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SPORTS | PAGE 18
26 Shias killed in Parachinar suicide bombing STAFF rePorT/AgencIeS
At least 26 people were killed and more than 40 left injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kurma Bazar of Parachinar, headquarters of Kurram Agency, on Friday. A strict curfew was imposed across the town after resident Shias resorted to protest following the incident. A Taliban faction led by Fazal Saeed claimed responsibility for the attack. “We have targeted the Shia community of Parachinar because they were involved in activities against us,” he told Reuters over telephone from an undisclosed location. “We also warn the political administration of Parachinar to stop siding with the Shia community in all our disputes.” “We sent the suicide bomber following attacks on Sunni Muslims by Shia tribes in the area,” Saeed said. “We caught a man yesterday who was planting a bomb at a petrol station owned by a Sunni. We did it in response,” he added. Saeed was part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but broke away last year after disputes with the umbrella militant group’s leadership. He is said to have close ties with the Haqqani Network. Per details, the suicide bomber blew himself up amidst a large crowd of people that was busy shopping in the bazaar following weekly Friday prayers. The marketplace is close to both a Shia imambargah and a mosque and it was, therefore, yet to be independently ascertained whether Shias or Sunnis were the target of the attack. More than 40 injured were admitted to agency headquarters hospital in Parachinar, while those critically injured were moved to hospitals in Peshawar. There were also reports that three of the deceased had been killed by police firing at protesters from Shia community following the bombing.
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pakistantoday.com.pk
rs15.00 Vol ii no 232 22 pages Karachi edition
PESHAWAR
Cameron backs ‘friend’ Sarkozy in French election
ISLAMABAD
P
MIAn ABrAr
AKISTAN, Afghanistan and Iran on Friday resolved to fight out the menace of terrorism that has plagued the people of the three countries, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling foreign interference the reason for all problems in the region, saying the “seeds” of regional problems had been sowed from “outside” to keep the region backward. “All the problems we are facing today in the region are coming from the outside. In order to promote their goals and ambitions … they don’t want to allow our nations to develop,” the Iranian president told reporters at a joint press conference with President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai after the conclusion of the third trilateral summit. “There are countries that are determined to dominate our region. And they have targeted our region for their domination and hegemony,” he said. “We should deny others the opportunity to interfere in our affairs.” Ahmadinejad stressed that the problems of the region must be resolved regionally and the trilateral meeting was a step to achieve that goal. A source said that during the meeting with his Iranian counterpart, President Asif Ali Zardari had assured Ahmadinejad of Pakistan’s support against any foreign aggression, besides committing that Islamabad would not allow its bases to be used by the US forces if Iran was attacked. A joint declaration issued after the summit said the three states would not
saturday, 18 february, 2012 rabi-ul-awal 25, 1433
Pakistan, iran, Afghanistan agree to fight terror together g Ahmadinejad hits out at foreign interference in region g Zardari says Pakistan will not allow use of its soil against Tehran g
...but Pakistan can’t deliver Taliban for peace talks ISLAMABAD STAFF rePorT
ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Asif Zardari and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad join hands after signing a joint communiqué of the third Trilateral Summit on Friday. online allow any threat emanating from their respective territories against each other. “All parties agreed to commence trilateral consultations on an agreement in this regard”. NO PRESSURE: About the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, President Zardari said no pressure from the US was acceptable and the project would be completed against all odds. Following a refusal by India to join the project, Pak-
istan said it would try to bring in China or Bangladesh to be part of the project. It was learnt that Iran offered Pakistan to double the gas supply through the pipeline from 750 million cubic feet to 1.5 billion cubic feet daily by laying the pipeline with a double capacity, besides offering low cost gas. ConTinued on page 04
Karzai urges opening of naTo supplies | page 22
The two-day trilateral summit appears to be a failure for Afghan President Hamid Karzai whose wishful request for Pakistan’s assistance in providing access to the Taliban leadership for talks has been shrugged off. “Deliver Mullah Omar? If this is the expectation, then there is no reality ... They are not only unrealistic, but preposterous,” Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told a group of journalists following the trilateral summit at the President’s House. Afghanistan’s administration has been seeking Pakistan’s cooperation in dialogue with the Taliban, as Kabul feels that it was sidelined by Washington during recent peace talks held with the militants. Khar also admitted that talks during the summit were tough. “The talks were hard. But sometimes you need to have hard talks ... We are willing to look at anything. But if you have unrealistic, almost ridiculous expectations, then you don’t have a sort of common ground to begin with,” she said. The foreign minister said her recent visit to Kabul had helped mend fences with Afghan officials. She said Kabul should tell clearly what kind of assistance it was expecting from Pakistan in peace process. Interior Minister Rehman Malik also said that Kabul had been informed that Islamabad was ready to provide assistance in talks. “Talks are already underway with Taliban in Qatar. Let them (Afghanistan) inform us what ConTinued on page 04