWX3o.Y&refer=home

Pakistan Police Detain Opposition Leadership, Seal-Off Capital
Voice of America – USA
Representatives of Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – N party say police moved in at dawn Sunday, sealing off his home near Lahore. …
www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-15-voa1.cfm

Pakistan Opposition Leader Is Held Before Protest
New York Times – United States
Mohammad Sajjad/AP By JANE PERLEZ LAHORE, Pakistan — Police detained the opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, at his house in Lahore early Sunday morning hours …
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/world/asia/16pstan.html?ref=world

Pakistan on edge as Zardari arouses rebellion
Times Online – UK
PAKISTAN’S president, Asif Ali Zardari, was facing a revolt from inside his party yesterday as negotiations to end a standoff with opposition leaders failed …
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world
/middle_east/article5908442.ece

Pakistan proposes integration of Taliban into security forces …
A senior official in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province wants the Taliban to integrate into the security forces in the region where the governemnt ceded to the Taliban’s demands to implement sharia, or Islamic Law, and end military …
www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/03/pakistan_proposes_in.php

GMANews.TV – Pakistan arrests opposition leader Nawaz Sharif …
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani authorities placed opposition leader Nawaz Sharif under house arrest Sunday to stop him from taking part in a major anti-government rally, a spokesman said.
www.gmanews.tv/story/152775/Pakistan
-arrests-opposition-leader-Nawaz-Sharif

Stemming the Taliban tide in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Comment …
By Sindh Today
There yet seems inadequate understanding of the complexities and the challenges confronting the Pakistan-Afghanistan region as the mainstream leadership in all camps, including the US, gropes to develop a strategic formula for keeping …
www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/74531.htm

Pakistan opposition head Sharif under house arrest
AFP
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif was placed under house arrest Sunday, police said, in a bid to prevent him leading a …
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/
ALeqM5jTHFcHa5tyfJhyQDNHB2ZBGrWz0Q

As crisis continues, Pakistan braces itself for the unknown
Hindu – Chennai,India
ISLAMABAD: With the deadlock in Pakistan showing no signs of breaking, army troops were on standby in the capital to guard “sensitive installations.…
www.hindu.com/2009/03/15/stories/2009031559680800.htm

Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif put under house arrest
AFP
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistani police placed the country’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif under house arrest on Sunday to prevent him leading a …
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/
ALeqM5jVtXA3vG1k0dKkJhb9d9LiOgG9sA

Dialogue put on the backburner in Pakistan
GulfNews – Dubai,United Arab Emirates
… from Lahore to Islamabad on Sunday, negotiations between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government and PML-N are on the “backburner”, sources said. …
www.gulfnews.com/world/Pakistan/10294967.html

On eve of protests in Pakistan, government buckles, offers …
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s embattled government announced key concessions to opposition demands Saturday, on the eve of a mass protest in Islamabad that had raised fears of bloody clashes in the streets. extra description.
www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/63990.html

Scoop: Ban Calls On Pakistan Resolve Differerences
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, concerned about the current political crisis in Pakistan, has called on the country’s leaders to engage in dialogue to resolve their differences.
www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00275.htm

US confident Pakistan military committed to civilian rule
Washington (AFP) March 14, 2009 – The top US military commander has expressed confidence that his Pakistani counterpart, General Ashfaq Kiyani, is committed to civilian rule and is not plotting a military takeover.
www.spacewar.com/reports/US_confident_Pakistan
_military_committed_to_civilian_rule_999.html

As Pakistan Roils, Protesters Set to March
Washington Post – United States
By Pamela Constable RAIWIND, Pakistan, March 14 — On Saturday morning, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif met with a group of Pakistani columnists at his …
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2009/03/14/AR2009031401604.html

Editorial: Unwise politics of delaying the deal
Daily Times – Lahore,Pakistan
Outside Pakistan, it is axiomatic that for a deal to hold it is essential that both sides have to give and take. However in our culture the time to become …
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=
2009%5C03%5C15%5Cstory_15-3-2009_pg3_1

Our skewed world view won’t let us see the real Pakistan
guardian.co.uk – UK
First for the good news: Pakistan is not about to explode. The Islamic militants are not going to take power tomorrow; the nuclear weapons are not about to …
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/
2009/mar/15/jason-burke-pakistan

14 March, 2009

Pakistan Arrests Protesters as Army Prepares to Deploy Troops
Bloomberg – USA
Zardari’s use of force to quell protest and dissent in his Pakistan Peoples Party are “deepening his credibility deficit and leaving his government weaker,” …
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20
601087&sid=a78j9z2UvayI&refer=home

Where is Osama bin Laden? US zeros in on Chitral, Pakistan in hunt …
New York Daily News – New York,NY,USA
The towns of Chitral and Kalam, in Pakistan, are being eyed in the hunt for the Al Qaeda leader. Yes – We’re close to tracking him down. …
www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/03/14/2009-03
-14_where_is_osama_bin_laden_us_zeros_in_on_.html

Newshoggers.com: Pakistan Deal Near?
By Steve Hynd
By Steve Hynd Various reports have it that there’s a compromise deal near in Pakistan’s current political crisis, pressured by the US and UK but instigated by the military, who are nervous about the mask of “democratic Zardari” slipping …
www.newshoggers.com/blog/2009/03/pakistan-deal-near.html

Obama Afghan Plan Focuses on Pakistan Aid and Appeal to Militants …
By Chip
The emerging outlines of President Obama’s plan for Afghanistan include proposals to shift more American efforts toward problems in neighboring Pakistan and to seek some kind of political reconciliation with the vast majority of …
www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/40720

Pakistan govt asks army to deploy troops in Islamabad …
By PTI
Pakistan govt asks army to deploy troops in Islamabad, The Pakistani army said it had received a request from the govt to deploy troops at sensitive locations to maintain law & order during the protest by lawyers& opposition parties, …
www.livemint.com/2009/03/14173416/
Pakistan-govt-asks-army-to-dep.html

Pakistan govt. to restore deposed judges | Sindh Today
By Sindh Today
Islamabad, Mar. 14 (ANI): Pakistan Government has decided to restore the deposed judges in the light of Charter of Democracy.
www.sindhtoday.net/pakistan/74485.htm

Pakistan’s crackdown on protests creates fissures in ruling party
Christian Science Monitor – Boston,MA,USA
By Ben Arnoldy | Staff writer 03.14.09 Islamabad, Pakistan – As the political crisis deepens in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari offered an olive branch …
features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/03/14/pakistans
-crackdown-on-protests-creates-fissures-in-ruling-party/

Pakistan moves to stem turmoil
Aljazeera.net – Qatar
Pakistan’s government has said it will seek a review of a court ruling preventing two opposition politicians from holding office as it attempts to diffuse a …
english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/03/2009314162724626743.html

India Expects Pakistan to Act in Mumbai Investigation
Voice of America – USA
By VOA News India says it expects Pakistan to take action in the investigation into last November’s terrorist attack in Mumbai. …
www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-14-voa17.cfm

New Steps to Stifle Protest in Pakistan
New York Times – United States
By JANE PERLEZ LAHORE, Pakistan — The civilian government asked the army to be ready to guard the route of a national protest to the capital on Sunday in …
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/world/asia/15pstan.html?hp

Pakistan government seeks to ease political crisis
The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government announced its first major concession Saturday in a monthlong political crisis, pledging to appeal a disputed court …
www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiM
xbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD96U080O0

Pakistan on alert over protests
Aljazeera.net – Qatar
Pakistan’s military has been placed on alert as the capital, Islamabad, prepares for huge protests by opposition activists and lawyers demanding the …
english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/0
3/2009314151032322882.html

Pakistan’s armed forces on alert as political crisis deepens
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
By Laura King Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan — The Pakistani government said today that it had placed the armed forces on alert amid an escalating …
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-
fg-pakistan-unrest15-2009mar15,0,2965331.story

Pakistan information minister quits amid crisis
The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s army was on standby Saturday ahead of planned opposition protests in the capital, the military said, raising the stakes in a …
www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hki
MxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD96TQK3G0

Pakistan government moves to ease political crisis
The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government will appeal a court ruling against opposition leaders in an attempt to ease the country’s deepening political crisis, …
www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hki
MxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD96TUL2G0

Pakistan says to review ban on opposition leader
Reuters – USA
Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate Taliban and al Qaeda enclaves on the Afghan border are vital to US plans to stabilize Afghanistan and defeat al Qaeda.…
www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSTRE52B02220090314

Global Voices Online “ Pakistan: Media Muzzled Again
By Rezwan
The blogger comments: “(The) future of Long March will be decided by the politicians and invisible hands that pull the strings in affairs of Pakistan.” #. There are approximately 500000 internally displaced people (IDP) in Sri Lanka who …
globalvoicesonline.org/2009/03/14/pakistan-media-muzzled-again/

MichaelMoore.com : Pakistan Taliban say 24 dead in U.S. missile …
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 13 (Reuters) – Taliban militants recovered 24 bodies and were searching for more on Friday, hours after suspected U.S. drones destroyed a camp in Pakistan’s northwestern region, militants and officials said. …
www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=13566

Pakistan: Now or Never? “ Blog Archive “ The other Pakistan: a …
By Myra MacDonald
“Turban-topped, gun-totting mountain men, stern military dictators and corrupt civilian politicians dominate the global media’s representations of Pakistan, from Washington to New Delhi best fitting the preferred image of the ‘most …
blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2009/03/14/the-other-
pakistan-a-powerful-civil-society-asserts-itself/

Pakistan needs to focus on dismantling terror groups: Think tank …
By Sindh Today
Brussels, March 14 (IANS) Dismantling Sunni extremist networks should be the core of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy in the wake of the recent upsurge of jihadi violence in the country, an international think tank has suggested.
www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/74398.htm

Pakistan govt urges talks to ease political crisis › Japan Today …
Pakistan’s president urged opposition parties Saturday to negotiate an end to the country’s political crisis while vowing to maintain law…
www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/pak
istan-govt-urges-talks-to-ease-political-crisis

US looking to retool Pakistan relationship
Washington (AFP) March 13, 2009 – Former president George W. Bush recast the US relationship with India, forging closer ties. Could President Barack Obama do the same for US policy towards its nuclear-armed rival Pakistan?
www.spacewar.com/reports/US_looking_to
_retool_Pakistan_relationship_999.html

Pakistan Continues Crackdown on Anti-Government March
Voice of America – USA
By VOA News Pakistan’s government continues to crackdown on an four-day anti-government march, even as it calls for a compromise with activists to avert a …
www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-14-voa3.cfm

Amid Pressure, Indications of Possible Pakistan Deal
New York Times – United States
By JANE PERLEZ LAHORE, Pakistan — As pressure mounted on the government to reach an accommodation with the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, politicians here …
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/world/asia/15pstan.html?ref=world

Pakistan minister quits over ban
BBC News – UK
Pakistan’s information minister has resigned in the wake of a growing clampdown by the government on protests by lawyers and opposition groups.…
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7943456.stm

Pakistan is the most dangerous place on earth: US expert | Sindh Today
By Sindh Today
Washington, March 14 (IANS) Calling Pakistan the most dangerous place on earth, Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call’s executive editor Mort Kondracke has suggested that the Obama administration should give top priority to the South Asian …
www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/74170.htm

Army takeover unlikely in Pakistan-US military chief
Reuters – USA
By Simon Cameron-Moore ISLAMABAD, March 14 (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani is unlikely to launch a military takeover to end an ongoing …
www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL457305

India worried Mumbai attacks dossiers be shelved in Pakistan
Xinhua – China
The official said that Pakistan may exploit the current situation to shelve the Mumbai terror attacks dossier and India’s latest responses to its 30…
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/14/content_11010596.htm

Pakistan minister ‘resigns’
Aljazeera.net – Qatar
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s information minister, has reportedly resigned over the government’s handling of the country’s media. …
english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/03/20093146611387715.html

US looking to retool Pakistan relationship
AFP
Could President Barack Obama do the same for US policy towards its nuclear-armed rival Pakistan? Upon taking office January 20, Obama ordered a sweeping …
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/
ALeqM5gredeJmzLzEsSBLZfnyhYT22ofNA

Pakistan leaders meet to prevent political crisis
ABC Online – Australia
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Political tension is escalating in Pakistan as thousands of demonstrators attempt to stage a march to the capital Islamabad. …
www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2516272.htm

Infidel Bloggers Alliance: The rise & rise of Pakistan’s Taliban
By Christine
Their origins lay in the western border areas of Pakistan, where thousands of Afghans, mainly Pashtuns, had fled during the decade-long jihad against the Soviet army. A whole generation of boys grew up in refugee camps in tribal areas, …
ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/03/rise-rise-of-pakistans-taliban.html

U.S. Keeping Close Eye on Pakistan, Chairman Says
GlobalSecurity.org is the leading source for reliable military news and military information, directed by John Pike.
www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/
news/2009/03/mil-090313-afps01.htm

Pakistan Protesters Vow to Reach Islamabad as 1000 Arrested
Bloomberg – USA
Zardari last month suspended the government and installed his own governor in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, which had been run by Sharif’s …
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206
01091&sid=aYrvmHW0n.f0&refer=india

US, UN to give Pakistan $148m for refugees
Daily Times – Lahore,Pakistan
Increased violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had hindered efforts to repatriate nearly two million Afghans, leading to the tentative agreement …
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%
5C03%5C14%5Cstory_14-3-2009_pg7_31