Pakistan's Battle Against Militants Rages

Army Kills 70 Fighters, Suicide Attack On Military Bus Kills 8; Musharraf Waits For Court Ruling On Election

(CBS/AP)  Security forces killed as many as 70 militant fighters in Pakistan's volatile northwest on Thursday, an army spokesman said.

CBS News' Farhan Bokhari reports the fighting came just hours after a suicide attack on a Pakistan Air Force bus killed eight people.

Terror attacks and clashes between militants and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's security forces have deepened the political turmoil ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether Musharraf's sweeping Oct. 6 election victory was unconstitutional, because he contested the vote while army chief. There are fears he could impose a state of emergency if judges rule against him, jeopardizing the country's transition to civilian rule.

In the latest violence, the militants in the northwest district of Swat attacked law-enforcement posts before dawn Thursday, and security forces responded with fire from mortars, small arms and helicopter gunships.

"According to the information I have from police and Frontier Constabulary, between 60 to 70 miscreants were killed in Swat's areas of Khawaza Khela today," army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said. Pakistan officials often refer to militants as "miscreants."

CBS News' Sami Yousafzai describes Swat as a scenic mountain area which had formerly been a favorite holiday destination for Pakistanis and travelers from around the world.

It had been relatively peaceful until recent months, when extremist clerics started gathering support in the area, drawing state security forces back into the region, says Yousafzai.

The suicide bombing on the Pakistan Air Force bus occurred around 7 a.m. near an air base in Sargodha, about 125 miles south of the capital, Islamabad, said air force spokesman Sarfraz Ahmed. All the dead were air force employees, said Sahid Malik, an official at the hospital treating the victims.

Bokhari reports Thursday's bus bombing was the second attack in three days targeting the Pakistani military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 60 year existence as a nation.

On Tuesday, seven people were killed including a lone suicide bomber when he blew himself up near a police check post about 500 yards away from Musharraf's official residence.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the recent attacks, but most have been blamed on Islamic extremists, who also have engaged in the deadly clashes with the military in the volatile northwest.

Musharraf, seen at left, is under pressure from Washington, a key ally, to crack down on pro-Taliban and al Qaeda fighters hiding in the country's border regions near Afghanistan.

Early Thursday, militants attacked hilltop positions of security forces in the Khwaza Khela area, triggering a gun battle, said local police official Ali Rahman. He added that troops backed by helicopter gunships and artillery continued targeting militant facilities, killing at least five. The security forces suffered no casualties, he said.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, seen by many supporters as key to a possible return to democratic rule, left the country to visit family in the United Arab Emirates, two weeks after she was targeted by assassins upon her return from eight years in exile.

Bhutto arrived in Dubai on Thursday and was expected to return home on Nov. 8 after visiting her children and ailing mother, said her spokesman, Farhatullah Babar. Earlier, the former prime minister had said she intended to cancel the trip, citing lingering political uncertainties. It was not clear why she changed her mind.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has pledged to quit the army before starting a new presidential term, but declined on election night to say whether he would accept a negative verdict from the court.

The doubts over his political future - and what course he might take if blocked from a new five-year term - has added to the climate of uncertainty in the country.

The Supreme Court, which in recent months has emerged as the main check on Musharraf's dominance, said Thursday that rumors of martial law would have no impact on its decision.

"No threat will have any effect on this bench, whether it is martial law or (state of) emergency," said judge Javed Iqbal before adjourning until Friday. The judge warned the next session after that could be Nov. 12, three days before Musharraf's current term expires.

"Whatever will happen, it will be according to the constitution and rules," he said. "No group should think that it can take the Supreme Court hostage."

With his authority and political clout fading, Musharraf agreed to a corruption amnesty to help Bhutto return to Pakistan. That followed months of talks on a possible pro-Western alliance between them to counter Islamic extremism after parliamentary elections slated for January.

Bhutto's Oct. 18 homecoming was the target of the country's deadliest-ever suicide attack, claiming more than 140 lives.

[arrifkin]

Christians killing Christians? No way!! Except...WW1, WW2, Spanish American War, Civil War, and many wars in Europe....I don''t think we have to wait for that one!!

[usprophet]

I don''t know about you, but I''m sick of no-win pseudo-wars, like The War on Drugs and The War on Terrorism. I''m sick of undeclared wars like The War in Iraq and unnecessary and protracted police actions like the one in Korea. I''m sick of income taxes, which are unconstitutional because they are are a direct tax and are not equally apportioned as the Constitution requires. I''m sick of back door national ID cards like The Real ID Act. I''m sick of warrantless domestic spying by the Department of Homeland Insecurity and the loss of my civil liberties as a result of Draconian, fear-based Laws with oxymoronic names like The Patrot Act. I''m sick of secret offshore prisons like the one in Guantanamo, where our government tortures prisoners, who have no right to redress of grievance, or to Writ of Habeus Corpus. I''m also sick of the Federal Reserve (a secret group of private banks) manipulation of our worthless, fiat currency. Do yourself a favor. Support the 2008 candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul for President of The United States. I believe he''s our only hope to restore peace, prosperity and freedom in this country. Presidential candidates with the personal integrity and the consistent track record of adherance to our Constitution that Ron Paul has demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. The stakes are too high, and the cause of freedom is too important to let anything stand in the way of our participation in this 21st Century political revolution. Go Ron Paul!

[bizzzz-2009]

The truth about what is going on in the Muslim world
Ahmadinejad:
"The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world...Our revolution''''s main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi."
In the 10th century, this imam went into hiding, but he will return and herald the End of Days. Ahmadinejad''s cabinet signed a petition to the hidden imam and threw it down the well for his attention. While speaking at the United Nations, he claimed "I became surrounded by a green light," so that for 27 to 28 minutes all the listeners did not blink. He closed that speech by urging God to "hasten the emergence of Your last repository, the Promised One, that perfect and pure human being, the one who will fill the world with justice and peace."
EVER HEARD OF THE WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG? Ahmadinejad believes he has a God-given mission to prepare the way for the Muslim messiah, or mahdi, who will arise from end-times chaos to convert the world to Islam.
He also believes a nuclear strike on Jerusalem would kill Muslims as well as Jews and Christians, Iran''''''''''''''''s president believes the Muslims would be ushered into paradise.
The Koran concludes with Muslims winning the %u201CWar of %u201CGog and Magog%u201C. The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll imagine how such prophecies could play themselves out in modern times. Ahmadinejad is intent on launching the %u201CWar of Gog and Magog.%u201D

[bizzzz-2009]

The Koran teaches that it%u2019s OK to lie to infidels if it furthers the cause of Islam, that nation states have no legitimacy, that the only legitimate nation is the nation of Islam, which has no territorial boundaries; and those who do not submit to the will of Allah should be condemned to a life of dhimmitude (second class citizenry). Because the Koran does not mandate truth telling to infidels and because upholding a man-made constitution conflicts with the literal text of Koranic law.

[usprophet]

You get the sense that our country is desperate for someone to show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I%u2019ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherance to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[telecom_1]

Marriage Advice, Saudi Style
Saudi author and cleric ''Dr.'' Muhammad Al-''Arifi takes to airwaves to counsel young men on ''right way'' to beat wife. FOX NEWS .com

[michaelt302]

The Jihadists are like ants. No matter how many are killed, there''s seems to be millions more. When is Pakistan going to realize the only way to eradicate these vermin is with massive air power, day and night, using the largest bombs possible, with impunity? See a terrorist enter a village? Flatten it. See 2 terrorists in a small town? Flatten it. Jihadists are like viruses, and when you want to kill a virus, you do NOT mess around. You go all out.

[oldprophet]

I support Ron Paul and his non-interventionist foreign policy. Hitlery wants to continue our illegal police action in Iraq until at least 2013, and she does not rule out a preemptive (nuclear) first strike against Iran. Ron Paul voted against our (undeclared) war in Iraq, which was sold to us with lies. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies--the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. This war has cost more than 3,400 American lives and almost a trillion dollars. We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again. Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have 750 foreign bases and troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women. We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing our borders against illegal immigrants and bring our troops home. No war should ever be fought without a Declaration of War voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often, we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we too become despised.

[j-whitman]

superchez1,,,, Muslems killing Muslems today, yesterday Jews killing Muslems & Jews --- I think we are close to the day Christians will kill Christians

[jfarah1]

"Left Wing"
Is the only hope for the survival of our nation.
Without the "Left "wing" we are Nazi Germany.
We need to pull in our tentacles.

[feelfree1]

Re: "According to the information I have from police and Frontier Constabulary, between 60 to 70 miscreants were killed in Swat''s areas of Khawaza Khela today," army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said. Pakistan officials often refer to militants as "miscreants."

Well, if the "police" force of a nuclear-armed military dictator like Musharraf, says that they killed 60-70 "miscreants", who am I to question it? Why would his "Constabulary" lie?

Re: "Pakistan officials often refer to militants as "miscreants."

I imagine that this is what they call "no" voters, as well.

I also noticed that CBS Newz often refers to dead women and children as "militants".

[j-whitman]

notblue,,,, Figure it out... No body is bashing America except you ---- You are bashing Americans --- We Bash Bush & his pevertetd GOP who can''t figure out how to win a war or stop excellerating the War on Terror ----- Today Bush further divides our country by blaming Congress for not funding body armor or mine resistant vehicles & other funding Bush has already stopped ---- He haes America

In Pakistan Bush''s attempt at nation buildint by sending Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan has failed as his other policies has -
--- She left the country for Dubai, The same port that allowes smuggling of WMD components to terrorist countries..
.. The same country Bush wants to give our sea ports, air ports, defense dept logistics & contrats to.

[neitherone]

tomflint69 wrote:

"terrorists are getting crushed"

Really? I hope so.

[hillaryin08]

Remember, All of this goes away once I am president.

[tomflint69]

haaa haaa.. yes when we see news that the terrorists are getting crushed(especially in Pakistan) no one likes to comment.

notblue
I agree complelety. The left seems to always be out of touch with what is actualy going on in the world. Their whole agenda is politcial. Finger pointing and spinning everything that supports their beliefs with no aparent concern or awareness of reality.

Let us all hope and pray that Pakistan remains stable. They have nuclear weapons over there. Osama is alive and well living in the northern region of Pakistan and almost one half of Pakistan''s population are Osama supporters. This is a very bad situation. ven worse than Iraq.

[notblue]

When an article is printed where the anti-leftwing nuts can bash America there are litterally hundreds of posts. Now that there is yet another article exemplifying the evil of Al Qaeda, there is no comments. Typical crapp from the terrorist supporters here at leftwing central.