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US drone attacks kill 50 Pak militants
Wen Jiabao arrives in Pak
Assange fears US ready to indict him
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US drone attacks kill 50 Pak militants
Peshawar, December 17 Officials in the political administration of the semi-autonomous Khyber Agency told PTI nearly 30 militants, including Lashkar-e-Islam commander Ali Marjan alias Fauji, were killed in the strikes. TV news channels put the death toll at 51. The drones fired several missiles at three bases of the banned Lashkar-e-Islam group in Tirah area of Khyber Agency. The three attacks were carried out within a space of hours. Several militants were also injured in the attacks, officials said. The third strike, which targeted a Lashkar-e-Islam base at Sangana in Tirah Valley, was carried out following reports that the group's chief Mangal Bagh Afridi was present in the area, sources said. This was only the second time since the drone attacks began in 2004 that unmanned spy planes attacked targets in Khyber Agency. Seven militants were killed in the first missile strike in the region yesterday.Local residents said they had seen drones flying over parts of Khyber Agency since the morning. The spy planes continue to hover over the region after the attacks.US drone attacks have largely focussed on the lawless Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan and attacks in other parts of the tribal belt have been rare. The attacks in Khyber Agency assume significance as the region is located near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Several militant groups, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam, are active in Khyber Agency, the main supply route for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The militants regularly attack supply vehicles in Khyber Agency. Today's strike came a day after US President Barack Obama unveiled his new Afghan war strategy, asking Pakistan to do more against militants on its soil. "Progress has not come fast enough, so we will continue to insist to Pakistani leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders must be dealt with," Obama said at the White House. — PTI
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Islamabad, December 17 “China and Pakistan are all-weather cooperation partners. Under the complex and fluid international and regional circumstances, it is a firm policy of the Chinese government to further cement and deepen the strategic partnership of cooperation with Pakistan,” he said in his arrival statement at Chaklala airbase. Wen, who was accorded a red carpet welcome being personally received by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, described Pakistan as an “important country in the region” that has made “positive” contributions to peace, stability and development. He said the visit would help to push forward “bilateral pragmatic cooperation” and lift economic and trade cooperation to a new height. “The purpose of my visit this time is to solidify friendship, deepen cooperation, support Pakistan's efforts of post-disaster reconstruction, and ring in, together with Pakistan, the 60th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations in 2011," Wen said. The Chinese premier will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart and other leaders on bilateral cooperation and issues of shared interest. Wen will meet President Asif Ali Zardari tomorrow. — PTI
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Assange fears US ready to indict him
London, December 17 Assange has repeatedly voiced concerns that American authorities were getting ready to press charges over WikiLeaks' release of some 250,000 secret State Department cables, which have angered and embarrassed officials in Washington. US officials are investigating WikiLeaks and considering charges against Assange, a case that if pursued could end up pitting the government’s efforts to protect sensitive information against press and speech freedoms. The government suspects WikiLeaks received the documents from an Army private, Bradley Manning, who is in the brig on charges of leaking other classified documents to the organisation. A high court judge freed Assange on bail yesterday on condition he reside at the 600-acre estate in eastern England, wear an electronic tag and report to police daily. He is wanted in Sweden for questioning about sex allegations levelled against him by two women he spent time with while visiting the country in August. Attempts to reach Assange's British lawyers weren't immediately successful today. Assange appeared to come close today to acknowledging that Manning was one of his sources, calling him “a young man somehow embroiled in our publishing activities”. “We can see that he’s the only person, only one of our military sources, who has been accused,” he said. But Assange appeared to be citing media accounts of Manning's links to WikiLeaks, rather than his own knowledge. In an interview later today, Assange said he had never even heard Manning’s name until the press began reporting it. — AP
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Islamabad, December 17
London, December 17
