In the first attack a donkey cart went over a mine buried by the roadside on the outskirts of Peshawar, police said.
“Both the donkey cart owner and donkey were killed. Basically the mine was planted to target police,” Kalam Khan, a senior police official, told AFP.
In the second incident a remote control bomb hit a police patrol pick-up, injuring 11, in the village of Darsamand, in Hangu district.
“Nine policemen and two passers-by were wounded in this bomb blast. Taliban militants are responsible for this attack,” Abdur Rashid Khan, district police chief told AFP by telephone.
Hangu lies 150 kilometres south of Peshawar and has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan’s majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias.
The area borders the tribal regions of Kurram and Orakzai, where entrenched militants oppose jobs and education for women.
Militants in Pakistan’s northwest often target police and other law enforcement agencies and are engaged in a campaign of violence against security forces in the country.
More than 4,000 have died in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since 2007.
The bombings have been blamed on terror networks linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
While Western air power has grounded Qadhafi’s warplanes and pushed back his forces from the brink of rebel stronghold Benghazi, disorganised and poorly equipped insurgents have failed to capitalise on the ground and are pinned down.
The rebels have been unable to dislodge Qadhafi’s forces from the key junction of Ajdabiyah in the east, while government tanks are besieging the last big rebel hold-out of Misrata.
There is a big risk of stalemate on the ground, analysts say.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday, Reuters witnesses said. The roar of a warplane was heard above the city followed by a barrage of anti-aircraft gunfire.
“We will not surrender,” Qadhafi earlier told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound, which came under attack in 1986 from the Reagan administration and once again in the current round of air strikes.
“We will defeat them by any means … We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one … We will be victorious in the end,” he said in a live television broadcast, his first public appearance since the air strikes began.
“This assault … is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,” Qadhafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the Libyan capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired guns into the air.
The Libyan government denies its army is conducting any offensive operations and says troops are only defending themselves when they come under attack.
But rebels and residents say Qadhafi’s tanks have kept up their shelling of Misrata in the west, killing 40 people on Monday alone, and also attacked the small town of Zintan near the border with Tunisia.
It was impossible to independently verify the reports.
REBELS BOGGED DOWN
The siege of Misrata, now weeks old, is becoming increasingly desperate, with water cut off for days and food running out, doctors operating on patients in hospital corridors and many of the wounded left untreated or simply turned away.
“The situation in the local hospital is disastrous,” said a Misrata doctor in a statement.
“The doctors and medical teams are exhausted beyond human physical ability and some of them cannot reach the hospital because of tanks and snipers.”
The rebel effort in the desert scrub of east Libya was bogged down outside Ajdabiyah, with no movement on the strategic town since Qadhafi’s remaining tanks holed up there after the government’s armoured advance along the open road to Benghazi was blown to bits by French air strikes on Saturday night.
Hiding in the sand dunes from the tank fire coming from the town, the rebels are without heavy weapons, leadership, communication, or even a plan. On Tuesday, groups of fighters lounged around, chatting and smoking cigarettes. This was the spearhead of the counter-offensive.
When asked who was in command, one fighter, Mohamed Bhreka, shrugged and said: “Nobody is. We are volunteers. We just come here. There is no plan.”
Their heavy machine guns were bolted to the back of pick-up trucks and there was a good supply of assault rifles. But some just had knives or iron bars. Field radios were not to be seen.
Fighters on the frontline of the uprising against Qadhafi’s 41-year rule of this oil-producing north African nation said they had lost the heavy weapons needed to take on his tanks.
It remains to be seen whether the rebel’s bravado and faith in God are enough to take towns and advance towards their target of capturing Tripoli.
AGREEMENT ON NATO ROLE
Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired in the United Nations-mandated mission to protect Libyan civilians against government troops.
US President Barack Obama said the allies should be able to announce soon that they have achieved the objective of creating the no-fly zone.
But, he said, Qadhafi would present a potential threat to his people “unless he is willing to step down.”
“We will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people. But we will not be in the lead,” Obama said.
Obama, facing questions at home about the Libyan mission, duration and cost, wants the United States to give up operational control of enforcing the no-fly zone within days.
Obama spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday and they agreed NATO should play an important role in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone, the White House said.
“We condemn this act in the strongest possible words,” President Asif Ali Zardari said during a televised address to the federal parliament.
The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Terry Jones, who last year drew condemnation over his aborted plan to ignite a pile of the Islamic holy books to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Jones was widely pilloried for his threats to carry out the Quran burning, including by US President Barack Obama.
“It is a serious set back to the efforts at promoting harmony among civilised communities throughout the world,” Zardari said asking the parliament to pass a resolution and urge the United Nations to address the issue.
Pakistani foreign ministry also condemned the desecration of the Quran as “despicable act.” “There could be no justification for such acts,” the ministry said.
“This has deeply hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and Muslims all over the world.”
The council decided instead simply to hold a briefing already planned for Thursday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on how the resolution that set up the zone to protect civilians in Libya’s internal conflict is being implemented.
Strikes were launched over the weekend by US, French and British warplanes and missiles to disable Libyan air defenses and halt government forces closing in on the eastern city of Benghazi and other centers held by rebels.
Diplomats said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa had written to the council over the weekend requesting that the 15-nation body hold an emergency session to debate the “military aggression” against Libya.
China, which holds the council chair this month, called closed-door council consultations on Monday to consider the letter.
“The council will convene on Thursday to receive the report by the secretary-general about the implementation of Resolution 1973 and will then discuss the situation in Libya,” a council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said afterward.
The diplomat said he did not think the council intends to react to the letter by Koussa, but wants to remain focused on Libya on its own terms. “Why should the council meet now? Why shouldn’t it wait until it has proper information from the secretary-general?” the diplomat asked.
‘All Necessary Measures’
Under the terms of the March 17 resolution, which both clamped a no-fly zone on Libya and authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, Ban was required to report back to the council within a week on its implementation.
Diplomats said Thursday’s meeting was likely to be closed.
Ban will just have returned from visits to Libya’s neighbors Egypt and Tunisia.
The council is far from united over the action on Libya. In last week’s vote, 10 countries supported the resolution and the other five council members abstained including Russia and China, which, however, refrained from using their veto power.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday called the resolution “defective and flawed” and likened it to medieval calls for crusades, a term later criticized by Russia President Dmitry Medvedev.
Germany, Brazil and India also abstained.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa suggested on Sunday that the Western powers’ military strikes on Libya had gone too far, but said on Monday he respected the resolution that imposed the no-fly zone, which the Arab League itself had called for.
Countries taking part in enforcing the no-fly zone are required to notify the United Nations. The world body said on Monday it had so far been notified by Britain, France, the United States, Denmark, Canada, Italy and Qatar.
Pakistan start firm favourites in Wednesday’s quarter-final against Darren Sammy’s men at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium after topping Group A with five wins in six matches.
One of those wins broke Australia’s unbeaten streak of 34 World Cup matches over a 12-year period after the three-time defending champions went down by four wickets in Colombo on Saturday.
A win over the West Indies could bring Afridi’s men a mouth-watering semi-final against arch-rivals India, if the co-hosts beat Australia in Thursday’s quarter-final in Ahmedabad.
“Our entire focus is on winning the quarter-final, I am not even thinking of the next match, whether it is India or Australia,” Afridi told a packed news conference.
“We will not take the West Indies lightly. Any team is capable of winning on their day, there are no second chances in a knock-out match. I think they are a very good side.”
The West Indies collapsed from winning positions against England and India, and only qualified for the quarter-finals on superior run-rate after ending the league level with Bangladesh on six points.
The impressive run by Afridi’s team would have delighted their volatile nation, which has been stripped of big-time cricket at home due to security concerns and tainted by an unsavoury spot-fixing scandal.
The absence of former captain Salman Butt and pace spearheads Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif due to the controversy was not felt as the team has rallied superbly under their inspirational captain.
All-rounder Afridi is the tournament’s leading bowler with 17 wickets with his fastish leg-breaks, while seamer Umar Gul has kept the pressure on at the other end with 13 wickets.
Afridi may have failed with the bat so far with just 65 runs in six games, but young guns Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq have shone brightly in their first World Cup.
Akmal has scored 211 runs at 52.75 and Shafiq averages 124 in the two games he has played so far, while seasoned seniors like Misbah-ul Haq and Younis Khan have lent solidity to the middle-order.
“Our success so far has been entirely due to the bowlers, who have done a very good job,” said Afridi. “I myself have not batted well and will focus on that tomorrow.
“I know how important my batting is for the team and I will try to get some runs on the board.”
Afridi played down suggestions that the West Indies will be hard to beat at a venue where they shot out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 in the league to romp home by nine wickets.
“That was Bangladesh, this is Pakistan,” the captain said.
“It’s not that we are playing for the first time in these conditions. We feel at home anywhere in the sub-continent.”
Afridi said he had never seen Pakistan work so hard at their cricket, which has been rewarded by the good results so far.
“I have played for 14 years and never seen the team train so seriously and focus on their game,” he said.
“The entire team is together in the dream to do well in the World Cup.
“Our aim at the start was to make the semi-finals and I am confident we can achieve that.
The meeting discussed the upcoming joint session of the parliament and the country’s prevalent political situation.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Gilani said he was hopeful that the opposition would not boycott the March 22 address of President Asif Ali Zardari to a joint sitting of both houses of parliament.
Prime Minister Gilani said he believed in democratic values and would not side with undemocratic forces.
Moreover, Prime Minister Gilani telephoned PML-N leader and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad. He reportedly requested the leaders not to protest during President Zardari’s address to the parliament.
Earlier, on March 19, a delegation of the People’s Party, headed by Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Raza Rabbani, met Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, to seek the opposition’s cooperation during President Zardari’s to the parliament.
However, during that meeting, Chaudhry Nisar complained about the recent behaviour of PPP MPAs in Punjab Assembly, but said the PML-N would follow parliamentary traditions and not create any fuss during the joint session.
President Zardari in his address on Tuesday is likely to announce the national agenda for the next two years.
His address is scheduled for 1600 PST.
President Zardari earlier addressed the Parliament on September 20, 2008, March 28, 2009 and on April 5, 2010.
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