title: Operation Zarb-e-Azb

text:
Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ALA-LC:  ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, al-Qaeda, Jundallah and Lashkar-e-Islam. The operation was launched on 15 June 2014 in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as a renewed effort against militancy in the wake of the 8 June attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, for which the TTP and the IMU claimed responsibility. As of 14 July 2014, the operation internally displaced about 929,859 people belonging to 80,302 families from North Waziristan.

Part of the war in North-West Pakistan, up to 30,000 Pakistani soldiers were involved in Zarb-e-Azb, described as a "comprehensive operation" to flush out all foreign and local militants hiding in North Waziristan. The operation has received widespread support from the Pakistani political, defence and civilian sectors. As a consequence, the overall security situation improved and terrorist attacks in Pakistan dropped to a six-year low since 2008. Zarb-e-Azb was followed by Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad which began in February 2017, following a resurgence in terrorist incidents.

Etymologies
Zarb-e-Azb ( ALA-LC:  ) means "sharp and cutting strike". Azb also refers to the sword owned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which he used in the battles of Badr and Uhud.

Strategy
For the first time, the Pakistani military implemented a military strategy called "Seek, Destroy, Clear, Hold." The Pakistani military will seek the target. Once found, it will be destroyed. When destroyed, the infrastructure, bodies and weapons will be cleared and the area will be held both during this time and after its completion to ensure post-operation security and infrastructure rebuilding and/or area rehabilitation. The Seek and destroy component is from the Vietnam War whereas the Clear and hold component is from the Iraq War. The Pakistani military combined the two doctrines as a single doctrine for the operation to be successful.

Background

Peace negotiations
Peace negotiations with the Taliban were announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after his election, although previous attempts to engage TTP in dialogue had failed. The first session of talks, between committees appointed by the Pakistani Government and the Taliban, was held on 26 March 2014 at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad. The Taliban did not name representatives from their ranks, instead nominating pro-Taliban religious figures to present their views. The terrorists called for the implementation of Sharia in Pakistan; the Government of Pakistan demanded the cessation of hostilities, insisting that talks be held within the framework of the Pakistani constitution. A month-long ceasefire was reached on 1 March 2014.

Besides the meetings at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, negotiations also involved helicopter travel by government representatives to the areas under militant control near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The government had indicated that stronger military action would be implemented if the talks failed.

Failure
Negotiations collapsed after the execution of 23 Pakistani Frontier Corps soldiers by the Taliban on 17 February 2014. The soldiers had been held by the insurgents since 2010, and on 17 April 2014 the TTP formally ended the ceasefire.
Taliban infighting since March 2014 killed more than 90 militants. The strife, triggered by differences between the Mehsud group (led by Sheheryar Mehsud) and another TTP faction (led by Khan Said Sajna), impeded the negotiations. The negotiations were irreversibly damaged by a terrorist attack on Karachi Airport for which the Taliban claimed responsibility and which killed 28 people (including security personnel). A Pakistani military official was quoted to have said, "The army is ready for an operation."

Jinnah Airport attack

The operation began one week after a terrorist attack on Pakistan's busiest airport. On 8 June 2014, 10 militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and TTP attacked Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, killing 28 people including security personnel and wounding at least 18.

In retaliation, the Pakistani military launched a series of air-strikes targeting terrorist hideouts in the areas bordering Afghanistan. At least 25 militants were killed on 10 June. The figure also included foreign militants killed. Two drone attacks on 12 June killed Uzbek, Afghan and local militants. On 15 June the Pakistani military intensified air-strikes and bombed eight foreign militant hideouts, killing as many as 140 militants (most Uzbek, including persons linked to the airport attack and airport attack commander and mastermind Abu Abdur Rehman Almani) in North Waziristan.

Preparations

The Pakistani military had prepared for the operation long before, and the government prepared for a three-front operation: isolating targeted militant groups, obtaining support from the political parties and saving civilians from the backlash of the operation.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the nation stood by its military: "The decision was taken after the strategy of dialogue failed. The operation will continue until it reaches its logical conclusion. Any group that challenges Pakistan's constitution, attacks civilians, soldiers, and government installations and uses Pakistani territory to plan terrorist attacks will be targeted". Asif added that internally displaced persons would be assisted by the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments: "We will try to ensure that the displaced do not have to stay away from their homes for too long."

The combat troops encircled militant bases in the towns of Mirali and Miranshah. Pakistani officials said that the Afghan's National Security Forces (ANSF) were requested to seal the border on their side so that militants do not escape. The operation involved the Air Force, Navy artillery, tanks and ground troops. According to a military statement, "On the directions of the government, armed forces of Pakistan have launched a comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists who are hiding in sanctuaries in North Waziristan." An official with the military said that between 14,000 and 20,000 soldiers were normally stationed in North Waziristan before the operation, and he expected the offensive to require no more than a total of 30,000 troops.

Timeline

2014

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2015

January

February

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2016

January

February

March

April
On 3 April, the Pakistani government declared victory and the end of the operation after clearing 640 square kilometers in Shawal, killing some 250 terrorists.

May
Pakistan clears last militant stronghold North Waziristan Agency

June

July

August

September

October

November
1 November 2016:
Pakistan Army major was killed and six soldiers injured in a roadside IED explosion in South Waziristan Agency

December

2017

January

February

12 February 2017: 3 FC Personnel killed in South Waziristan IED Explosion

American drone strikes

Drone strikes, which were halted for six months at the request of the Pakistani government, resumed for the operation. The following drone strikes took place during the operation:

In 2014
11 June 2014: Two strikes in Miramshah killed 16 suspected militants and injured several others. These were the first drone strikes of 2014; the previous strike occurred on 25 December 2013 in the Qutab Khel area of Miramshah, killing four suspected militants.
18 June 2014: At least six militants were killed in Miramshah.
10 July 2014: A strike in the Datta Khel area killed seven militants and injured three others.
16 July 2014: Four missiles were fired in a strike in the tehsil of Datta Khel, two on a house and two on a vehicle, killing twenty militants and injuring five.
19 July 2014: Eleven militants, including two commanders, were killed in the tehsil of Madakhel, Data Khel, North Waziristan. Most of the militants belonged to the Punjabi faction of the Taliban.
6 August 2014: A strike in Datta Khel killed six militants and injured two others.
24 Sept 2014: At least 8 people including Uzbek Militants were reportedly killed in a US drone strike Dattakhel tehsil of North Waziristan.
5 October 2014: At least 5 suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike in Shawal area of South Waziristan tribal region.
6 October 2014: At least 8 suspected militant were killed and several other injured in a U.S. drone strike in Shawal district of North Waziristan.
7 October 2014: At least 3 suspected militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan region.
30 October 2014: A US drone strike killed at least 4, injuring several others in Birmal Tehsil of South Waziristan.
11 November 2014: A US drone strike in Doa Toi area of Datakhel tehsil in North Waziristan Agency killed 4 suspected militants.
21 November 2014:Reportedly Five suspected militants including two commander of 'Qaedat al-Jihad in the sub-continent', a newly established branch of Al Qaeda were killed in a US Drone strike in Datakhel region of North Waziristan Agency.
6 December 2014: A US drone strike killed a key Al Qaeda leader Umar Farooq along with four others in Datakhel region of North Waziristan Agency.
26 December 2014: Two separate US Drone strikes in the Kund and Mangroti area of Shawal in North Waziristan Agency killed at least 7 suspected militants.

In 2015
4 January 2015: A reportedly high-value unidentified Uzbek commander of Taliban's Gul Bahadur group was killed along with 8 others by a US drone strike in Shawal area of North Waziristan Agency.
15 January 2015: A US drone strike reportedly killed 7 suspected militants in Wacha Dara area of Liddah Tehsil of South Waziristan Agency.
19 January 2015: A US drone strike killed 6 while injuring 4 others in the ShahiKhel area of North Waziristan's Shawwal tehsil.
28 January 2015: A US drone strike killed 7 while injuring another militant in the Shawal area of North Waziristan.
18 March 2015: A US drone strike killed a TTP commander Khawrey Mehsud along with 3 others in Shabak area of Kurram Agency.
12 April 2015: A U.S. drone strike killed 4 suspected militants in North Waziristan.
16 May 2015: A drone strike Killed 7 to 13 militants in the Mana area of North Waziristan Agency.
18 May 2015: A U.S. drone strike killed 6 suspected militants in Zoye Narye Area of North Waziristan.
2 June 2015: Four suspected militants were killed in a drone strike targeting a vehicle in the Shawal area of North Waziristan.
6 June 2015: At least nine suspected militants were killed in a strike in Shawal's Zoya Saidgai area, considered to be a hideout of the Afghan Taliban.

In 2016

In 2017

Yearly Progress

On 13 June 2015, the Pakistani military reported progress in the operation in the course of a year. DG ISPR Asim Saleem Bajwa reported that 2,763 militants had been killed so far, including 218 terrorist commanders in 9,000 intelligence based operations (IBOs). "Some 837 hideouts of terrorists have been destroyed and 253 tonnes of explosives recovered so far during the operation", he said. The Army also recovered 18,087 weapons, including heavy machine guns, light machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and AK-47s . Bajwa said that thousands of terrorists were also arrested, their strongholds cleared and their communication infrastructure destroyed. "347 officers and soldiers of Pakistan Armed Forces have embraced martyrdom", he added. The year 2015 was declared to be "a year of victory" and the operation itself a "manifestation of the resolve to root out terrorism in the country" by the Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Final phase

One and a half years after the start of Zarb-e-Azb, phenomenal successes were achieved, with the last pockets close to the Pakistan-Afghan border being cleared. Terrorist backbone broken and structure dismantled. Nexus with sleeper cells largely disrupted. Intelligence based Operations (IBOs) busted remaining sleeper cells. 3,400 terrorists were killed, with 837 hideouts from where they were carrying out terrorist activities destroyed. During the last 18 months over 13,200 IBOs carried out across the country in which 183 terrorists were killed, 2,193 arrested. IBOs continue. 488 officers and men of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps KPK, Baluchistan, Rangers Sindh were killed and 1,914 injured in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Total 11 military courts. 142 cases referred to military courts. 55 cases decided, 87 cases in process. 31 terrorists convicted. In July, the Pakistan Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif visited the military's forward-most positions near the Afghan border in North Waziristan He was briefed about the progress and future plans for Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Sharif also visited South Waziristan and Wana agencies. It was reported that the Pakistani military had just completed the preliminary preparations for final phase. In the area around Shawal, peaks were cleared.

Management of displaced civilians
As a result of the operation, 929,859 displaced civilians (from 80,302 families) were registered by Pakistani authorities as of 14 July. Financial support, relief goods and food packages were being distributed and 59 donation points were established across Pakistan by the army.

On 10 July, the Foreign Office of Pakistan said that the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons was an internal matter and reiterated that Pakistan had not requested international assistance. "We have very clear instructions from the prime minister [to not seek external assistance], Pakistan has neither made nor intends to make a request for international assistance. It has been made very clear that all expenditure related to temporarily displaced Pakistanis will be met from our own resources", Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said. However, it was reported that the United States allocated $31 million for IDPs and an additional $9.3 million for health, hygiene, water and sanitation for IDPs and livestock. It was also reported that the United Arab Emirates government allocated $20.5 million in IDP humanitarian aid.
In February 2014, the Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a visiting US Senator Jack Reed that the cost of the operation so far had reached  and could go as high as .

Return of the IDPs
On 8 December 2014, the military approved the phased repatriation of the IDPs. The Pakistani army chief said the early return of the IDPs was his top priority. According to senior military officials, civilian authorities were directed to plan the return of the IDPs to their homes in areas which have been cleared of terrorists. On 31 March 2015, the repatriation started. On the first day, 219 IDPs belonging to 62 families left Bannu for Spinwam and Shahmeri in North Waziristan. In the first phase until 24 April, about 1,200 families were to return to their homes in Sinwam, Shamiri, Mirali and Bubali areas of NWA. Each family was given  as cash assistance and  ( Dollar rate was 101 PKR in march 2015, adjusted in inflation it was $247 and $99 precisely) as transportation expenses at Mirzail. Food ration for six months and non-food items would also be given to each household. For effective disease control, children under five years of age were administered anti-polio vaccines and under 10 years of age were administered anti-measles vaccines. As of 4 May 2015, only 230 displaced families had returned since the launch of the repatriation programme. "The civil administration can send entire displaced population back to their homes within a month if the area is de-notified as conflict zone," said an official dealing with IDPs repatriation. According to the official sources, the cut-off date for the return of IDPs was December 2016.

Reaction

Domestic

Social media
The decision by the Pakistani military to launch a comprehensive operation was widely supported, with journalists, opinion-makers, politicians and other social-media users commending the operation.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf
 - PTI chairman Imran Khan endorsed the military operation in North Waziristan as it became clear that the Taliban were not seriously negotiating. A week before, reiterating his party's stance on peace talks with militants, Imran said that an offensive in North Waziristan would unite militant forces against the Pakistani state. "Conducting such a military operation when most of the groups in NWA want talks is suicidal," Imran said in a statement, adding that most groups in North Waziristan desired peace talks with the government. The PTI position changed as it became clear that negotiations were fruitless.

Jamat-e-Islami
 - Jamat-e-Islami (JI), one of Pakistan's leading religious parties, continued to oppose any operation in North Waziristan. JI leader Siraj-ul-Haq urged the government to keep the option of negotiations with the Taliban. He warned that a military operation in North Waziristan would trigger a massive human tragedy, saying that it was the duty of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to consider the views of the nation and its leadership (inside and outside Parliament) before making a crucial decision affecting national security.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement
 - According to Muttahida Qaumi Movement senator Babar Khan Ghauri, "This is a commendable decision by the government. We have been repeatedly telling the current government that instead of engaging the terrorists in dialogue, government should act against these elements. Karachi has a number of terrorists and it might suffer from a blow back; this should be tackled so Karachi does not have to suffer on account of this." MQM head Altaf Hussain said, "I welcome this operation and I am glad that government is supporting the armed forces, those who have not backed the operation must realize that it is a matter of national security. I appeal to them to come on same page by setting aside their political compulsions." he said.

Awami National Party
 - Awami National Party (ANP) member Zahid Khan said, "We also held a dialogue previously (during our government) but that did not produce effective results. We wanted peace and we were okay if that came through dialogue but unfortunately that could not happen. This time, knowing from our experience, we had cautioned the government that [the] dialogue approach would not work. Government should have taken the parliament into confidence before launching the operation but it didn't."

Local tribesmen
North Waziristan tribal elders assured their support for Operation Zarb-e-Azb, according to a statement released by ISPR director-general Major General Asim Bajwa. "Many tribal elders from around Miranshah, Mir Ali, Datta Khel assure support to army operation," Bajwa tweeted. "The tribesmen have assured the army that they would not let the militant to return to the area."

Sunni Ulema Board
On 22 June 2014, more than 100 Islamic scholars issued a joint fatwa in support of the operation, calling it a jihad: "Crushing of the attempts to disrupt peaceful atmosphere in a Muslim state is jihad".

International

 – Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai stated that his government would provide "every possible assistance" to defeat the militants in the operation.
 – Interior minister Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that his government would co-operate with Pakistan in the war against the extremists.
 – In a statement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that as of 23 June more than 450,000 people were internally displaced from the war-torn region. Other UN agencies, such as the UNHCR, agreed to provide tents and other facilities to the camps. The World Health Organization (WHO) provided medicines and vaccines to the IDPs to avert a polio outbreak.
 – The US supported military operations against Taliban militants, a spokesman from the US Embassy in Pakistan said on 16 June, and the US supported every Pakistani step taken for the establishment of peace. The United States had pressured Pakistan for a military operation in North Waziristan for years, and the US Congress linked military assistance to Pakistan for the next fiscal year with military operations in North Waziristan in June 2014. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said that the Pentagon was unaware of Pakistan's decision to launch a new offensive in North Waziristan: "The Pakistan military and the government understand the threat, and they continue to go after that threat." On 5 November 2014, Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, a senior commander for US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said in a Pentagon-hosted video briefing from Afghanistan that the Haqqani network is now "fractured" like the Taliban. "They are fractured. They are fractured like the Taliban is. That's based pretty much on the Pakistan's operations in North Waziristan this entire summer-fall," he said, acknowledging the effectiveness of Pakistan's military offensive. "That has very much disrupted their efforts in Afghanistan and has caused them to be less effective in terms of their ability to pull off an attack in Kabul," Anderson added.
 – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that terrorism was a problem common to China and Pakistan, since militants were the enemy of both countries, adding that China fully supported the operation.
 – Chairman of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin commended the operation, while the Pakistani Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif was on an official visit to Russia. "We will stand by Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism for stability in the region. Our relations are independent, more consistent and will further grow," he added.

TTP retaliation

Lahore

On 2 November 2014, a suicide bombing following the daily parade took place at Wagah border in Pakistan, more than 55 killed and over 200 injured. The attack was claimed by militant groups jamaat-ul-Ahrar and jundallah, sub-groups of TTP.

Peshawar

On 16 December 2014, seven gunmen belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered an Army Public School in Pakistani city of Peshawar and opened fire on school staff and children, killing 145 people consisting majority of students. The spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Mohammad Omar Khorasani, took the responsibility for the attack and said it was revenge for Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

State's Counter-retaliation

Responding to TTP's retaliatory attacks, Pakistan has mounted deadliest counter-retaliation on TTP; first removing the moratorium on executions of terrorists by the Presidential Order, and secondly establishing military courts commissions (roughly based on Gitmo). Pakistani authorities have issued "hang till death" orders to jail superintendents at the nationwide prisons. In weeks, a number of high-value detainees convicted on a terrorism charges were hanged.

Since December 2014, Pakistan's intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, antiterrorism forces, and inter-provincial police have been engaged in deadly police encounters in all over the country. News media have been televising the live actions on tracking down the militants and targeting the TTP operatives in series of police encounters. In the afternoon of 20 December, the KP Police and the special agents of the FIA raided a safe house in Shabqadar, a town located in  north of Peshawar. In an exchange of fire at the safe house, the KPK police and the other law enforcement agencies gunned down the six TTP fighters, including their commander and two other high-value targets who assisted in the attack.  At the night of 20 December, the team of Pakistan Rangers personnel raided a safe house in Manghopir area of Karachi and killed five members of the TTP in a deadly shoot out.

On 22 December 2014, Karachi Police and the CID teams chased down and killed the TTP leader, Abid Muchar, along with his three associates in a police encounter. The same night, another action in took place in Karachi when the CID teams, in a high-speed chase in Hawke's Bay Beach, chased and apprehended five members of al-Qaeda's South Asian chapter who are suspected of planning an attack on a naval dockyard in Karachi in September.

Acting on a MI information, the navy's SSGN teams were inserted in secret hideout in Khyber Agency and stalked the six terrorists led by Saddam Jan— the mastermind of the Army Public School attack— at the midnight of 26 December 2014. In a late night operations, the SSGN combat teams reportedly hunted and killed Jan along with his six militants, while trying to seek sanctuary. An unnamed senior Pakistan government official confirmed the report.

On 9 January 2015, the CID teams gunned down the four al-Qaeda operatives after another high speed chase took place in Qayyumabad in Karachi. In another separate midnight action in Lahore, the teams of FIA's special agents, assisted by the Punjab Police, raided a house located in Burki Road. Lasting almost two-hour gun battle, the FIA teams hunted and gunned down Roohullah (alias: Asadullah)—the mastermind of the Wagah border attack along with three of his associates. Since the attack, the FIA had been on a hunt for Roohullah and was finally killed in a police encounter in Lahore.

References

2000s in Pakistan
2010s in Pakistan
2014 in Pakistan
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Asia
Zarb-e-Azb
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Pakistan
Zarb-e-Azb
Zarb-e-Azb
Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Army
Pakistan Marines
Religion-based civil wars
Sniper warfare
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
War on terror
Wars involving Pakistan
Wars involving the Taliban
Waziristan


title: Rev. Frank Yarborough House

text:
Rev. Frank Yarborough House is a historic home located at Batesburg-Leesville, Lexington County, South Carolina. It was built about 1906, and is a one-story frame Victorian cottage set on open brick piers. It features an ornamented wraparound porch and a steep central cross gable.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Victorian architecture in South Carolina
Houses completed in 1906
Houses in Lexington County, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Lexington County, South Carolina
1906 establishments in South Carolina


title: Judith Nicosia

text:
Judith Nicosia is a soprano who is based in New Jersey.  Winner of the soprano competition at the Paris International Voice Competition in 1972, she had her Carnegie Hall debut in 1981. A graduate of Ithaca College, Nicosia is currently a professor of voice in the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and tours widely as a classical soloist.

References

External links
 Rutgers University bio

American women singers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Ithaca College alumni
Rutgers University faculty
American women academics
21st-century American women


title: Chah Varz Rural District

text:
Chah Varz Rural District () is in Chah Varz District of Lamerd County, Fars province, Iran. It is administered from the city of Chah Varz. Chah Varz is about 350 km distance from Shiraz and 486 meters above sea level and in the Zagros Mountains is located south of aria and its weather is tropic and malarian

At the National Census of 2006, its population was 7,985 in 1,565 households. There were 6,788 inhabitants in 1,716 households at the following census of 2011. At the most recent census of 2016, the population of the rural district was 4,181 in 1,229 households. The largest of its six villages was Chah Varz (now a city), with 2,391 people.

Chah Varz rural district was created in 1993. Justification designs to create the district of the Chah Varz in 2004. In 2011 by Ruhollah Ahmadzadeh the Governor of Fars approved to the Ministry of the Interior in May 2011, the political Commission will send a defense to the Cabinet and the plan passed on 20 September 2012.

The name of chahvarz in Dehkhoda Dictionary  is a village of the beyram Rural District and the job of Chah Varz citizens was agriculture and significant herd. but nowadays people's job is more commercial and services work. The commercial position of this sector and the existence of Lamerd County communication paths to the center in Fars province and Larestan is the importance of this point.
In the mid-4th century Affifuddin Shah Zendo attack to Chah Varz and after the defeat of the old residents of the Sassanian this area was completely deserted this region until "Ali Mohub"

"Chahvarz Twin" Palm in the book of folklore and customs of Lamerd customs decodes the target tourism works in the city of Lamerd.

Etymology
Chah Varz name is different in historical book: like "Chah Vard", "Chah Bord".
Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda wrote chah varz name in Dehkhoda Dictionary "chah varzd" this name Include Chah and Vard; Chah mining in English "Water well" and "Vard" mining Flower So Chah Varz mining Well of Flower.

Old Arabic author wrote Chah Varz name to Chah Bord and Chah Bord mining to English Well of Rock.

Old Chah Varzian People say the name of Chah Varz was Chah Varzā this name mining to English "Well of Ox" old people say to reason of this etymology: was in Chah Varz Ox and people by this ox taking water out of well.

History
Before Islam Gabrs lived in Chah Varz village and their religion was Zoroastrianism .

References

Lamerd County

Rural Districts of Fars Province

Populated places in Fars Province

Populated places in Lamerd County


title: Distinguished Gallantry Cross

text:
The Distinguished Gallantry Cross was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Bophuthatswana in 1982, for award to all ranks for hair-raising deeds of distinguished heroism.

The Bophuthatswana Defence Force
The Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF) was established upon that country's independence on 6 December 1977. The Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Bophuthatswana Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Institution
The Distinguished Gallantry Cross was instituted by the State President of Bophuthatswana in 1982. It is the senior award of a set of two decorations for bravery, along with the Distinguished Gallantry Medal.

Bophuthatswana's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these two decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Louw Wepener Decoration and Louw Wepener Medal.

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to all ranks for hair-raising deeds of distinguished heroism.
Only one DGC was ever awarded, to General Jack Turner, for his heroic action and who was shot in the ankle, while overpowering and disarming a rebel guard, saving President Lucas Mangope's life and other captured officials from being executed during the attempted coup, on 10 February 1988.

Order of wear

Since the Distinguished Gallantry Cross was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.

Bophuthatswana Defence Force until 26 April 1994

Official BDF order of precedence:
 Preceded by the Order of the Leopard, Military Division, Commander.
 Succeeded by the Defence Force Merit Decoration.
Bophuthatswana official national order of precedence:
 Preceded by the Order of the Leopard, Military Division, Commander.
 Succeeded by the Decoration for Valour in the Prisons Service.

South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994

Official SANDF order of precedence:
 Preceded by the Louw Wepener Decoration (LWD) of the Republic of South Africa.
 Succeeded by the Gallantry Cross, Gold (GCG) of the Republic of Venda.
Official national order of precedence:
 Preceded by the National Force Gallantry Cross, Gold (PCF) of the Republic of Venda.
 Succeeded by the King's Cross for Bravery of the KwaZulu Homeland.

The position of the Distinguished Gallantry Cross in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, but it remained unchanged on both occasions. These occurred in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.

Description
Obverse
The Distinguished Gallantry Cross is a silver-gilt cross, 38 millimetres in diameter, with dark green enamelled arms and a double-bladed axe head between each pair of arms. In the centre is a leopard head on a red enameled roundel. The suspender is attached to the cross by another double-bladed axe head symbol.

Reverse
The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.

Ribbon
The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark red.

Discontinuation
Conferment of the Distinguished Gallantry Cross was discontinued when the Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.

References

Military decorations and medals of Bophuthatswana
Awards established in 1982
Awards disestablished in 1994
1982 establishments in Africa
1994 disestablishments in Africa


title: Jack H. Skirball

text:
Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985) was an American film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist  and rabbi.

Early life
Jack H. Skirball was born in 1896 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. His father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. His mother was an immigrant from England. His father died when he was seven years old. Shortly after, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, with his mother and nine siblings.

Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, but he dropped out. He studied at the Hebrew Union College, and he was ordained as a rabbi, following his mother's wishes. He then attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and sociology.

Career
Skirball went to Palestine with Abba Hillel Silver in 1919. Back in the United States, he served Reform synagogues in Cleveland, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana in the 1920s.

After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1938, he became a film producer. He served as general manager of the Educational Films Corporation of America, where he produced The Birth of a Baby, an educational film about childbearing in 1938.

Skirball served as vice president of Grand National Pictures, followed by president of Arcadia Pictures. He was associate producer of The Howards of Virginia, a 1940 film starring Cary Grant. A year later, in 1941, he produced This Woman is Mine. By 1942, he was associate producer of Saboteur, a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A year later, in 1943, he produced Shadow of a Doubt, another film directed by Hitchcock. He also produced Magnificent Doll in 1946, The Secret Fury in 1950, and Payment on Demand in 1951. He also produced A Matter of Time starring Liza Minnelli in 1976.

Skirball was the co-producer of Jacobowsky and the Colonel, a Broadway musical, alongside Jed Harris in 1944.

Skirball was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He believed that all films should be educational and that they should convey information in a way that is understandable to any audience member.

Skirball was also a real estate developer. In 1962, he developed the Vacation Village resort in Mission Bay, San Diego, California. In 1983, he sold it for US$51 million.

Philanthropy

Skirball founded the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College. By 1972, he founded the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, a museum of Jewish life near the campus of the University of Southern California. His goal was to show Christians and Jews that they shared much in common, and to ""dissipate" anti-Semitism." He later donated US$3.5 million to move it to a 15-acre plot of land in Brentwood, off the Sepulveda Pass, where it was renamed the Skirball Cultural Center.

In 1985, Skirball founded the Skirball Institute on American Values, a program of the American Jewish Committee. He appointed rabbi Alfred Wolf who was its director until 1996, when the latter was replaced by Eugene Mornell. The Skirball Institute organized inter-faith conferences, essay contests for high school students, academic research on American values, and offered scholarships to college students.

Personal life
In 1938, Skirball married Audrey Marx (1914–2002). They had two daughters, Sally Cochran and Agnes Skirball. They resided in a condominium in Century City, Los Angeles. Their horses competed at the Santa Anita Park.

Death and legacy
Skirball died in December 1985. His funeral was held at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

The Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle School in Los Angeles and the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City are named in his honor. Moreover, in 2011, the Skirball Foundation donated US$10 million to the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College, which was renamed in his honor.

References

External links

Jack Skirball's childhood in Homestead, PA

1896 births
1985 deaths
People from Homestead, Pennsylvania
Businesspeople from Cleveland
People from Los Angeles
American people of Czech-Jewish descent
American people of English-Jewish descent
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni
University of Chicago alumni
American Reform rabbis
Film producers from California
Philanthropists from California
Film producers from Pennsylvania
Film producers from Ohio
20th-century American philanthropists
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American rabbis
American real estate businesspeople


title: Abbas Khan Afridi

text:
Abbas Khan Afridi () is a Pakistani politician and businessman who previously served as the Federal Minister of Textile Industry in 2014-2015 and is a member of the Senate of Pakistan.

Afridi was the second highest tax payer in the country in 2013.

He is currently the joint secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

Personal life
Belonging to Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, his father Shammim Afridi and his brother Amjad Khan Afridi are both politicians.

Business career
He is the founder and CEO of Afridi Traders and holds shares in other projects as well.

Political career
He was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in March 2009 as an Independent candidate. He was sworn in as Federal Minister of Textile Industry on 19 March 2014.

References

Living people
Pashtun people
Afridi people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Members of the Senate of Pakistan
Pakistani businesspeople
Pashtun politicians


title: Archery at the 2006 Asian Games – Women's team

text:
The women's team recurve competition at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar was held from 9 to 13 December at the Lusail Archery Range.

Schedule
All times are Arabia Standard Time (UTC+03:00)

Results

Qualification

Knockout round

References

Official Results

External links
Official website

Women


title: Patang (film)

text:
Patang ('Kite') is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Goutam Ghose, starring Shabana Azmi, Shafiq Syed, Om Puri and  Rabi Ghosh. It is set in small railway station near Gaya and shows the lives of people in illegal slums near it. The film was shot in Gaya and Manpur in Bihar.

At the 41st National Film Awards (for 1993), Patang won the award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. At the Taormina Film Fest, Shabana Azmi won the Best Actress Award.
Child actor Shafiq Syed, who played the lead role of Krishna (Chaipau) in Mira Nair's Academy Award-nominated film Salaam Bombay! (1988), acted in the film. This was the only other one he did.

Cast

 Shabana Azmi as Jitni
 Shafiq Syed as Somra
 Om Puri as Mathura
 Rabi Ghosh
 Abul Khair
 Mohan Agashe
 Kamlesh Kunti Singh
 Ashad Sinha
 Shatrughan Sinha as Rabbani
 Durba Sahay as Collector's Wife

References

External links

1993 films
1990s Hindi-language films
Indian drama films
Films shot in India
Films set in Bihar
Films shot in Bihar
Films about poverty in India
Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners
Indian avant-garde and experimental films
1990s avant-garde and experimental films
Films directed by Goutam Ghose
1993 drama films
Hindi-language drama films


title: 2002–03 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season

text:
The 2002–03 season saw Brighton & Hove Albion compete in the Football League First Division where they finished in 23rd position with 45 points and were relegated to the Second Division.

Final league table

Results
Brighton & Hove Albion's score comes first

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Squad statistics

References

External links
 Brighton & Hove Albion 2002–03 at Soccerbase.com (select relevant season from dropdown list)

2002–03
Brighton and Hove Albion


title: Kim Bradley

text:
Kim Bradley may refer to:

 Kim Bradley (surfer) (1955–2009), Australian surfer
 Kim Bradley (cricketer) (born 1967), Australian former cricket player


title: Jan Stehlík

text:
Jan Stehlík may refer to:

 Jan Stehlík (basketball) (born 1986), Czech basketball player
 Jan Stehlík (handballer) (born 1985), Czech handball player
 Jan Stehlík (wrestler), Czech Olympic wrestler