Troops Take Control In Pakistan's North

By Shaiq Hussain and Imtiaz Ali
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 29 -- Pakistani paramilitary forces expanded their push into the northwestern city of Peshawar and a nearby tribal area Sunday, taking control of much of the troubled region a day after launching an attack on insurgent strongholds there.(The Washington Post)

Pakistani Forces Appear to Push Back Militants

By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH Government forces appeared to have pushed members of a militant Islamist group farther from Peshawar, but the group’s leader remained at large. (The New York Times)

Pakistani Forces Move In On Taliban

By Candace Rondeaux
KABUL, June 28 Hundreds of Pakistani soldiers and police moved into the key northwestern city of Peshawar on Saturday to head off a possible attack by the Taliban and other Islamist insurgents, marking the first major military operation in Pakistan's fractured border region since a new government...(The Washington Post)

OFF THE TRACK: Congress Erases Terror Label From Mandela's Name

By REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As celebrities threw an early 90th birthday party for Nelson Mandela in London's Hyde Park on Friday, U.S. lawmakers erased references to the former South African leader as a terrorist from national databases.

Legislation proposing the move received final congressional approval late on Thursday when the Senate unanimously passed it on a voice vote. The House of Representatives approved it on May 8.

It removes the "terrorist" label and travel restrictions imposed on Mandela and other cadres from the African National Congress, which fought to end white minority rule in South Africa.
The ANC was banned by South Africa's apartheid government in 1960. Its leaders were jailed or forced into exile until the ban on the movement was lifted 30 years later.

"Passage of the bill to remove from the U.S. terrorist watch list Nelson Mandela and others who worked tirelessly to end the oppressive, inhumane system of apartheid in South Africa is a great victory for justice," said Rep. Donald Payne, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Africa in the House of Representatives.

"I am gratified that we were able to show our respect and high esteem for a man who is loved and admired around the world," said Payne.

Mandela, who retired from politics nine years ago, has become a worldwide symbol of freedom. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called the U.S. travel restrictions on Mandela and the ANC "embarrassing" and urged an end them.

Stricter security measures passed by Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States kept the ANC's terrorist label because it used armed force as part of its campaign against apartheid.

Some lawmakers wanted the changes made to the legislation before Mandela turned 90 on July 18 and there were fears that it would be delayed by Congress' summer recess for much of August and a break over the July 4 week.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; editing by Chris Wilson)
(The New York Times)

Three's a Crowd

By Reviewed by Nayan Chanda
RIVALS How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade By Bill Emmott (The Washington Post)

Pakistan Denies Role in Attack

By Candace Rondeaux
KABUL, June 26 -- Pakistan on Thursday sharply denied that its powerful intelligence agency was behind an attempt to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai in April, saying the accusations by Afghan officials were politically motivated.(The Washington Post)

Biden calls for new approach to Pakistan aid

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top Democratic senator on Wednesday proposed tripling nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year, while restricting reimbursements for anti-terrorist operations unless Islamabad does more to fight insurgents along its Afghan border. (The New York Times)

Guantanamo Detainee to File Habeas Petition

By Josh White and Del Quentin Wilber
Mohammed Sulaymon Barre fled his native Somalia as civil war raged in the early 1990s, receiving U.N. refugee status and landing in Pakistan, where he settled his family and worked for a financial services company. In a nighttime raid in November 2001, Pakistani authorities arrested Barre, held h...(The Washington Post)

Afghans Sees Pakistan Role in Karzai Plot

By ABDUL WAHEED WAFA and GRAHAM BOWLEY Afghan officials accused the Pakistani intelligence service of organizing a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai. (The New York Times)

U.S. Funding to Pakistan Plagued With Problems, GAO Report Says

By Robin Wright
The Bush administration has paid Pakistan more than $2 billion without adequate proof that the Pakistani government used the funds for their intended purpose of supporting U.S. counterterrorism efforts, congressional auditors reported yesterday. Their report concluded that more than a third of U....(The Washington Post)

Pakistan court bars former premier from election

By RAVI NESSMAN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's most popular politician, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, suffered a major setback Monday when a court ruled him ineligible to run in upcoming parliamentary by-elections.(The Washington Post)

Routing of Fighters Brings Anxious Calm to Kandahar

By Candace Rondeaux
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 22 -- A tense quiet has settled here in Afghanistan's second-largest city, a little more than a week after hundreds of Taliban fighters mounted a dramatic prison break, then briefly took control of several villages in the area.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan Pays Tribute to Bhutto

By REUTERS ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's new government paid tribute to slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and asked President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday to spare thousands of prisoners held on death row. (The New York Times)

AP: Pakistan's ambassador urges patience from US

By FOSTER KLUG
WASHINGTON -- Pakistan's new ambassador to the United States is urging patience for those in Washington frustrated with his government's pursuit of peace deals with tribes along the lawless Pakistani-Afghan border.(The Washington Post)

Star Pakistani Cricket Bowler Draws the Invective of His Fans

By Candace Rondeaux
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Mohammad Asif might be one of the world's most brilliant cricket bowlers, but his star is fast losing luster in Pakistan.(The Washington Post)

Editorial: Unfinished Business in Afghanistan

President Bush should work with European, Afghan and Pakistani leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the Taliban-Qaeda threat in Afghanistan. (The New York Times)

U.S. Helicopter Engines Stolen en Route to Pakistan Port

By REUTERS KABUL (Reuters) - Four U.S. helicopter engines worth more than $13 million have been stolen while they were being trucked from Afghanistan to a port in Pakistan to be shipped home, the U.S. military said. (The Ne York Times)

Pakistani Fury Over Airstrikes Imperils Training

By JANE PERLEZ Anger in Pakistan over lethal American airstrikes on its soil threatens a joint effort to combat militants. (The New York Times)

Pakistan's A.Q. Khan denies new nuke weapons claim

By MUNIR AHMAD
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The architect of Pakistan's nuclear program on Tuesday rejected a report alleging that his network may have shared blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon with countries such as Iran and North Korea.(The Washington Post)

Afghans say they are not planning war with Pakistan

By JASON STRAZIUSO
KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Tuesday that Afghanistan does not intend to go to war with Pakistan, and that Karzai's warning to his eastern neighbor was meant only to make a strong point.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan's Plea For Patience

By Jackson Diehl
Can a democracy fight terrorism better than a dictatorship did?(The Wasihngton Post)

Pakistan summons Afghan envoy to protest

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A government spokesman says Pakistan has summoned Afghanistan's ambassador to protest President Hamid Karzai's threat to send Afghan troops to fight notorious Taliban leaders inside Pakistan. (The New York Times)

Taliban Seizes Seven Afghan Villages

By Candace Rondeaux and Javed Hamdard
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 16 -- Hundreds of Taliban fighters took control of seven villages in southern Afghanistan on Monday in what appeared to be a major offensive near the country's second-largest city, according to Afghan officials.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan: Lawyers promise more protests

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A top leader of Pakistan's popular lawyers movement Sunday promised more, larger rallies on the heels of a massive protest in the capital demanding the government restore judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf. (The New York Times)

Karzai threatens to send forces into Pakistan

By JASON STRAZIUSO
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened Sunday to send Afghan troops after notorious Taliban leaders inside Pakistan in an angry warning to his eastern neighbor that he will no longer tolerate cross-border attacks.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan ruling party on defensive after rally

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's main ruling party said Saturday it will reinstate judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf only after it has overcome legal obstacles following a massive rally calling for their restoration. (The New York Times)

A Sober Assessment of Afghanistan

By Ann Scott Tyson
The outgoing top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said Friday that attacks increased 50 percent in April in the country's eastern region, where U.S. troops primarily operate, as a spreading Taliban insurgency across the border in Pakistan fueled a surge in violence.(The Washington Post)

Rice offers regrets to Pakistan for border deaths

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PARIS (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered her personal regrets to Pakistan on Friday for the deaths of soldiers whom the United States called partners in the battle against terrorism. The two nations remained at odds over what happened and whether the U.S. accidentally killed friendly forces. (The New York Times)

U.S. general questions Pakistan plan for militants

By Andrew Gray
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. general who recently handed over command of NATO troops in Afghanistan cast doubt on Friday on the ability of Pakistan's Frontier Corps paramilitary force to combat Islamist militants.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan likely to accept joint U.S. attack inquiry

By Crispian Balmer
PARIS (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign minister said on Friday he believed a U.S. offer to hold a joint investigation into an American air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers would be useful and should go ahead.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan Angry as Strike by U.S. Kills 11 Soldiers

By CARLOTTA GALL and ERIC SCHMITT The Pakistani government softened its response, but the military called the strikes “unprovoked and cowardly.” (The New York Times)

Official: Pakistan should reconsider its ties to US

By STEPHEN GRAHAM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The top elected official in northwest Pakistan said Thursday the country should rethink its relationship with America after a U.S. airstrike that reportedly killed 11 Pakistani soldiers.(The Washington Post)

US strikes undercut efforts on Pakistan - Afghan border

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- Whoever was to blame, the U.S. airstrikes that may have killed friendly fighters in Pakistan have inflamed relations between the countries and could undermine the struggle to stem violence along the Afghan border. (The New York Times)

U.S., Pakistan at Odds Over Strike in Tribal Area

By Candace Rondeaux and Ann Scott Tyson
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 11 -- U.S.-led forces dropped more than a dozen bombs in and near Pakistan's tribal regions Wednesday in an attack that dramatically exacerbated tensions along the Afghan border and, according to authorities here, killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops.(The Washington Post)

More security in Islamabad before march

By MUNIR AHMAD
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A top leader of Pakistan's lawyers movement on Tuesday brushed aside concerns that terrorists might attack protesters demanding the reinstatement of judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf.(The Washington Post)

Suspected U.S. missile fired in NW Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A pilotless U.S. drone was suspected to have fired a missile into a Pakistani area on the Afghan border on Tuesday, but there was no word on the target or casualties, a government official said.(The Washington Post)

Lawyers mount anti - Musharraf protests in Pakistan

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Lawyers rallied against President Pervez Musharraf across Pakistan on Monday, burning him in effigy, calling for his ouster and demanding the reinstatement of judges in the kick-off of a campaign that could strain the shaky coalition government. (The New York Times)

US think tank: Pakistan helped Taliban insurgents

By JASON STRAZIUSO
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Pakistani intelligence agents and paramilitary forces have helped train Taliban insurgents and have given them information about American troop movements in Afghanistan, said a report published Monday by a U.S. think tank.(The Washington Post)

Democracy, Not Weapons, Should Drive U.S.-Pakistan Agenda

Bruce Riedel June 04, 2008 The United States has failed democratic forces in Pakistan, writes Bruce Riedel. Under a military dictatorship that enabled the growth of al Qaeda forces, the country now poses the primary danger to America. The next president must go beyond threats and sanctions, Riedel urges, and help Pakistan find peace with its neighbors and with itself through democracy.(Brookings Institute)

Musharraf faces more calls for ouster in Pakistan

By ZARAR KHAN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A junior party in Pakistan's government called Sunday for its main coalition partner to back the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf, a day after the former army strongman rebuffed calls from both parties to resign.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan leader Musharraf resists pressure to quit

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf vowed Saturday to resist pressure for him to resign but suggested he might quit if Parliament reduces him to a toothless figurehead. (The New York Times)

Once Grand, Now Bedraggled

By Paul Schwartzman
The front door to one of Washington's finer addresses, a four-story townhouse valued at $3.9 million, is padlocked and covered with plywood. The brass-toned plate above the entrance reads: "Embassy of the Republic of Malawi."(The Washington Post)

Pakistan tries to assure Afghans over Taliban talks

By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign minister sought on Friday to allay Afghanistan's concerns that peace talks with Pakistani Taliban would lead to more militant attacks on the Afghan side of the border.(The Washington Post)

A washingtonpost.com article from: rafawad@gmail.com

By Ahmed Rashid
Pakistan is girding for a fight on its border. But not the border you think.(The Washington Post)

US officer lauds Pakistan army anti-terror effort

By STEPHEN GRAHAM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's army is "fighting bravely" against terrorism, the top-ranking U.S. military officer said after a visit to the country to discuss joint efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaida.(The Washington Post)

Father of Pakistan's Bomb Stands Defiant

By Candace Rondeaux
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The garden is in full bloom at Abdul Qadeer Khan's house. A lazy summer haze has settled over his manse, and at the small police substation across the way, several men chitchatted amiably on a recent day, barely glancing at the upscale villa that for the past four years has...(The Washington Post)

Denmark: Al - Qaida likely behind bomb in Pakistan

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Denmark's intelligence service cast blame on al-Qaida for an attack near its embassy in Pakistan that investigators said Tuesday was carried out by a suicide bomber. (The New York Times)

U.S. Lawyer Asks Pakistan to Help Free Gitmo Inmate

By REUTERS KARACHI (Reuters) - An American lawyer pleaded on Monday for the Pakistan government to intervene on behalf of a prisoner being held at the U.S. detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. (The New York Times)

Political foes turn screws on Pakistan's Musharraf

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- For eight years President Pervez Musharraf dominated Pakistan and charmed the West by presenting himself as a straight-talking ally in the war on terror.(The Washington Post)

The Lawyers' Crusade

By JAMES TRAUB Pakistan’s black-suited attorneys took to the streets and forced President Pervez Musharraf to loosen his hold on power. Now they’re fighting for the rule of law — which would amount to a revolution. (The New York Times)

Pakistan puts clocks forward to save power

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan put its clocks forward an hour on Sunday while shops have been ordered to close early as the country struggles with an acute electricity shortage.(The Washington Post)