KABUL: The Taliban yesterday pledged to take revenge on US troops in Afghanistan after guards at Guantanamo prison fired non-lethal rounds at inmates to quell unrest.
Guards at the US-run prison in Cuba fired the rounds last Saturday to halt unrest as they relocated inmates into individual cells, US military officials said.
Officials faced resistance from some detainees as they moved inmates from communal housing to individual cells. No detainees were seriously injured, according to the officials. Dozens of detainees are in the third month of a hunger strike at the prison.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his insurgent group would avenge the incident by attacking American troops in Afghanistan.
“The Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate... vow to avenge these wronged prisoners by targeting the American invaders in Afghanistan with all might at their disposal, Allah willing,” Mujahid said in the statement.
The spokesman also called on rights groups to condemn “such cowardly actions of America and take a firm stance against it based upon evident humane principles”.
Islamabad free of P3 polio: WHO
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s struggle against polio was marked by two pleasant developments yesterday.
The first is a WHO confirmation of Pakistan being free of the type 3 poliovirus strain (P3), one of the two globally continuing strains of the wild poliovirus.
The second is the appointment of Dr Sania Nishtar as the focal person and coordinator of the federal government for all health-related subjects, in addition to her already assigned duties as Minister for Education and Training, Science and Technology, and IT and Telecom.
“The last time Pakistan reported a P3 case was on April 18, 2012. It is a historic breakthrough in the fight against polio that the virus has not been detected in any part of the country in the last one year,” stated the Chief of Polio Eradication at the World Health Organisation, Dr Elias Durry.
According to reliable data, Pakistan reported 36 P3 cases in 2008, 28 cases in 2009, 24 cases in 2010, and 2 each in 2011 and 2012.
Agencies
