Today we are Talk about Taliban

1

The main political parties last month backed a government proposal to seek negotiations with the militants, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the state since 2007.

The main umbrella TTP faction responded with a list of preconditions, including a government ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border where the militants have hideouts.

TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told media any ceasefire must include an end to US drone attacks in the tribal areas, which have been targeting suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants since 2004.

"A ceasefire alone is not sufficient. The stoppage of drone strikes is essential, otherwise -- if drones continue to strike -- we will not accept the ceasefire," Shahid said.

2

LAHORE: Ulema belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) have appealed to the Pakistani Taliban to give up arms and renounce violence as such acts were vilifying Islam.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the Ulema said that such acts of violence by the militants were causing destruction to the country.

They said that Taliban should be aware that they were massacring creatures of God. They said that the Taliban should follow path of peace and give up arms

3

HANGU: A suicide bomber attacked the headquarters of local Taliban commander Mullah Nabi Hanafi in Orakzai Agency, killing at least 13 people and completely destroying the headquarters on early Thursday.

According to the sources, at first the attackers broke into the headquarters and opened fire after which the suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the headquarters.

The dead bodies have been recovered while there are reports of injuries as a result of the assault.

While Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has been under pressure for years to improve the company's performance and share price, this appears to be the first time that major shareholders are taking aim at Gates, who remains one of the most respected and influential figures in technology.

A representative for Microsoft declined to comment on Tuesday.

There is no indication that Microsoft's board would heed the wishes of the three investors, who collectively hold more than 5 percent of the company's stock, according to the sources. They requested the identity of the investors be kept anonymous because the discussions were private.

Gates owns about 4.5 percent of the $277 billion company and is its largest individual shareholder.

The three investors are concerned that Gates' role as chairman effectively blocks the adoption of new strategies and would limit the power of a new chief executive to make substantial changes. In particular, they point to Gates' role on the special committee searching for Ballmer's successor.

They are also worried that Gates - who spends most of his time on his philanthropic foundation - wields power out of proportion to his declining shareholding.

Gates, who owned 49 percent of Microsoft before it went public in 1986, sells about 80 million Microsoft shares a year under a pre-set plan, which if continued would leave him with no financial stake in the company by 2018.

He lowered his profile at Microsoft after he handed the CEO role to Ballmer in 2000, giving up his day-to-day work there in 2008 to focus on the $38 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In August, Ballmer said he would retire within 12 months, amid pressure from activist fund manager ValueAct Capital Management.

Microsoft is now looking for a new CEO, though its board has said Ballmer's strategy will go forward. He has focused on making devices, such as the Surface tablet and Xbox gaming console, and turning key software into services provided over the Internet. Some investors say that a new chief should not be bound by that strategy.

News that some investors were pushing for Gates' ouster as chairman provoked mixed reactions from other shareholders.

"This is long overdue," said Todd Lowenstein, a portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which owns Microsoft shares. "Replacing the old guard with some fresh eyes can provide the oxygen needed to properly evaluate their corporate strategy."

Kim Caughey Forrest, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, suggested now was not the time for Microsoft to ditch Gates, and that he could even play a larger role.

"I've thought that the company has been missing a technology visionary," she said. "Bill (Gates) would fit the bill."

Microsoft is still one of the world's most valuable technology companies, making a net profit of $22 billion last fiscal year. But its core Windows computing operating system, and to a lesser extent the Office software suite, are under pressure from the decline in personal computers as smartphones and tablets grow more popular.

Shares of Microsoft have been essentially static for a decade, and the company has lost ground to Apple Inc and Google Inc in the move toward mobile computing.

One of the sources said Gates was one of the technology industry's greatest pioneers, but the investors felt he was more effective as chief executive than as chairman.

Its our education system deference. Can they equal each other?