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Ladies and Gentlemen, osama bin ladeen is dead:

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed in an American-led operation in Pakistan, US President Barack Obama has announced.

In the latest pictures from Abbotabad, a town just 60 miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, flames are seen rising from a building that was the apparent target of the raid.

It is thought Bin Laden had been living in a $1m villa in Abbotabad.

He was reportedly asked to surrender by US forces before he was shot.

Pakistani television stations have broadcast what they say is a confirmed photograph of the bloodied face of the world's most wanted man after he was killed.

In the last few minutes, David Cameron has been speaking from Downing Street, saying the news would be welcomed across the country.

"It is, I believe, a massive step forward," he said.

Earlier, President Obama confirmed in a news conference: "I can report to the American people and to the world, that the US has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden."

The US president said he was briefed about a possible lead to the whereabouts of the the world's most wanted man and mastermind of the September 11 attacks in August and last week appproved an operation "to bring Bin Laden to justice".

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties," President Obama said.

The body of Bin Laden - who fled the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 - was recovered by US officials from the compound in Abbottabad, northwest of Pakistan, where he had been hiding.

President Obama said: "After a firefight they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body."

A US official told reporters that the corpse was being handled in accordance with Islamic customs.

Sky News' chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "I am told that this happened in an attack on a house at 1.30 in the morning Pakistan time. The house has been cordoned off."

It was not clear how long Bin Laden had been staying at the compound.

Reuters quoted a US official as saying a son of Bin Laden's and two other adults were also killed in the raid.

US citizens welcomed the news with hundreds of people gathering outside the White House and in New York's Times Square.

Sky's US correspondent Robert Nisbet said: "We seem to be building a picture that this was very well thought through. Obviously the president was informed every step of the way.

"It appears to have happened a few days ago with final confirmation coming today."

President Obama spoke to former president George W Bush and former President Bill Clinton before announcing Bin Laden's death.

President Bush said it was a "momentous achievement".

"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," he said in a statement.

President Obama also warned that "al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks" against the US.

"The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda. His death does not mark the end of our effort," he said.

The US state department issued a worldwide travel alert to all US citizens warning of an "enhanced potential" for US citizens to be targeted.

Some 540 members of the Taliban including military commanders have escaped from Kandahar prison via a 320 metre-long tunnel, Afghan government officials have confirmed to Al Jazeera.

A Taliban official on Monday also confirmed the overnight escape, boasting that the prison break had been "very well-planned" and that it was five months in the making, Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said.

According to a Taliban statement the tunnel was not dug by the inmates but by fighters outside the prison.

"Mujahideen started digging a 320 metre-long to the prison from the south side, which was completed after a five-month period, bypassing check posts and the Kandahar-Herat main highway leading directly to the political prison," the statement read.

"The tunnel reached its target last night, from where the prisoner Mujahideen were led away through the escape route by three previously informed inmates in a period of four-and-a-half hours, starting from 11pm last night and ending at 3:30am this morning. Mujahideen later on sent vehicles to the inmates who were led away to secure destinations."

"They all have made it safe to our centres and there was no fighting," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said.

Ahmadi said that 106 were Taliban commanders while the rest were foot soldiers. Kandahar police said they had re-captured eight commanders so far.

The Taliban claim that the prison guards did not notice the escape until four hours after the operation was completed.

The prison in southern Afghanistan typically holds drug dealers as well as Taliban fighters captured by NATO forces, our correspondent said.

If number of escapees is correct then the break would constitute a "big success" for the Taliban and would "have a dramatic effect on the fight against the Taliban in the region," said Azimy.

Previous escapes

There have been previous escapes from this prison. In June 2008, Taliban fighters attacked the facility, blasting through its entrance and engaging in a gun battle with police.

Nearly all of the estimated 1,150 prisoners, including some 400 Taliban, escaped, according to Afghan officials.

A Taliban spokesperson said that two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the entrance of the gate to the prison before 30 Taliban fighters attacked and killed 16 policemen.

Kandahar prison was also the scene of a mass hunger strike by hundreds of inmates in May 2008 during which 47 inmates sewed their lips shut after complaining they had been tortured and denied fair trials.

Kandahar is seen as the birthplace of the Taliban movement and the city and surrounding area has been the scene of some of the worst fighting in Afghanistan.

Hi Guys, i am a bit confused about this area. Amir Abdul Rahman Khan gave away Panjdeh and surrounding areas to the Russians, was Pamir in Tajikistan and parts of Badakhshan was give to the russians as part of Panjdeh Agreement?

1 April 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned today’s attack in northern Afghanistan in which a group of demonstrators entered a United Nations compound and killed a number of UN staff.

The attack took place at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to a statement released by the mission’s spokesperson Dan McNorton.

The exact number of UN staff killed is not yet clear, but a UN spokesperson in New York said there had been a “fairly substantial” number of deaths and casualties, and they included UN staff and guards who were trying to protect staff.

“This was an outrageous and cowardly attack against UN staff, which cannot be justified under any circumstances and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Mr. Ban told journalists in Nairobi, where he is making an official visit.

“I extend my condolences to those killed or wounded and their families,” the Secretary-General added.

Mr. McNorton said the mission was working to ascertain all the facts and to take care of affected staff.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, is travelling to Mazar-i-Sharif to assess the situation.

Mr. Ban said Mr. de Mistura was also tasked with taking any necessary measures to ensure the safety of UN staff in the strife-torn country.

http://www.un.org/ap... 7&Cr=Afghan&Cr1

What is going on guys? how come tajikistan would be able to invest in another country while having the lowest GDP in teh region?

KARACHI: President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday said his country was ready to extend all cooperation for setting up power plants in Pakistan.

Talking to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, President Rahmon said Tajikistan could establish a 600MW hydel plant straightaway and another plant of 220MW later.

He said in view of his talks in Pakistan this week and the longstanding demand of the business communities of the two countries, Tajikistan would soon set up its consulate general in Karachi.

Mr Rahmon said he had discussed with local businessmen the problems faced by them regarding efforts to promote trade between Tajikistan and Pakistan. He said the two countries should try to enhance cooperation in the agriculture sector, particularly in the area of livestock.

Chief Minister Shah told the visiting dignitary that Karachi boasted two seaports, the Karachi Port and the Bin Qasim Port, both of which were being utilised by business communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and even countries of Central Asia.

The chief minister was of the view that business forums of the two countries could play a vital role in strengthening bilateral trade and business ties.



http://www.dawn.com/... rgy-sector.html


We dont have any member from tajiksistan to give us more explanation.