Do More With Reuters
Partner Services

UPDATE 1-Militants pouring in from Afghanistan: Pakistan

Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:42pm IST
 
Email | Print | | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

(Updates fighting, adds U.N. comment on refugees)

By Zeeshan Haider

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Militants battling Pakistani forces are getting weapons and reinforcements from Afghanistan, security officials said on Monday, vowing no let-up in their offensive in the northwest.

Government forces launched an offensive in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border in August after years of complaints from U.S. and Afghan officials that Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan were getting help from Pakistani border areas such as Bajaur.

Now the tables have turned and the militants locked in heavy fighting with Pakistani forces are getting help from the Afghan side of the border, officials said.

"The Pakistan-Afghan border is porous and is now causing trouble for us in Bajaur," a senior security source in the military told a news briefing.

"Now movement is taking place to Pakistan from Afghanistan," said the official, who along with a colleague at the briefing, declined to be identified.

The officials did not blame the Afghan government for sending militants across the border but called on Kabul and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan forces to stop the flow.

Bajaur is the smallest of Pakistan's seven so-called tribal agencies, semi-autonomous ethnic Pashtun tribal regions.  Continued...

Pigeons fly in front of Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai November 26, 2009. Mumbai's police paraded past some of the city's landmarks in a show of strength as India's financial hub marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratched up tensions with Pakistan. The hotel was one of the sites of the attacks. REUTERS/Arko Datta
One Year Later

Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength as it marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratcheted up tensions with Pakistan.  Slideshow | Full Coverage 

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a picture of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during an election campaign rally in Balasinor, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ahmedabad, April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Liberhan Commission Report

The government published a long awaited report, recently leaked, accusing BJP leaders of a role in the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.  Full Article 

Thierry Henry's handball scandal

Barcelona's Thierry Henry takes part in a training session at Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona, November 23, 2009. Barcelona and Inter Milan will play their soccer Champions League match on Tuesday. REUTERS/Albert Gea
FIFA to hold meeting

FIFA to hold an extraordinary meeting before World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry's handball in the qualifiers and discovery of match-fixing ring by German police.  Full Article