Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Taliban Bombs, Threatens Anti-Militant Political Party

Deadly Suicide Attack Targets Official In Pakistan, NPR, 26 July 2010

EXCERPT: "A Taliban suicide bomber struck Monday near the home of a Pakistani provincial minister whose only son was recently killed by the militants, officials said. Seven people were killed and 25 wounded. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province and an outspoken critic of the Taliban, was the apparent target. He was receiving condolences from visitors elsewhere in Pabbi town at the time of the blast and was safe. Some of his relatives were also receiving mourners at a mosque near the house, and two were hurt, police said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying their goal was to kill Hussain because his political party is allied with the United States. The Awami National Party is a secular-leaning political group that has been outspoken against militant activity in Pakistan. 'This is just beginning,' Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan told The Associated Press by telephone. 'We will carry out more attacks against the party. We will destroy their roots.' The attack showed the dangers facing those in Pakistan who take high-profile positions against the Islamist militants who have wreaked havoc in the country over the last several years. Hussain is frequently the official who shows up at the scenes of bombings in the northwestern province to condemn the Taliban and allied insurgent factions."

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Related articles:
Taliban claim responsibility for killing minister’s son, DAWN, 26 July 2010
Suicide blast near Pakistan politician kills 8, Reuters Canada, 26 July 2010

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Terrorists launch attacks as govt arrests hundreds of suspected militants, 13 July 2010
Suicide bombers strike Govt office, kill dozens in NW, 9 July 2010
Pakistan army finds Taliban tough to root out, 5 July 2010
Govt efforts at Taliban reconciliation complicated by Haqqani's ties to Al-Qaeda, 30 June 2010
Pakistani police underfunded, overwhelmed, 30 November 2009

Electoral Reforms Aim to Promote Democracy and Stability

Pakistan Election Commission Plans Democracy Reforms, Reuters, 24 May 2010

EXCERPT: "[...] Under the changes reached after consultations with groups such as political parties and the media, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hopes to bring about greater transparency and prevent any rigging, said joint secretary Muhammad Afzal. 'This is designed to promote democracy and stability,' he told Reuters. Afzal said the commission wants to avoid problems like ballot stuffing and ensure opposition parties have nothing to complain about. He described the changes as  ground-breaking. The reforms may help create a stable political environment that will make it easier for Pakistani leaders to fight homegrown militants. Pakistan is due to hold its next general election in 2013.[...] Under the new system, the chief of the ECP will be appointed at the recommendation of a parliamentary committee comprised of members from the ruling coalition and opposition. In the past, the president directly appointed the chairman and members. [...] In the lead up to 2008 elections, Human Rights Watch accused the Election Commission of failing to act on allegations of irregularities including arrests and harassment of opposition candidates and party members."

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Related articles:
Pakistan court hears constitutional challenges, BBC News, 24 May 2010
Electoral reforms [op-ed], DAWN, 1 May 2010
Breaking down Pakistan's election results, openDemocracy, 19 February 2008
IFES election guide: Pakistan, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, 2008

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Pakistan's constitutional reform, 21 April 2010
2009 US report on human rights, 11 March 2010
The challenges of Pakistani governance, 13 January 2010

Swat Valley Holds First Elections Since Taliban Rule

Swat Voters Go to Polls Today Amid Fears, The News International, 28 January 2010

EXCERPT: "Voters in PF-83 Swat are set to cast ballot amid fears of terrorist attacks to elect their representative for the NWFP Assembly as the Election Commission has finalised all arrangements for the polling from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The security concerns may keep the turnout low. But the authorities said on Wednesday that they had put in place stringent security measures and 900 police officials besides the Army and paramilitary forces’ personnel had been deputed to ensure peaceful polls. Eighty polling stations have been established for the election and all of them have been declared sensitive. Swat has witnessed active militancy for over two-and-a-half years and several military operations. 'Though all polling stations are sensitive, 15 have been declared the most sensitive,' an official of the Election Commission in Peshawar told The News. Commissioner Malakand Fazl Karim Khattak said no one from outside the constituency would be allowed to enter the area on the election day as part of the beefed up security. The seat fell vacant after the killing of Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) from the constituency in suicide attack on November 30, 2009."

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Related articles:
Rehmat Ali of ANP wins Swat seat, DAWN, 29 January 2010
Pakistan's Swat Valley holds elections, BBC News, 28 January 2010
By-poll in troubled Swat constituency; 20% voters turn up, Zee News, 28 January 2010
NWFP government asks Election Commission to postpone by-elections in Swat, Zee News, 19 December 2009
Journalists flee Swat valley, IFEX, 13 May 2009
Bowing down to the Taliban, Spiegel Online, 21 February 2009

Related posts:
Govt offers incentives to bomb-hit NW Frontier Province, 8 January 2010
Terrorism to come to an end in 2010: Official, 4 January 2010
Gilgit-Baltistan: Disputed northern areas go to polls, 12 November 2009

Gilgit-Baltistan: Disputed Northern Areas Go to Polls

'Pakistan's Disputed Northern Areas Go to Polls', Reuters, 12 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Voters in Pakistan's mountainous far north went to the polls on Thursday to elect an assembly for their district as part of an autonomy package that has angered old rival India. Pakistan's Northern Areas have never officially been part of the country, instead they have been a part of the Pakistani-controlled portion of the disputed Kashmir region since shortly after Pakistan's independence in 1947. In August, Pakistan announced a plan aimed at giving more of a say to the people of the strategic region, renamed Gilgit-Baltistan, with a first step being an election for an assembly. People of the sparsely populated region turned out in force to cast their votes. 'It's our basic right to have our own assembly and our own representatives,' said Mohammad Owais, a 40-year-old shopkeeper standing in a long queue at a polling station in Gilgit, the region's main town. 'Today we have been given this right.'"

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Related articles:
Vote count underway as polling concludes in GB elections, The News International, 12 November 2009
Kaira denounces rigging charges in GB election, Associated Press of Pakistan, 12 November 2009
Gilani announces GB package ahead of polls, Daily Times, 11 November 2009
Rs12 billion set aside for uplift of Gilgit-Baltistan, DAWN, 30 September 2009<