Once-Nurtured Militants Have Pakistan Teetering on Brink

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• Pakistan Moves Troops Toward Indian Border

  Dec 26, 08 8:40 AM CST
  Pakistan began moving thousands of troops away from the Afghan border toward India today amid tensions following the Mumbai attacks, intelligence officials said. The move represents a sharp escalation in the standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors and will hurt Pakistan's US-backed campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban taking place near Afghanistan's border.
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• US May Double Forces in Afghanistan to 60K

  Dec 20, 08 3:27 PM CST
  The US could double the number of its troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000 by next summer, the highest such estimate to date, Reuters reports. American troops currently number 31,000, but joint chiefs chairman Mike Mullen said today that an additional 20,000 to 30,000 will be needed by the spring or early summer. “We're going to fill that requirement so it's not a matter of if, but when," he said.
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• Pakistan Pressures West to Rein in India

  Nov 30, 08 8:34 AM CST
  In a thinly veiled message to the US, Pakistan officials have threatened to withdraw troops fighting Islamists along Afghanistan if India builds up forces along the border it shares with Pakistan. Furious Indian officials have linked the deadly Mumbai terror operation to Pakistan. "If something happens on that front, the war on terror won't be our priority," a Pakistani senior security said ominously. "We'll take out everything from the western border." More »

• Pakistan PM Escapes Convoy Attack

  Sep 3, 08 7:27 AM CDT
  Three days before Pakistan is to elect a new president, PM Yousuf Gilani escaped an assassination attempt on his caravan outside Islamabad, the BBC reports. No injuries were reported, officials said, citing “robust and comprehensive security measures,” but CNN reports it's unclear whether Gilani was present in the motorcade. Gilani was on his way to Rawalpindi, a military town where former PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December.
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• Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder

  Mar 1, 08 6:32 PM CST
  Police in Pakistan have filed charges against five men, including the country’s top Taliban commander, accusing them of planning the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the AP reports. President Pervez Musharaff had named the Taliban leader (and suspected al-Qaeda operative), Baitullah Mehsud, days after the attack, but today’s formal accusation led a judge to issue warrants for his and his co-conspirators’ arrest. More »