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Transmission line, girls’ schools blown up
DARRA ADAMKHEL, March 23: Militants have intensified their activities in the Frontier Region of Darra Adamkhel and blew up two government girls’ schools and the main transmission line on Saturday.
Local people said that the buildings of two middle schools for girls in Ferozkhel and Bazikhel localities were damaged by blasts.Officials said that militants had earlier distributed pamphlets in the area warning the administration to close down the schools by March 20.The administration of two skill centres for girls in the area have also been warned to wind up activities or face consequences. These centres were established to impart vocational training to girls.A high transmission line damaged in the said area, plunged the Darra town and parts of Kohat district into darkness.According to local people, militants also blew up a post of Khasaddar Force in Sheraki area on Sunday. http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/24/top16.htm

Labourer killed in Sui mine blast
QUETTA, March 23: A labourer was killed by a landmine in Sui area on Sunday. According to police sources, a landmine planted by militants on an under-construction road exploded when labourers started work. One of the labourers died on the spot and two others who suffered injuries were taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, militants blew up two another power pylons near Kohlu, causing suspension of electricity supply to a vast area in Kohlu township. www.dawn.com/2008/03/24/top17.htm

Militants fire rockets at Ghalanai hospital
GHALANAI: Militants fired a volley of rockets at the Mohmand Agency headquarters hospital late on Sunday, damaging the hospital building, and disrupting the supply of electricity and water.
However, no casualties have been reported.Dr Asad, the purported spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mohmand Agency, told Daily Times via telephone from an undisclosed location on Monday that the TTP was not involved in the attack. He said the local Taliban stood by their ceasefire accord with the government. He suspected that ‘a third force’ was trying to sabotage the government-Taliban ceasefire agreement. Dr Jehangir, the medical superintendent of Ghalanai Headquarters Hospital, said rockets had damaged the Eye Ward building. Damage: He said rockets also destroyed the electricity and water network in the hospital.Sources said a few rockets also landed outside a 132-Kilo volt grid station but didn’t cause any damage. Security forces retaliated, and exchange of fire with militants continued for two hours. This is the second militant attack at the agency headquarters, Ghalanai, within a short span of time.
A large number of headquarters of various government departments are situated in Ghalanai.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\25\story_25-3-2008_pg7_30

Pakistan on British HR watch list
LONDON: Britain for the first time included Pakistan on a list of countries of concern over human rights on Tuesday, saying there had been "very little progress" towards pledged improvements.Pakistan featured on a list of 21 "major countries of concern" like China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe in the British Foreign Office's Human Rights Annual Report 2007. The report says the list "is not a league table of countries we consider the worst offenders" but adds it "focuses on countries where human rights issues cause us the greatest concern, or where we devote a great deal of attention."During a three-page analysis of Pakistan's human rights record, the FCO says: "The UK is concerned about human rights issues in Pakistan...recent changes in the political landscape and the period surrounding the state of emergency declared by President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007, have brought a number of human rights issues in Pakistan to the fore."It adds that Pakistan has expressed a desire to improve its human rights record but says there has been "very little progress towards the fulfilment" of pledges on issues, including torture and civil and political rights. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=13757

Blast kills one in Bajaur
BAJAUR: A man died in a blast in Bajaur Agency’s Salarzai tehsil on Tuesday, witnesses said.
They said that Abdul Ghani was passing through a field when a landmine exploded and injured him. He was taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital, where he died. In another incident, militants fired rockets and mortars at Chargo checkpost in Salarzai tehsil late on Monday night, but no one was hurt, the area’s political administration said. Security forces launched a retaliation in the direction of the attack, it said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\26\story_26-3-2008_pg7_8

Three killed in Swat, Fazlullah aide arrested
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen killed three people including a woman in Matta tehsil in Swat district on Tuesday, officials said. They also said security forces arrested four suspected militants including a militant commander closely linked to rebel cleric Fazlullah. Police officials in Matta told Daily Times that locals had found two unidentified bodies on a road in Chauta Kalam. In another incident, unidentified assailants killed Habibullah and his wife and injured his second wife when they were standing outside their house. Security forces arrested four suspects on Tuesday including one they identified as militant commander Muhammad Yusuf, close aide to rebel cleric Fazlullah. He was arrested at Fizzagut checkpost. They also seized Rs 60,000 from him. Sources said the men were being interrogated at an undisclosed location. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\26\story_26-3-2008_pg7_29

Militants kill ‘US spy’
MIRANSHAH: Militants accused an Afghan citizen of spying for the US, and shot him dead late on Monday in the Ahmed Khel area of North Waziristan. Abdullah Jan, a resident of the Afghan province of Paktia, was shot in the head on the Miranshah-Dattakhel road. Locals found the body on Tuesday with a note which stated that “all US agents will meet the same fate”.“The man was shot from close range and his body was found near a paramilitary camp,” an official told AFP. Residents said the man had been kidnapped last week from Miranshah bazaar. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\26\story_26-3-2008_pg7_55

Explosion damages bridge in Swat
MINGORA: The decades-old bridge on main road linking Khwazakhela with restive Matta region in the Swat valley was partially damaged in an explosion in the early hours of Wednesday.Sources said that the state-era Gammon Bridge was partially damaged when a bomb allegedly planted by Fazlullah-linked militants beneath the overpass went off with a bang. Makeshift arrangements were made for pedestrians to cross the river by placing wooden sleepers on the bridge whereas motorists in the troubled region faced severe hardships as road remained closed for all kinds of vehicles, SHO Khwazakhela Yousaf Ali told 'The News'. However, the traffic was restored after hours of efforts.Meanwhile, the bomb disposal squad defused two bombs capped in pressure cooker and concealed in a gunny bag in Dewlay area of the troubled Kabal tehsil. Some unknown miscreants had planted two bombs near high school in a village near Fazal Abad. When the residents saw the suspicious gunny bag, they informed the bomb disposal squad at Kabal that defused the devices by opening fire at the same. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=13783