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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Suicide blast kills 27 mourners in Lower Dir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/252963/blast-at-funeral-in-lower-dir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/252963/blast-at-funeral-in-lower-dir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 11 12:00:50 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[The explosion, detonated by a 15-year-old suicide bomber, injured 67 people in Samar Bagh area.]]>
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				<![CDATA[At least 27 people were killed and 67 injured when a suicide bomber attacked the funeral of a local man in the Samar Bagh area of the Lower Dir district on Thursday, police said.


Lower Dir District Police Officer Saleem Marwat told The Express Tribune that the blast struck as mourners were preparing to offer prayers for Bakht Sultan in the Berosheena area of Samar Bagh tehsil.

He added that at least 10 kilogrammes of explosives were packed in the suicide vest.

The blast came two days after four schoolchildren were killed in an explosion claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s attack.

Regarding the motives behind the attack, Marwat said that it was apparently neither aimed at some high profile figure nor was it target killing. “The children of Bakht Sultan are carpenters and they are poor people,” he added.

However, AFP quotes the senior police official as saying that the bomber targeted members of a state-sponsored anti-Taliban militia operating in the area. He reportedly said the bomber’s head had been retrieved from the scene and indicated that the attacker, who had hidden in the nearby fields, was in his late teens.

Local sources told The Express Tribune that Bakht Sultan was killed in a traffic accident on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway on Wednesday.

Sources quoted witnesses who said that the blast took place when the funeral prayers were in progress. A teenage boy, approximately 15-years-old, initially failed to detonate explosives strapped to his body, they added, but was successful in his second attempt.

Local senior police official Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said that more than 100 people were in attendance at the funeral.

Zahoor Khan, the owner of a medical store in Jandol, described scenes of devastation following the explosion.

“I could see pools of blood everywhere on the ground with pieces of flesh lying on the ground,” he said.

“There were mutilated bodies everywhere. People were collecting the remains of the dead in bed sheets.”

The injured were rushed to the Timergarah and Samar Bagh hospitals, where an emergency was declared. Some of those in a critical condition were moved to Peshawar for treatment.

Samar Bagh tehsil in Lower Dir district is situated close to the Pak-Afghan border.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Targeted: Bomb kills ANP leader Sher Khan in Lower Dir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251402/anp-leader-killed-in-upper-dir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/251402/anp-leader-killed-in-upper-dir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 11 05:09:59 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[A makeshift bomb exploded near the vehicle of Sher Khan, head of the ANP in Lower Dir.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Bombers assassinated a local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) on Tuesday, blowing up his vehicle in a district bordering Swat valley.


A makeshift bomb exploded near the vehicle of Sher Khan, head of the ANP in Lower Dir where a sweeping army offensive two years ago appeared to reverse a local Taliban insurgency.

“It was a targeted attack. Sher Khan died on the spot and his police guard and the driver were wounded,” Dir police chief Saleem Marwat told AFP.

Local officials confirmed details of the attack in Maidan town.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s killing but militants routinely target officials in ANP, which leads the government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In 2009, 30,000 troops went into battle against Taliban fighters.

The army declared the region back under control in July of that year and said the rebels had all been killed, captured or had fled.

The army is now trying to encourage tourists to return to Swat, once beloved by local and international holidaymakers for its stunning mountains, balmy summer climes and winter skiing.

Bombings blamed on Taliban and al Qaeda-linked networks have killed more than 4,630 people since 2007.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Border incursions: Suspicions grow about Afghan support for TTP</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/249872/border-incursions-suspicions-grow-about-afghan-support-for-ttp</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/249872/border-incursions-suspicions-grow-about-afghan-support-for-ttp#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 11 04:42:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zia.khan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Analysts say some Afghan Taliban may be aiding their Pakistani namesakes.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s military believes the fugitive leaders of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are receiving outright support from militants as well as officials in Afghanistan, where they have found a safe haven.


The suspicion comes in the wake of an upsurge in cross-border incursions in Pakistan’s border regions led mainly by TTP militants and backed by their Afghan collaborators.

“The TTP senior cadres Maulana Fazlullah, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad and Abdul Wali, aka Omar Khalid, have been receiving support from local Afghan authorities and miscreants,” the military’s chief spokesperson Major-General Athar Abbas told The Express Tribune.

Maulana Fazlullah, also known as Mullah Radio, was the chief of TTP in Swat, while Maulvi Faqir and Omar Khalid headed the group in Bajaur and Mohmand, respectively.

Military officials have gone so far to accuse the authorities in northeastern Afghanistan of being complacent in these raids – a claim vehemently denied by Afghan officials.

The military itself does not directly blame them, but analysts believe some Afghan Taliban may be aiding their Pakistani namesakes, with or without approval from the group’s top hierarchy.

Hundreds of TTP insurgents had fled the military operations in the tribal regions of Bajaur, Mohmand and Malakand Division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to find a safe haven in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan.

The exact number of TTP militants in Afghanistan is not known but Maj-Gen Abbas said that 200 to 300 militants have been mounting cross-border attacks in Dir and Chitral districts, suggesting they have a massive presence there.

“Militants from Bajaur and Mohmand are mostly based in Nuristan where they are hosted by an Afghan militant group, led by Qari Ziaur Rehman – a leader of the Salfi Taliban who are thought to be the closest ally of al Qaeda,” a senior military official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.

Salfi Islam is the bedrock of al Qaeda’s ideology, which is also followed by the Taliban controlling Kunar and Nuristan. This ideological convergence brought the two closer to each other.

Qari Zia is believed to be once a close confidante of Osama bin Laden and hosted him once after his epic escape from the Tora Bora mountains in 2001.

Peshawar-based security analyst Brigadier (retd) Muhamaad Saad believes the Taliban are not a monolithic entity. “They can be divided into three broad categories: Kandahari Taliban, led by Mullah Omar; Pakti Taliban, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani; and Salfi Taliban,” he said. “It’s the Salfi Taliban who pose a real threat to Pakistan. They may not be obeying the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar.” But the Afghan Taliban deny any schisms in the movement. “All mujahideen are united under the leadership of Mullah Omar,” Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told The Express Tribune by phone from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.

A respected cleric who runs an Islamic seminary in Shekandai, a village on the border between Chitral and Nuristan, endorses Mujahid’s claim. “There is no evidence of Qari Zia’s group defying the authority of Mullah Omar,” said Maulana Jamal Abdul Nasir.

Two years ago, the Nuristan Taliban had kidnapped a Greek professor from Chitral. And they had offered to free him in return for the release of three Afghan commanders – Ustad Yasir, the second-in-command of the 1980s jihadi leader Abdul Rasool Sayyaf, Maulana Rehmatuddin Nuristani, a local commander from Nuristan and Maulvi Abdullah Akhund from Kandahar.

“This shows there are no differences between the Salfi Taliban and those led by Mullah Omar,” said Maulana Nasir. The Afghan Taliban do not interfere in the affairs of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries.  “No member of Taliban can go against the movement’s policy,” Mujahid said – blaming the TTP for all cross-border incursions. He also denied Qari Zia’s group was sheltering the TTP militants.

The governor of Nuristan province also appears to be exonerating the Afghan Taliban. “The Afghan Taliban have never carried out cross-border attacks in Pakistan,” Tameem Nuristani told The Express Tribune by phone from his home.

He also put the blame squarely on the TTP. “Look, they (Pakistani Taliban) have killed hundreds of people in bomb and suicide attacks across Pakistan, they’re Pakistan’s enemy,” he added. Nuristani, however, conceded that the TTP militants have found ‘safe havens’ in Kunar and Nuristan. Asked why the Afghan authorities do not move against them, Nuristani said, “Like Waziristan, we, too, have areas where the government’s writ does not exist.”

Scores of Pakistani military and paramilitary troops and policemen have been killed in cross-border raids by militants in Dir and Chitral districts. Last month, dozens of people were killed in militant attacks on security check posts in Chitral. And earlier this month, dozens of young men from Bajaur Agency were seized by TTP while they strayed across the border in Nuristan during an outing.

What is Pakistan doing to stop such raids? 

“In Dir (Upper and Lower) extra troops have been deployed to man the border region. And in Chitral, new check posts are being set up at a bridge connecting the region with Afghanistan. We are sending huge reinforcements there,” said Maj-Gen Abbas.

The unnamed senior military official said the military was also encouraging formation of village defence committees in Chitral on the pattern of Amn committees (qaumi lashkars) in the tribal regions. But he conceded that local residents were unwilling to join, fearing reprisals from the militants.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Cross-border attack: Taliban militants kill 32 security personnel</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241008/cross-border-attack-28-dead-as-ttp-men-attack-border-posts</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241008/cross-border-attack-28-dead-as-ttp-men-attack-border-posts#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 07:00:19 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[manzoor.ali]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistani Taliban fighters mounted pre-dawn raids on paramilitary posts in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa .]]>
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				<![CDATA[The death toll from the cross-border attack on checkposts in Chitral climbed to 32 on Sunday, as six more bodies of Chitral scouts were recovered.

Exchange of firing between Taliban militants and security forces has been intermittent.

The attack in the Arandu tehsil of Chitral started at around 4am on Saturday, and the fighting continued throughout the day.

Updated from print edition (below)

28 dead as TTP men attack border posts

Hundreds of Pakistani Taliban fighters mounted pre-dawn raids on paramilitary posts in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday after crossing over from their sanctuary in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said.


At least 28 security personnel were killed in the attack, according to District Coordination Officer (DCO) Rehmatullah Wazir.

Several militant leaders from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including Maulana Fazlullah and Maulvi Faqir who led the group in Swat and Bajaur, respectively, fled to Afghanistan in the face of army offensives and regrouped with the help of allies to threaten Pakistan’s border regions.

These militants have set up a base in the Sawoo Khwar area, in Damghan district of the Afghan province of Kunar, an intelligence official told The Express Tribune by phone from Dir district.

“Saturday’s attack was organised by Maulana Fazlullah, Maulvi Faqir and their lieutenants Miftakhudin, alias Shabar and Hafizullah, alias Kochwan,” the official said. The TTP’s Malakand chapter has claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the BBC. The group’s spokesperson Sirajuddin claimed that 70 soldiers were killed in the attack and another seven were seized by the militants.

“The attack was planned in the Barikot village in Kunar province. Over 200 Pakistani fugitive militants, aided by 100 local Afghans crossed over into the Arnavi area of Chitral district around 4am. They had around a dozen horses loaded with arms and ammunition,” the official said.

According to local sources, the outposts of Ursun and Mir Khani were targeted in the limits of Drosh police station and Gudibar, Drashot, Langurbut, Kavti and Akori posts in the limits of the Arandu police station. They added that two personnel of Chitral Scouts – Nazir and Tariq Jala – were missing from Langurbut post after the attack.

“The security personnel defended the posts by engaging the attackers and reportedly 20 terrorists were killed,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

But the intelligence official told The Express Tribune that 10 militants were killed. The fleeing militants took away the bodies of eight of their fallen comrades, while two bodies were taken into custody by the security forces.

The military statement also confirmed that 25 troops – 16 personnel of the paramilitary Chitral Scouts, four policemen and five Levies, or Chitral Border Force – were also killed in the attack. However, Chitral’s DCO Rehmatullah Wazir put the death toll at 28 dead and seven injured. A local source told The Express Tribune that the death toll could be higher because there was no word about 40 troops at the remote Akori post. However, there was no official confirmation of that.

The attack in the Arandu tehsil of Chitral started at around 4am, and the fighting continued throughout the day. A security official in Peshawar said the fighting has stopped, but the security forces are still combing the area for the militants. They have also dynamited two bridges to thwart possible militant movement in the cover of the darkness.

Nato troops, Afghan army faulted

The statement accused the US-led Nato troops and the Afghan National Army (ANA) of not acting on its intelligence against militants, who are launching cross-border raids into Pakistan territory from the Afghan side.

“Due to scanty presence of Nato and ANA forces along the Pak-Afghan border, the terrorists are using these areas as safe havens and have mounted repeated attacks against security forces posts and isolated villages of Pakistan,” the statement said.

Since their expulsion from Swat, Dir and Bajaur, “the terrorists have organised themselves in Kunar and Nuristan provinces with the support of local Afghan authorities,” it said.

When approached, Ghulab Majnoon, a senior official at Afghan embassy in Islamabad, refused to comment saying he was not authorised to speak on the matter while the ambassador was present in the mission. However, the ambassador could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

The governor of Nuristan province denied any official support network for TTP in his province. “These are Pakistani Taliban who have been mounting cross-border attacks in Pakistani border villages,” Tameem Nuristani told The Express Tribune by phone from Nuristan. He pointed out that around a month ago the Pakistani Taliban had colluded with the Afghan Taliban and attacked Afghan police, killing around 35 people.

Demarche issued

The Afghan charge d’affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office and a protest was lodged over the ‘attacks from Kunar and Nuristan against seven Pakistani check posts in Chitral. “The Afghan charge d’affaires was conveyed the imperative of establishing peace and tranquillity in the border region and effectively dealing with terrorists,” said a statement issued from the Foreign Office.

Musa Arifi assured Pakistan that his country would investigate the attack. “The Afghan deputy ambassador conveyed condolences to the Pakistani government over the losses of lives and assured investigation into the incident,” an Afghan embassy official told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity. The Afghan embassy has informed the Afghan foreign ministry about Islamabad’s protest which will come out with a formal reply.

The frequency of incursions by Taliban has increased over the past few months as militants from the Afghan side launched brazen attacks in Upper and Lower Dir districts, and Bajaur and Mohmand tribal agencies.

(With additional input by Tahir Khan in Islamabad)

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>‘Resurgence in terrorist attacks after a two-week lull’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/216259/resurgence-in-terrorist-attacks-after-a-two-week-lull</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/216259/resurgence-in-terrorist-attacks-after-a-two-week-lull#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 24 Jul 11 04:52:40 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[umer.nangiana]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[A report says most of the casualties were because of cross-border attacks.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[At least 22 people were killed and 64 injured in terrorist attacks in cross-border militant attacks on security check posts and villages along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, according to a weekly report compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (Pips).


The report, which was issued on Saturday, said that the number of attacks on security forces across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) registered a drastic increase during the week ending on July 10.

The report showed that militant attacks spiked during the previous week after a relative lull in the preceding two weeks.

Attacks on security forces across the province’s settled and tribal areas started in the end of the second week of June in which 41 deaths occurred. As many as 120 people were injured in these incidents.

However, the attacks intensified again after a gap of two weeks, resulting in 48 deaths and 150 injuries.

The report also showed that the overall rate of deaths during the reporting week remained high, mainly because of security forces’ retaliatory attacks against militants and drone strikes and clashes between extremists and pro-government tribal militias (lashkars).

The increase in casualties, the report said, was also because a larger number of security personnel got injured in these terrorist attacks, mainly in cross-border attacks and ambushes on check posts and patrol convoys.

The number of civilian casualties, it said, were also higher because of firefights between militants and security personnel. “Militants suffered most casualties,” the report added.

As many as 11 security personnel, including two policemen, five Frontier Constabulary (FC) men and four army soldiers, were killed and 50 others were wounded in terrorist attacks.

Interestingly, no attack was reported on Afghanistan-bound Nato supply trucks and oil tankers.

There were, however, reports of fresh clashes between Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and tribal volunteers of Zakhakhel militia in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.

An anti-militant operation named Barekhna (lightening) continued in Orakzai Agency amid volatile security situation. “After the initiation of a military operation Spin Gher in central Kurram Agency, security forces cleared several localities of Manato, Gawki, Sangroba and Dombeki in the Zaimusht area without facing any resistance,” the report said.

In K-P as many as eight attacks occurred which left seven people dead, including five civilians and two policemen. At least 23 others were injured.

Most of these attacks took place in Peshawar, Darra Adamkhel and Upper Dir districts. Whereas 15 attacks occurred in Fata in which 15 people were killed, including nine civilians, four army and two FC soldiers. Forty-one people were injured in the attacks.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Pak-Afghan border: ‘Additional troops to be deployed’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/210834/pak-afghan-border-%e2%80%98additional-troops-to-be-deployed%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/210834/pak-afghan-border-%e2%80%98additional-troops-to-be-deployed%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jul 11 05:21:12 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[islamuddin.sajid]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Elders of the area asked army officials take stern action against militants: sources.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Plans to deploy additional contingents of troops along the Pak-Afghan border have been finalised, army officials told a grand jirga in Upper Dir district.


The jirga was held in the Barawal Bandi area of Dir on Friday.

Operations Commander Lower and Upper Dir Brigadier Nadeem Mirza, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly member Anwar Khan, former provincial minister Inayatullah Khan, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Dir Ghulam Muhammad, District Police Officer (DPO) Mir Qasim Khan and elders belonging to different areas of Barawal tehsil were present during the meeting.

According to sources, elders of the area expressed concern over the volatile situation around the border and asked the army officials to take stern action against the militants to put an end to cross-border infiltration.

“The jirga decided to provide every possible support to security forces deployed around the border areas and we also told army officials that our peace committee members would also take part in routine patrol if the forces required,” said Khan, adding that they had requested to establish a security check post on the Pak-Afghan border.

Brigadier Mirza welcomed the support offered by the jirga and said that security forces would establish check posts around different parts of Nusrat Darra, Shengara Darra, Suni Darra and areas of Barwal tehsil.

“We need local support to secure the border. Without their support, we cannot achieve our target,” Mirza said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ali Khan, a local elder, said that the government should arrange a joint jirga of the elders living across the border.

“I think a joint jirga is a better solution to stop the incursion because we will request the Afghan elders to ask the militants to leave their areas and I hope they will help us,” Khan said.

DCO Upper Dir Ghulam Muhammad said the jirga was very successful and the elders assured their full support, adding that the security had been tightened after fresh contingents were deployed in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Control established: Eleven killed in Upper Dir army action</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/207150/control-established-eleven-killed-in-upper-dir-army-action</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/207150/control-established-eleven-killed-in-upper-dir-army-action#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 11 04:09:15 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[At least 11 more extremists were killed in action against terrorists by Pakistan Army.]]>
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				<![CDATA[At least 11 more extremists were killed in action on Sun­day against terrorists by Pakistan Army near Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Upper Dir. According to Sana news agency, a total of 30 extremists have been killed over the past two days.


According to a correspondent of The Express Tribune, security forces have established complete control over Soni Darra, Nusrat Darra and Kafira Chinna areas in Upper Dir.

Meanwhile, people living near the border areas continued shifting to safer areas.

DCO Upper Dir Ghulam Muhammad has said that the situation in Upper Dir is under control and people are not immigrating.

The local operational commander said that militants were still trying to intrude from the other side of the border. However, security forces and the people of Nusrat Dara were alert. He said that the border areas would be cleared in 10 or 15 days.

According to NNI five persons, including a man and his son, after miltants shot at a passanger vehicle in the Paya area near Joaki in FR Kohat.

An Express Tribune report from Khyber Agency said that one person was killed and three injured in a hand-grenade attack and firing incident.

Meanwhile, 21 kilograms of explosive material was found near the Pabbi area from a suspected motorcyclist coming from Darra Adam Khel.

The report also said that militants killed a 35-year old man, while a young man was killed during a brawl involving women.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The 2014 endgame</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/206772/the-2014-endgame</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/206772/the-2014-endgame#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jul 11 19:16:50 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[sabina.khan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Has terrorism been eradicated? As the 2014 troop withdrawal deadline nears, such questions deserve consideration.]]>
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				<![CDATA[US President George W Bush had said right after 9/11 that God had told him to invade Afghanistan. Ironically, this righteous claim sounds similar to the ones made by terrorists under the pretence of jihad. After ten years of war to install a democratic government and free the men and women in the conflict ridden country, what has actually been accomplished in Afghanistan? Is the world a safer place now that the US is preparing to withdraw their forces? Has terrorism been eradicated? As the 2014 troop withdrawal deadline nears, these questions deserve consideration.

In response to the 9/11 attacks, Bush called for an invasion of Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda’s sanctuary. Long-term objectives of the effort comprised establishing a democracy and eliminating circumstances which led to terrorism. Being unable to convince the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden, the US strategy evolved to include killing and capturing their leaders, Mullah Omar being high on that list. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency picked up and the death toll began to increase. Opium production flourished during this period as there were few other sources of income.

When US President Barack Obama took power in 2008, he shifted the focus back to Afghanistan and redefined the objectives. In 2009, he deployed an additional 30,000 troops and stated that his goal in Afghanistan was to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda”. In 2009, Defence Secretary Robert Gates stated that “at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power… and turning Afghanistan potentially again into a haven for al Qaeda and other extremists”.

In his recent speech, Obama announced that 33,000 troops are being withdrawn by the summer of 2012 and that transition of power to Afghan security forces will be complete by 2014. Currently, Afghanistan’s newly-formed military consists of 150,000 soldiers but their ranks are scheduled to swell up to 260,000 in time for the 2014 deadline. Despite Nato’s efforts to train Afghan soldiers to read and write at the third grade level, almost 90 per cent of the recruits in the Afghan military are illiterate. High levels of desertion and infiltration also plague the Afghan security forces, which adds another aspect of uncertainty with the transition of power. Moreover, several insurgent groups remain firmly established in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, which border Pakistan’s tribal areas. Consequently, cross-border incidents have risen between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Several hundred militants crossed into Pakistan and conducted attacks in Upper Dir, Bajaur and Mohmand. In retaliation, Pakistan fired rockets on the border to target militants crossing over. Needless to say, relations between the two neighbours are troublesome.

This September marks ten years since the atrocious events of 9/11. Bin Laden is dead but al Qaeda remains very much alive. Conflict has spilled into Pakistan with death and destruction becoming a daily part of life. Meanwhile, the US has come full-circle and is now negotiating with the Taliban and preparing to allow them back into the official government. A recent and well-timed UN resolution draws distinction between al Qaeda and the Taliban. The pretext being that the Taliban only focus on conducting attacks in their own country unlike al Qaeda who carries out attacks worldwide. Thus, the Taliban have been removed from the UN sanctions list in order to help the US with their reconciliation efforts. These games do little to conceal the fact that the Afghan government is corrupt and poor. On top of that, their security forces can switch sides at any moment if enticed with money or threats. Despite the US government’s desire to keep Pakistan separate from their negotiations with the Taliban, it is time to face reality, the situation along the porous border remains and will continue to be a challenge for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hence, a comprehensive regional solution is required for long-term peace instead of a rushed secret backdoor deal which will certainly be short-lived. Our neighbour has been in a state of continuous conflict since the late 1970s. The ultimate resolution involves education and economic development, which entails long-term dedication and commitment from interested parties that are directly affected by the war in Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan in the Great Game</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/206707/pakistan-in-the-great-game</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/206707/pakistan-in-the-great-game#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jul 11 18:01:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[tanvir.ahmad.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=206707</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The present government has to restore national purpose and pride or make room for others who may be able to do it.]]>
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				<![CDATA[In a recent article published in this newspaper, I had argued that Pakistan needs to develop a coherent and viable policy for the contingency that since the war is receding in Afghanistan, it may find its new axis in Pakistan. A few days later, the new CIA chief publicly stated that that the axis of military operations would be shifted from the south to the east in Afghanistan. This would be the territory adjacent to Pakistan, except further east in the Kunar province from where the coalition has already notably withdrawn, a situation that has led to fierce attacks by sizeable forces of insurgents on Bajaur and Dir from across the Afghan border. There is a sense of alarm that the latest version of US President Barack Obama’s policy may push Pakistan into the eye of the storm. In opinion pieces written with the worst-case scenario in mind, there are implicit allegations that recent developments constitute the latest phase in a sustained policy of the US to cut Pakistan to size, especially in the nuclear field.

There is, however, another angle from which the evolving situation can be viewed, perhaps with less trepidation. The starting point has to be that the drawdown of American forces does not mean the abandonment of Washington’s vital interests in the huge swath of land that includes Central Asia, Afghanistan and South Asia. Secondly, notwithstanding the current strains in the Pakistan-US relationship, Pakistan will, in the months and years ahead, remain a major concern of American policymakers. In the article mentioned above, I had said that Pakistan ran like a subtext in President Obama’s latest address. There has been ample reiteration of this fact for the simple reason that the new American strategy to safeguard its interests in the region at a much lower cost in blood and treasure would remain dependent upon Islamabad remaining a loyal and compliant ally. So the present delicate situation is more a consequence of Pakistan’s failure to reach an accord with the US on assisting Washington to pursue its political and economic agenda in this part of the world without sacrificing Pakistan’s core interests.

After a frustrating decade in Afghanistan, the US is virtually giving up on nation-building and returning to counterterrorism. The fundamental interests that will be pursued with undiminished zeal would be the survival of a regime, which may include elements from the Taliban that accept decisive American influence. A new factor for this power assertion is the need to control the mining of copper, iron, lithium and other minerals and the denial of the same to others, especially China. This is additional to the unique geopolitical location of the country, which would be defended by an effective American military force stationed in it under a treaty, and an Afghan army totally disproportionate to the country’s economic resources at present. Washington also will not forego the leverage that its military presence in Afghanistan gave it to shape the policies of the Central Asian states rich in fossil fuels and rare Earth elements. Then there is the question of keeping Iran surrounded by states that remain sensitive to American policy. Above all, there is the overriding question of fitting Pakistan into a new South Asian paradigm. The most substantive challenge to American dominance of the global economy has come from Asia. It is of utmost importance to the United States that India continues to remain within the orbit of its influence and that the India-Pakistan contention does not detract from it.

Washington would also not give up the pressure for the transformation of Pakistani state and society, though it has only a limited interest in its historical context or its present complexity. A more robust Pakistani government enjoying mass support would have succeeded in making the United States appreciate its own dilemma. A new report by the Centre for a New American Security describes Pakistan as a “differentiated” polity, requiring a differentiated American policy. WikiLeaks alone will explain why American analysts reach this disturbing conclusion. The present government in Pakistan has to restore national purpose and pride or make room for others who may be able to do it.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Incursions continue: Another cross-border attack repelled in Dir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/205364/incursions-continue-another-cross-border-attack-repelled-in-dir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/205364/incursions-continue-another-cross-border-attack-repelled-in-dir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 09 Jul 11 04:57:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[islamuddin.sajid]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=205364</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Militants managed to kidnap two locals, and now demand return of bodies of slain comrades.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Security forces on Friday repelled militants that had crossed over from Afghanistan into the Shengara Darra area of Upper Dir District, officials said.


The militants were trying to target Shengara Darra area which is located near Nusrat Darra which was attacked by militants on Wednesday morning. At least 30 militants crossed the border at around 10:00am on Friday and tried to target a local village but were deterred by security forces, a local resident Ahmad Khan told The Express Tribune via phone. He said the local community too has already organised a lashkar (peace committee) to protect the area which has seen repeated raids by militants from across the border.

Paramilitary forces and police personnel were deployed in the area after Wednesday’s attack, Sher Bahadar, a local police officer, said. “The militants are trying to spread fear and destabilise the peace of the Barawal area, which remained stable during the militancy and military operation in Malakand Division,” Bahadar added.

Meanwhile, sources said that two locals were kidnapped by militants on Friday from Shateez village in Nusrat Darra. “The militants took the victims across the border and are now demanding that bodies of their comrades - who were killed in Wednesday’s clashes between local lashkars and militants - be returned to them, Malak Zafar, deputy chief Shaltalu told The Express Tribune. “We will not surrender before the terrorists because we are fighting for a great cause which is the protection of our country, and a better future for our children. The terrorists are fighting in the name of Islam but killing innocent Muslims,” Zafar said.

He said that local lashkars are monitoring the border areas since the June 1 attack on Shaltalo and Sunni Darra, and now they are ready to fight every insurgent who crosses the border. Local elders have also decided to convene a Jirga in the next couple of days to formulate a strategy on how to counter these militants from across the border, Zafar said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Cross-border attack: 2 senior Taliban commanders killed in Upper Dir</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204502/cross-border-attack-2-senior-taliban-commanders-killed-in-upper-dir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204502/cross-border-attack-2-senior-taliban-commanders-killed-in-upper-dir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jul 11 09:55:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[iftikhar.firdous]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=204502</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The commanders were killed during clashes when more than 100 militants from Afghanistan attacked areas in Upper Dir.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Two senior Afghan militant commanders were killed during clashes with security forces in Upper Dir, officials said on Thursday.

The two commanders, who were identified as Abu Musa and Omar Tariq, were killed during clashes when more than 100 militants from Afghanistan attacked the village of Kharaa in Nusrat Darra area of Upper Dir on Wednesday.

The body of Abu Musa was recovered and shifted to FC headquarters.

The attack took place early Wednesday morning with at least a hundred militants moving in from Afghanistan, said an official from Peshawar.

At least twelve militants were killed, while three were apprehended in the operation against the Afghan militants in the Upper Dir area.

FO expresses concern

Pakistan has expressed concern over Afghan-based militants launching cross-border raids into Pakistan.

Spokesperson for the Foreign Office Tehmina Janjua says ISAF has been  asked to convene immediate meetings between regional commanders to diffuse the  situation created by militants.]]>
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			<title>Cross-border attacks: Gilani rings up Karzai over latest Dir attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204010/telephone-pakistan-army-exhibiting-utmost-restraint-gilani-tells-karzai</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204010/telephone-pakistan-army-exhibiting-utmost-restraint-gilani-tells-karzai#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jul 11 03:22:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=204010</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Gilani asks ISAF to convene an immediate meeting between regional commanders.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul flared up on Wednesday after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani expressed ‘serious concerns’ over cross-border raids carried out by militants from Afghanistan into Pakistani territory, and called for a swift end to such raids.


As hundreds of militants from Afghanistan launched fresh attacks in Upper Dir, Premier Gilani telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss the situation.

“The prime minister expressed Pakistan’s serious concern over the activities of the militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, especially in Dir, Bajaur, Mohmand (tribal agencies) on the Pakistan side and Kunar (province) on the Afghan side,” said an official handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Gilani told Karzai that Pakistan Army was exercising utmost restraint, despite  repeated cross-border incursions by Afghan militants into Pakistan.

The situation, he said, needed to be defused quickly.

Pakistan has requested International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to convene an immediate meeting for border coordination between regional commanders, the prime minister added.

He also requested the Afghan president to ask Isaf and Afghan military commanders to join Pakistan’s efforts to defuse the situation created by the militants and to avoid any further loss of life of innocent persons on both sides. The statement said President Karzai expressed serious concern over the situation and expressed readiness to send Isaf and Afghan commanders for a meeting to defuse the situation.

He said both countries should constantly remain in touch and jointly frustrate the evil designs of the militants.

“It is a trap of the militants, which can be thwarted through close coordination and understanding,” the Afghan President insisted.

This week, Pakistan and Afghanistan decided to establish a ‘military hotline’ to end border hostilities.

However, border incursions continued unabated and the latest militant attack from Afghanistan is reported to have killed at least five people in Upper Dir.

Pakistan says at least 55 members of the security forces and tribal police have been killed in cross-border raids by the militants from Afghanistan over the past month. Afghan officials, on the other hand, have complained that Pakistan has launched hundreds of rockets into eastern Afghanistan since May, killing at least 40 people.

Dir attacks

Several hundred militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan on Wednesday and attacked several border villages, triggering fierce gun battles with local militias in which at least two people were reported killed, officials said.

This is the latest spate of such cross-border attacks, which have raised tensions between Kabul and Islamabad and undermined efforts on both sides to crack down on extremist elements in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Paramilitary troops and police were dispatched to the villages under attack in upper Dir district to help armed tribesmen there who are trying to fend off the insurgents, local police official Gul Fazal Khan said.

Security forces killed three militants and captured three others during the skirmishes, said Ghulam Mohammed, a top government official in upper Dir. Two members of a local militia fighting the militants were killed and two others wounded, he added.

Hundreds of militants staged a similar cross-border attack against villages in upper Dir on June 1, sparking off three days of fighting in which at least 25 soldiers and three civilians were killed, according to local officials.

Pakistan has pressed Afghanistan to do more to control extremists on its side of the border and prevent insurgents from crossing the border. It also blames the US for the recent attacks after American forces pulled out of Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province over the past year to focus on other areas.

Pakistan Army denies it intentionally fired rockets into Afghanistan, but acknowledges that several rounds fired at militants conducting cross-border attacks may have landed over the border. Agencies

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Operation in Kurram: Thousands flee on whatever they can find</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204044/operation-in-kurram-thousands-flee-on-whatever-they-can-find</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/204044/operation-in-kurram-thousands-flee-on-whatever-they-can-find#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jul 11 01:02:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[irin.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=204044</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[With roads already blocked, people are seeking refuge from violence in the region.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The latest Pakistan army offensive against militants in Kurram Agency has sent thousands of people fleeing on trucks, vans, tractors and other vehicles, while aid agencies are trying to map out a response.


“The operation has been launched to clear the area of terrorists involved in kidnapping and killing of local people, suicide attacks and blocking the road that connects Lower Kurram with Upper Kurram,” Inter-Services Public Relations Director Major General Athar Abbas said on Tuesday.

Civilians were forced to flee conflict-hit areas along the tribal belt made up of seven agencies along the Pak-Afghan border after the operation began on July 3. “I am waiting for news of my parents, grandparents and four siblings,” Faheem Ali, who works as a pharmacist, told IRIN in Peshawar.

“They set out from our home in central Kurram on Monday and are trying to join me here in Peshawar,” he added, saying he had failed to establish contact with them for over 14 hours and could only hope they “get here safely given the heavy firing that is taking place”.

“There is likely to be a displacement of at least 4,000 families and possibly double that number due to this latest fighting,” said Arshad Khan, head of Disaster Management Authority (DMA) in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He added that already 1,000 families - around 7,000 individuals - had been displaced since the operation started.

Aid agencies said they were preparing to help the newly displaced.

“We are working closely with the DMA in Fata and government authorities there, as we are not on the ground in Kurram,” said UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Duniya Aslam Khan.

She said people displaced from Kurram were being accommodated at Durrani Camp, a former Afghan refugee camp, in Sadda town in Lower Kurram.

Following a request from the DMA, the UNHCR has so far provided 700 tents and other non-food items for those displaced in Kurram.

According to the DMA, 250 families have reached the camp, while others have moved in with relatives in various parts of Kurram or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The fresh displacements add to the 34,785 already displaced from Kurram, according to official statistics.

Situation ‘grim’

“The situation in Kurram is looking grim. We have conducted a meeting to determine how to help them,” Riaz Khan, a medical student who also works with a volunteer student group to help the displaced, told IRIN. He said a campaign to “collect funds and food item donations” would be launched.

Other NGOs cite lack of access to conflict-hit areas as a key problem, preventing them from helping people. This means that most welfare activities are being carried out, for now, by local authorities. “We have arranged food and non-food items for the displaced,” said Sahibzada Muhammad Anees, who heads the local administration in Kurram.

“There is real fear in Kurram, because the road linking the agency to Peshawar has been closed for many months due to fighting, it is not easy to leave. People feel trapped, and therefore even more scared,” Kareem Abassi, 37, told IRIN. Abassi left Kurram with his family of five a week ago, as rumours of a military operation spread.

“Thousands of others are preparing to do the same,” he added. “I am glad I am out with my children and wife.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Upper Dir attack: 12 militants killed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/203607/hundreds-of-militants-attack-village-in-upper-dir</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/203607/hundreds-of-militants-attack-village-in-upper-dir#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jul 11 10:31:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[iftikhar.firdous]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=203607</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Hundreds of militants moved in from Afghanistan and are fighting with ground troops, say officials.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[At least twelve militants were killed, while three have been apprehended in the ongoing operation against the Afghan militants in the Upper Dir area. Sources said the militants are firing missiles into the Bin Shahi area.

More than 100 militants from Afghanistan attacked the village of Kharaa in Nusrat Darra area of Upper Dir on Wednesday, said officials.

Two members of the local peacekeeping committee were also killed, while five were injured, according to official sources.

The attack took place early in the morning with at least a hundred militants moving in from Afghanistan, said an official from Peshawar.

The militants torched down a school and are engaged in a battle with ground troops and gunship helicopters, said another official.

Local sources said that one member of local peace-keeping committee was killed during the exchange of fire.

Militants also destroyed three schools in areas of Nusrat, Soro and Shahteer villages respectively of Upper Dir.

"According to reports from the two villages, between 550-600 militants launched the attack at around 5 in the morning and the fighting continued for several hours," police official Abdul Sattar told Reuters.

Earlier, 27 security personnel and three civilians were killed when militants rampaged a security checkpost in the village of Shaltalou in the same area in Upper Dir on June 1.

There have been five major attacks from Afghanistan in the last month, with up to 250 to 300 militants reportedly crossing over and attacking posts in Dir Mohmand and Bajaur.

Afghanistan has also alleged that Pakistan has fired over 400 rockets over the border during the last month. Pakistan rejects these allegations, saying only that “a few accidental rounds” may have crossed the border when it pursued militants who had attacked its security forces.]]>
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