Security forces kill nine militants in Hangu - Pakistan

February 22 - 2014

HANGU: Nine militants were killed when Pakistan armed forces’ gunship helicopters pounded militants’ hideouts in Hangu, Geo News reported Saturday.

According to the sources, shelling by security forces’ gunship helicopters destroyed militants’ compounds and killed nine militants including three key terrorists in various areas of Tehsil Tal.

Four gunship helicopters took part in the operation, sources added. It may be mentioned that Pakistani jets bombed militants’ hideouts in a north-western tribal district early Thursday, killing at least 35 militants, including local and foreign terrorists.

 The aircraft bombarded suspected militant hideouts in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan as part of surgical strikes which they said should not be taken as military operation. Sources told that the first strike killed commander Abdul Sattar when his compound was pounded by the jets followed by the series of strikes on Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik and Taliban hideouts.

The decision to conduct air strikes in North Waziristan was taken by the military leadership after the approval of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The decision over the attacks on militant hideouts in North Waziristan was made after three consecutive days of meetings between the government and military leadership.

However, the government is still in favour to continue the dialogue process and the committee was directed to make contact with Taliban after they stop their terror activities. At least 172 people including personnel of police and army were martyred in 19 days during dialogues with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

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Army chief says military fully capable to counter threats

February 21 - 2014

ISLAMABAD: Brushing aside the impression about capability of Pakistan’s armed forces in countering terrorism and militancy, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif Friday said the military was fully capable to protect integrity and sovereignty of the country.

“Let there be no doubt that Pakistan’s armed forces are battle hardened and fully capable to counter any internal or external threat posed to the integrity and sovereignty of our beloved country,” he said while interacting with the troops at FC headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

 Earlier this month, the upper house of Parliament witnessed a heated debate on a recent TV interview of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in which he had allegedly questioned the capability of the armed forces to take on the militants.

 The cricketer-turned-politician in an interview had stated that during a meeting the prime minister had quoted former army chief Gen (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as saying that there was a 40 per cent chance of success of a military operation against militants in the country’s tribal areas.

 The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) appreciated the spirit and high morale of the troops and said that the entire nation acknowledged sacrifices rendered by security forces in the war on terror as part of national effort to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from Pakistan.

Gen Sahrif assured them that these sacrifices will not go in vain. Recounting successes of the security forces in various operations against terrorists, he lauded the efforts and determination of all troops and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) who cleared the militancy-hit areas, with the help of local population and support of the entire nation.

 “We are fully prepared to confront any challenge in future as well,” the COAS reaffirmed. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan yesterday said that carrying on with peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban amid terrorist attacks throughout the country would be injustice to the victims of such attacks.

Speaking at a press conference, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military leadership do not intend to carry on with dialogue amid terrorist attacks. Earlier on his arrival in Peshawar, the army chief was received by Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani and Inspector General Frontier Corps KP Major General Ghayur Mahmood.

General Raheel Sharif was also briefed by the IG FC regarding ongoing operations in various parts of FATA and the province.

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Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion

February 21 - 2014

Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion.

Facebook Inc will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging start up WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, as the world's largest social network looks for ways to boost its popularity, especially among a younger crowd.

 The acquisition of the hot messaging service with more than 450 million users around the world stunned many Silicon Valley observers with its lofty price tag. But it underscores Facebook's determination to win the market for messaging, an indispensable utility in a mobile era.

Combining text messaging and social networking, messaging apps provide a quick way for smartphone users to trade everything from brief texts to flirtatious pictures to YouTube clips — bypassing the need to pay wireless carriers for messaging services.

And it helps Facebook tap teens who will eschew the mainstream social networks and prefer WhatsApp and rivals such as Line and WeChat, which have exploded in size as mobile messaging takes off. "People are calling them 'Facebook Nevers,'" said Jeremy Liew, a partner at Lightspeed and an early investor in Snapchat.

 WhatsApp is adding about a million users per day, Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on his page on Wednesday. "WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Since WhatsApp and (Facebook) Messenger serve such different and important users, we will continue investing in both." Smartphone-based messaging apps are now sweeping across North America, Asia and Europe. "Communication is the one thing that you have to use daily, and it has a strong network effect," said Jonathan Teo, an early investor in Snapchat, another red-hot messaging company that flirted year ago with a multibillion dollar acquisition offer from Facebook. "Facebook is more about content and has not yet fully figured out communication." Even so, he balked at the price tag. As part of the deal, WhatsApp co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jan Koum will join Facebook's board, and the social network will grant an additional $3 billion worth of restricted stock units to WhatsApp's founders, including Koum. That is on top of the $16 billion in cash and stock that Facebook will pay. "Goodness gracious, it's a good deal for WhatsApp," Teo said.

TERMS:

Shares in Facebook slid 5 percent to $64.70 after hours, from a close of $68.06 on the Nasdaq.

Facebook said on Wednesday it will pay $4 billion in cash and about $12 billion in stock in its single largest acquisition, dwarfing the $1 billion it paid for photo-sharing app Instagram.

 The price paid for Instagram, which with just 30 million users was already considered overvalued by many observers at the time.

 Facebook promised to keep the WhatsApp brand and service, and pledged a $1 billion cash break-up fee if the deal falls through. Facebook was advised by Allen & Co, while WhatsApp has enlisted Morgan Stanley for the deal.

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