UP Ibalon Bicol: Pakistan

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Another deadly bomb blast in Peshawar kills about 100

10/28/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

As Sec. of State Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan, a car bomb blew in the city of Peshawar killing almost 100 people and wounding about 200 innocent victims in a busy market. Plumes of smoke, broken concrete. and scattered rubble were observed in the crime scene.

The car explosion was part of the step-up offensive by Taliban insurgents against Pakistani forces as the latter continued their attacks in South Waziristan, a border community near Afghanistan where Taliban fighters had taken foothold.

"I want you to know this fight is not Pakistan's alone," Clinton said. "These extremists are committed to destroying what is dear to us as much as they are committed to destroying that which is dear to you and to all people. So this is our struggle as well."--- AP/ Yahoo.news.com (10/28/09, Khan, R.)

In October, three bombs blasted as part of the deplorable attacks across the country claiming the lives of about 250 people. The focus of the attacks by Islamic militants had been the military forces charged with security and innocent civilians who had been caught negotiating their daily lives in public places of a chaotic country.

Notorious fanatical killers aim to lessen the people’s resolve to fight lawlessness and lessen government support from the people. (Photo Credits: Reuters/ Yahoon.news.com/ Asis, F.) =0=

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Labels: bombing, explosion, killings, Pakistan, Peshawar, suicide bombing, terrorism, Totie Mesia

Suicide bomber kills 16 military recruits in Swat Valley

8/31/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

A suicide bomber who trespassed a training compound for military recruits blew himself, killing 16 would-be police officers in Swat region of Pakistan. The bloody attack which wounded an undetermined number of trainees came three days after 27 security men died in another attack in the country’s Khyber region.

The violence in unstable Mingora, Swat’s major village may be an attempt of Taliban militants to reclaim the area they control after their stronghold of three years was disrupted by military forces early in May 2009.

It was estimated 1,800 Islamic rebels and suicide bombers died during the offensive. A million civilians escaped the area, but returned when some measure of stability was achieved by the anti-Taliban forces.

Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack, vowing to continue the fight against the Taliban insurgents who caused the senseless deaths of about 3,000 people in the last two years. (Photo Credit: Nizam Khan) =0=

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Labels: explosion, Islamic militants, killings, militant, military, Pakistan, suicide, suicide bombing, Swat Valley, Taliban, Totie Mesia

Militants bombed luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan

6/10/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

The bombing that killed about 50 people last year in Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was reminiscent of the recent carnage in Pearl Continental Hotel a plush and popular hotel, the hang-out of foreigners and well-to-do Pakistanis.

Using a truck carrying deadly explosives, the suicide bombers brought down portion of the luxury hotel into rubble and caused a huge crater on the parking lot. The destruction claimed the lives of at least 11 people, injuring about 70 others, at least 9 individuals in critical condition. Several foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

“The violence was the latest in a string of powerful bomb attacks and ambushes in Pakistan's major cities while the country continues to wage an offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley and surrounding regions. Pakistani authorities have characterized the attacks as retaliation by the Taliban for major gains made by Pakistani troops against militants since the military operation began in late April.” The Chicago Tribune/ LA Times (06/09/09 Zulfiqar Ali, Alex Rodriguez)

“U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the "heinous terrorist attack" in "the strongest possible terms," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at U.N. headquarters in New York.”-----The Huffington Post / AP (06/09/09 Khan, Riaz)

The gunmen with their explosives barged into security at about 10 PM on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 as nightlife started in Peshawar, Pakistan’s largest Northeast city with a population of 2.2 million. The chaos that followed brought extensive loss of property, injuries, and senseless deaths.

The attack by terrorists was linked to the threats made public by the Al Qaeda-linked Taliban fighters who sought revenge against the bloody campaign they face against Pakistani security forces in Swat valley, a location close to the cities of Peshawar and Islamabad.

For the past weeks, about 15,000 Pakistani troops battled 7,000 Taliban Islamic militants prompting thousands of civilians to flee as the number of the dead mounted. A militia composed of civilians had been formed to kick out the Talibans in the area. (Photo credits: AFP Graphics; Reuters/ Ali Imam) =0=

Perseveranda So, a Filipina among the casualties in the Peshawar bombing

The 52-year-old Filipina Unicef worker devoted to education was unlucky to have been killed during the explosion that damaged the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Before her death, So, a dedicated Unicef Chief of Education helped in large measure the schooling of Filipinos through a program called Child Friendly School System. Her demise was announced by authorities of Unicef where she worked since 1994. =0=

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Labels: Al Qaeda, Islamabad, Islamic militants, killings, militant, military, mortality, Pakistan, Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar, suicide bombing, Swat Valley, Taliban, terrorism, Totie Mesia

1.4 million civilians trapped as fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban continues

5/19/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

As a result of the fighting between Pakistani military forces and the Taliban, the United Nations has reported an estimated 1.4 million refugees have been driven from their homes this month in Swat valley in the Northwest region of the country. This adds up to about 2 million people displaced since August 2008. It is believed that many civilians have been trapped in Mingora, a terrorist haven which is about 80 miles from the capital city of Islamabad.

The United Nations expects a rapidly changing humanitarian crisis lasting for months as the Pakistani government pursues its campaign against Taliban militants. An appeal for international aid is expected to be raised by the UN as the crisis grows worse---probably as bad as the emergency experienced by Rwandans in the 1994 African genocide,.

The Pakistani offensive has broad support from the people. United States is heavily invested in having the Zadari government prevail over the Taliban in part because of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal which may fall on the wrong hands. (Photo Credit: Stefabua Zamparelli) =0=

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Labels: government, Islamabad, nuclear weapons, Pakistan, refugees, Taliban, Totie Mesia, United Nations, war

More Taliban fighting in nuclear-armed Pakistan

5/07/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

There is cause to worry when about a million Pakistanis abandon their villages as Taliban extremists occupy their homes and put landmines in buildings. It is feared that if Pakistan's nuclear arsenal get into the hands of the Taliban radicals, the risk of a nuclear catastrophe becomes increasingly real. Aside from the Islamic insurgency, Pakistan faces border threats from neighboring India.

“Pakistani security forces killed 35 militants on Wednesday in fighting in a mountain valley 100km (60 miles) northwest of the capital, a paramilitary force said.”----Telegraph.co uk. (05/06/09, Wilkinson, I)

Clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces come as a consequence of the failure of a 3-month truce forged by the two opposing sides. The curtailment of the Taliban has been the focus of the US government which lends support to Pakistan's faltering campaign versus violence and extremism.

“The tribal areas of the Northern West Frontier Regional Province (NWFP) that border Afghanistan are steadily falling to a creeping Taliban-led militancy. Military operations have proved ineffective and the militants have rejected offers of any ceasefire while government offices, the Chief Minister's house and military camps are now under attack in the area as well.”----http://wwww.adnkronos.com

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan president Hamid Karzai met with Barack Obama today to talk about the campaign against the Taliban. The Islamic militanta swept the Swat Valley and Buner areas about 60 miles from the Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad. As a consequence, 500,000 civilians had been caught in the crossfire, forcing them to leave villages and homes destroyed by a rebellion that wants to impose Islamic law.

“Acknowledging that 'the road ahead will be difficult,' Obama said he has made a 'lasting commitment' to not only defeat extremism in both countries but to salvage their shaky democracies.”----AP (05/06/07, Hurst, S)

Faced with a weak Zadari government and corruption in Afghanistan, the United States is left to work with its allies to counter the growing influence of the Taliban. Most of the military offensives done against the Taliban in recent years are inconclusive, needing more sustained effort and financial aid. America is saddled with this long and expensive war whose end remains unclear.(Photo Credit: Tanweeer x 2) =0=

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Labels: Afghanistan, insurgency, Islamabad, Islamic militants, nuclear hazard, Pakistan, Swat Valley, Taliban, Totie Mesia, war

Orphaned boy, broken peace

12/08/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

A week of investigation has yielded evidence to suggest that the Mumbai terrorist attack which killed nearly 200 people is linked with the violent Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT,) a radical Islamic group with roots in the Pakistani soil.

The horrendous suffering of innocent people cannot be completely quantified in this recent act of terrorism. It is horrible to imagine that there are people who spend time to destroy lives rather than build them.

In the aftermath of India’s worst terrorist attack, the story of Moshe Holtzberg stuck out as the most heart-rending. The two-year old Jewish tot lost his father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivkha in the killings at the Chabad House during the 60-hour carnage.

If not for the decision of his quick-thinking nanny, Sandra Samuel, the innocent kid could also have been shot dead too. Safely back in Isreal with his grandparents, seeing him cry is upsetting.

Moshe’s uncertain future and those like him don’t bother the terrorists. The orphaned child wails when he remembers his dead parents whose religious mission in India came to an abrupt end.

The boy's young life seems to reflect the state of peace in the world today. It mirrors the trauma people have to endure as as they try to survive the climate of violence which seems difficult to stop. (Photo Credits: AFP/ Lorenzo Tugnoi; AP/ Hillary Levin)=0=

RELATED BLOG: "At least 82 killed & hundreds injured in terror attacks in Mumbai, India" Posted by mesiamd at 11/27/2008

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Labels: India, Israel, Moshe Holtzberg, Mumbai, Mumbai Terror, Pakistan, terrorism, Totie Mesia

Hunger in the Philippines

11/05/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Listed in decreasing order of countries with hunger problem, the Philippines (40%) ranked 5th with Cameroon (55%,) Pakistan (53%,) Nigeria (48%,) Peru (42%,) topping the list. For lack of food, 4 out of 10 households (40%) or about 35 million Filipinos face hunger. The finding is worse but consistent with Manila’s Social Weather Stations poll (SWS) showing that the average hunger for 2008 is about 16.8%.

Regardless of the surveys' accuracy what is important is to recognize the need to solve the worsening poverty, malnutrition, and food deprivation in the country. Bulacan Bishop Jose Oliveros of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said:

"Granted the survey holds true, the government should make concrete pro-poor programs to make sure every household gets enough nutritious food to feed their family" GMA TV News (11/05/08)

Oliveros blame corruption, not overpopulation as the main cause of rampant hunger. It is most severe in Metro Manila where 500,000 families suffer lack of food. He asks the government to put up programs like providing employment to the poor so that “ramdam ang gutom” reverses into “ramdam ang kaunlaran.” (Photo Credit: Jaridaking) =0=

Labels: Bishop Jose Oliveros, Cameroon, Corruption, food, hunger, malnutrition, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, poverty, social

Riding the Pakistani Orient Express

11/04/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

It was a good day to ride a train. After a religious pilgrimage, Pakistani Muslims of the Sunni sect did just that on their way home. Every passenger had a special spot on the jampacked train as it snaked its way, precisely right on its track. Thousands jammed Multan, Pakistan for a three-day event which concluded on Sunday, November 2, 2008.

The scene seems to be lifted from an interesting page of the Guinness World Records. It's note-worthy that overcrowding and potential accident situations in public transport are innocuous but real in many places in the world. (Photo Credit: AP/Tanveer, K)

Labels: human interest, Pakistan, religion, Train, Transportation

Iran's Ahmadinejad & the Impotence of the United Nations

9/24/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Side by side with the financial crisis rocking America, the threat of terrorism showed its ugly head when Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made a controversial speech in the United Nations (UN) in New York City today September 23, 2008, highlighting the impotence and hypocrisy of current world politics. His allusion to a pessimistic outlook of America is as though the United States is alone in its march towards a rough ride into the future.

Faced with a global economy, exploding population, dwindling resources, differing value judgments and relativist view of truth, America shares its problems with everybody. This is what is happening in the current economic crisis. The financial flu sweeping the United States is threatening to be a world pandemic of economic and political woes whose end result for the world is scary to imagine.

Wishing bad things to happen for America isn't good to the peace and stability of its global neighbors. Just as the full-blown effects of the present US economic downturn are starting to be felt, the world waits on the edge; nobody knows how it will end. But even without this, Iran has been suffering under the current Islamic regime of Ahmadinejad. Outside the UN headquarters, he is met by protests and jeers by those who disagree with him.

The United Nations (UN) has been inutile in convincing Iran to stop its nuclear program. Effective in fighting certain world problems, UN is “forced” to give air time to Ahmadinejad whose horrific support for terrorism and promotion to destroy Israel sends goose bumps to decent people worldide. Most observers doubt Ahmadinejad's hyperbolic rhetorics and many don’t believe his vitriol and clever pretentions. With a sluggish UN, few nations however speak up and stand against his way.

For not suspending its uranium enrichment, three rounds of UN sanctions hasn't deterred Iran from continuing its nuclear activities. It's this type of UN sanctions that Sadam Hussein endured until after 16 unheeded resolutions which led to the Iraq war that was supported albeit lamely by the UN.

The possibililty of nuclear war is ever more real in the current stockpiles of weapons whose oversight is increasingly becoming more difficult. Serving as a political tool and a weapon of intimidation, the acquisition of nuclear arms by unstable countries like Iran, Pakistan and North Korea is a scary step towards the planet's destruction. It encourages terrorists and extremists to work harder to destabilize the world and make the nuclear cloud closer to reality.

With rogue nations sitting side by side in UN in “cooperation” with those committed to make the world a peaceful place, the challenge of diplomacy is ever more complex and daunting. The world body cannot even agree on who are the terrorists. Having reckless leaders like Ahmadinejad who denies the holocaust, lacks accountability, threatens Israel, and wages proxy wars (Hezbollah and Iraq) could be the signs of what lies in the future. It’s at this late hour that world is learning. Sooner or later, it must wake up and confront the reality at hand. Photo Credits: Ben Heine; Nickolette22; MihaiRomanciuc)=0=

Labels: economy, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq War as God's Will, Islam, Israel, North Korea, nuclear weapons, Pakistan, peace, politics, Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, terrorism, Totie Mesia, United Nations, USA

New Pakistani president’s war against terror & the need to secure nuclear weapons

9/08/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Pakistan enters a new phase in governance with the election of Pres. Asif Ali Zadari, 53 year old widower of slain leader Benazir Bhutto who died on December 27, 2007. His landslide win on September 6, 2008 is immediately greeted by a huge suicide explosion near Peshawar, a troubled northwest part of the country killing at least 35 and wounding many more. Militants allied with the Taliban claimed responsibility for blowing up a pick-up truck that counted a teacher, a guard and seven police officers among the dead. AP (09/07/08, Khan, R.)

Called Mr. Ten Percent for alleged corruption during the Bhutto administration, Zadari who is considered as a pro-Western liberal is expected to follow Pervez Musharraf’s anti-terrorist efforts. Hard on insurgency in this violence-prone Moslem nation, Zadari’s position is in line with the American campaign against Islamic terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan. But he faces pressure to balance the local crack-down down on militants and his support for United States which recently led a controversial assault against rebels in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

"I've been impressed by some of the things he has said about the challenges that Pakistan faces, about the centrality of fighting terrorism, about the fact that the terrorism fight is Pakistan's fight and also his very strong words of friendship and alliance with the United States," Condolezza Rice said. AP (09/07/09,Ahmad, M.)

Washington is closely concerned with the future of Pakistan with its arsenal of nuclear weapons. With the power to scrap the parliament and appoint army officers, Zadari heads the civilian-military committee which oversees Pakistan's nuclear arms. It remains to be seen how much influence Zadari has over the powerful military and the citizenry. Photo Credits: S@jj@ad; Maxi_Leo)=0=

Labels: Afghanistan, Islam, Moslem, nuclear weapons, Pakistan, politics, President Zadari, terrorism, USA

Corrosive Love, Disfiguring Revenge

8/19/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

In some cultures, like in Pakistan, some boys whose proposals for marriage are rejected take revenge by throwing acid to their object of love. In some cases, the reason for the acid throwing is simple as a parent who doesn’t want a girl-child. It’s mind-bending to realize that this tragic incidents still occur in the 21st century.

The resultant irreversible chemical burn and its hypopigmented scars are as disfiguring as one sees the face of Najaf Sultana, 16, who went through 15 plastic surgeries since she was 5 years old to lessen cicatrization. It is with the help of a humanitarian group called Depilex Smileagain Foundation in Lahore. The group lists 240 girls like Najaf who are provided rehabilitative emotional and physical assistance to overcome such inhumane treatment of women. (PCredit:AP/Morenatti,E)=0=

Labels: acid-throwing, feminism, human rights, Medicine, Pakistan, rehabilitation, women

UP Ibalon Bicol

Another deadly bomb blast in Peshawar kills about 100

Suicide bomber kills 16 military recruits in Swat Valley

Militants bombed luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan

1.4 million civilians trapped as fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban continues

More Taliban fighting in nuclear-armed Pakistan

Orphaned boy, broken peace

Hunger in the Philippines

Riding the Pakistani Orient Express

Iran's Ahmadinejad & the Impotence of the United Nations

New Pakistani president’s war against terror & the need to secure nuclear weapons

Corrosive Love, Disfiguring Revenge

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