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/ 12 March 2008

Suicide bombings in Lahore kill at least 31

Two suicide attacks killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200 in Lahore on Tuesday as suspected Islamist militants escalated their campaign of mayhem in Pakistan’s largest cities. The bombs were the latest in a string of attacks against military and police targets in Lahore, the previously peaceful capital of Punjab province.

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/ 4 March 2008

Musharraf retreats to bunker

In some ways, life has changed little for Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf since the election two weeks ago. The retired general still trots out for afternoon tennis, aides say, and enjoys a game of bridge a few times a week. In the evenings he pulls on a cigar and, although he can’t admit it, nurses a glass of whisky.

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/ 28 January 2008

The broken bloodline

Watching him receive a verbal pistol-whipping from BBC veteran Jeremy Paxman at a London press conference earlier this month, it was hard not to feel sorry for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 19-year-old heir to Pakistan’s most perilous throne. Did the first-year Oxford student really think he was up to the job of heading the Pakistani opposition, even nominally?

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/ 8 October 2007

Afghanistan violence up 30%

An alarming surge in suicide attacks has fuelled a 30% rise in violence in Afghanistan this year, according to the United Nations. This year has seen an average of 550 violent incidents a month compared with 425 in 2006, a report by the department of safety and security said.

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/ 30 July 2007

A study in courage

At five feet tall, Asma Jahangir is not an imposing figure, but for almost four decades she has towered over Pakistan’s human rights war. She has championed battered wives, rescued teen­agers from death row, defended people accused of blasphemy and sought justice for the victims of honour killings. These battles have won her admirers and enemies in great number.