US to conquer alQaeda?

July 27^th, US officials issued a report saying that after the death of Osama bin Laden and many years of CIA efforts, the terrorist group al Qaeda is on the brink of collapse.

There is a widespread view in America that it would take but a small number of additional blows to finish the al Qaeda network off for good.

US officials admit that al Qaeda may yet rally and that their demise would not bring an end to global terrorism but al Qaeda are viewed as the US’s greatest terrorist threat and have been at the centre of their efforts for many years.

Sceptics have dismissed the report, feeling that the US under-estimate al Qaeda and say that the statement was merely a propaganda exercise intended to boost troop morale.

US officials have never-the-less heralded a turning point. Osama bin Laden was the man who charismatically continued to operate the al Qaeda network, kept the focus on attacking America, maintained a huge support base, despite being the most wanted man in the world. With his death, the US feels closer to victory than ever before.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/report-al-qaida-nearly-defeated-in-wake-of-bin-laden-s-death-20110727

Security forces 'can torture, kill, or keep you for years'

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, Pakistan’s security forces in Balochistan have been ‘disappearing’ and executing people.

The government’s ability to control the military and intelligence agencies has consequently been called into question.

The report was entitled ‘We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years’ and documented evidence of dozens of disappearances and extrajudicial executions and contained hundreds of interviews with family members.

The authorities deny any involvement or knowledge of the abductions. In all documented cases, the security forces failed to identify themselves to their victims, nor explained the basis for their arrest.

Nawab Aslam Raisani, Balochistan’s chief minister, has admitted that the intelligence services were responsible but claims he lacks the ability to hold them to account for their ‘Kill and Dump’ operations, of which hundreds have occurred; exact figures are unknown.

There are now calls for Pakistan’s government to intervene as soon as possible to put an end to these wide-spread disappearances.

The report can be read in full at the following address...

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/07/25/we-can-torture-kill-or-keep-you-years

Success for Pakistan's first female foreign minister?

Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s first female foreign minister, was sworn in last week but what will this mean for the country?

Some say she is weak and inexperienced but others think that she is right for Pakistan, and able to ‘project a softer image’ of Pakistan abroad.

This was proved by the recent Delhi talks where she and the Indian foreign minister agreed that their two countries often turbulent relationship was now ‘on the right track’.

There were no breakthroughs on the Kashmir question but both sides agreed to continue to ‘narrow their differences’. Cross border trade is to increase and travel is to be made easier. Ms Khar announced a ‘new era in bilateral cooperation’.

So far, it seems that Ms Khar has done well in her attempts to handle a very difficult relationship.

Despite this she has still received some criticism from opposition leaders, firstly for her meeting with separatists and secondly from those who feel she lacks the charisma and resolve to sort out Pakistan’s foreign policy.

Let us hope she is able to prove her critics wrong.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14222438
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14291484

Pakistani Paramilitary's Excessive Brutality

On June 10^th and unarmed man was shot at point blank range by Pakistan’s military police who casually watched him bleed to death.

The event was caught on camera by several onlookers. Sarfaraz Shah was grabbed by the police after he allegedly robbed someone. They forced him to his knees with his hands behind his back. He begged for mercy but the soldiers shot him once in his leg and once in his arm. He screamed in pain and the soldiers watched as he fell to the ground and slowly bled to death.

Pakistani civilians already lack faith in their security forces and this can only heighten the ill-feeling that exists. The security forces have been on the defensive since the US raid which killed Osama bin Laden but this recent event has triggered a new wave of local and international criticism of Pakistan’s government and human rights record.

The cameraman of Awaz TV, who shot the incident, has received anonymous death threats though the incident made the front page of many Pakistani newspapers.

Shah’s death has sparked wide spread demonstrations against the police and Pakistan’s Prime Minister has now called for an inquiry into the event.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002194/Unarmed-Sarfaraz-Shah-shot-dead-point-blank-Pakistan-military-police.html