No rift between govt, Army over Kerry Lugar Bill : Kaira

Islamabad, Oct.8 : Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has rejected reports regarding a rift between the government and the Army over the Kerry Lugar Bill issue.

Responding to queries about altercations between the government and the Pakistan Army over the ‘severe’ terms and conditions attached with the US aid bill, Kaira said: “There is no clash between the government and Army.”

Kaira said Pakistan was not bound to accept the terms and conditions in the bill, as it has not inked any deal with the US in this regard.

He said the final decision regarding whether to accept the bill or reject it would be taken by Parliament.

Kaira, however, said that negotiations could not be held over the Kerry-Lugar Bill as it was not a bilateral issue between two countries.

Kaira also accused India of lobbying heavily against Pakistan while the bill was being formulated.

He also rejected the notion that the government has not gone through the intricate clauses of the bill document while it was being prepared.

“Nothing in the bill is against the interest of Pakistan,” The News quoted Kaira, as saying.

It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistan Army has objected to the terms and conditions attached with the Kerry Lugar Bill.

During a regular meeting of Corps Commanders at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, military’s top brass raised questions over the ‘stringed’ aid, which would provide Pakistan with 1.5 billion dollars a year over the next five years for democratic, economic and social development programmes.

A statement issued by the Pakistani Army after the meeting stated that the military is concerned about the clauses of the aid bill which may have a serious impact on national security.

Courtesy :Malaysia Sun

Powered by pride, Pakistan set to reject Kerry-Lugar Bill

By :  The News International

PM favours civil-military scrutiny of US terms

By Kamran Khan

ISLAMABAD: The government is gently moving in a direction where it may reject the Kerry-Lugar Bill in its present shape. The rejection will be accompanied by a request to the US Congress and the Obama administration for an understanding of Pakistan’s sovereignty and its right to decide issues of national security and foreign policy, according to several senior Pakistani officials and an important federal cabinet minister. The sources spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity.

“I’ll be very very surprised if Pakistan accepts the Kerry-Lugar Bill with its present formulations because the nation wouldn’t allow a trade-off between sovereignty and US aid,” said an important federal cabinet member, reflecting the prevailing sense in government circles on the issue.

Less than a week after the passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill by the American Congress, the civil and military leadership in Pakistan is sharing strong concerns with opposition politicians, the media, intellectuals and clerics over certain provisions in the bill where the US government has sought to oversee the key components of Pakistan’s foreign policy and national security. A public outrage was witnessed in the country as the content of the Kerry-Lugar Bill became public last week.

Renowned columnist and MNA Ayaz Amir wrote in his weekly column in The News: “This is less an assistance programme than a treaty of surrender.” “Thank God, Kerry and Lugar did not think of getting the name of Pakistan changed!” wrote renowned columnist Anees Jillani in an op-ed article in Dawn.

Amid growing concerns across the country that an increasingly controversial Kerry-Lugar Bill has also prejudged Pakistan as a state allowing bases for terrorist operations in the tribal areas and cities, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered a hold-back of an official response from the government on the bill until it is fully examined by parliament and the country’s military leadership, senior officials said.

As a result of this decision that will entail several actions over the next two weeks, these sources said, the premier also sent an urgent message on Sunday to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, now in Washington, not to make any comment on the bill during his public engagements there.

In the backdrop of an upheaval in the media and political circles soon after the passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, laced with somewhat insulting clauses, Gilani held an important review of the bill with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in an unpublicised meeting on Sunday.

An informed official said an initial review of the Kerry-Lugar Bill by military strategists also shares a negative perception on various clauses of the bill and it is being shared with US security and military officials at various levels.

A federal cabinet minister said the prime minister has devised a multi-tier transparent review of the bill. Parliament and the prime minister want to carry out a threadbare examination of the bill followed by a similar scrutiny by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC). Officials said the military- and security-related elements of the Kerry-Lugar Bill would soon be placed before the corps commanders of the Pakistan Army as well as the three services at the Joint Staff Headquarters level to assist the prime minister in drafting Pakistan’s official response.

A suspicion is gaining strength in the civil and military leadership that some elements of the Kerry-Lugar Bill aim specifically at creating a deep wedge between the civilian authority and the General Headquarters (GHQ) by raising well-settled issues and linking them with the US aid to Pakistan. The most provocative clause of the bill on this issue states: “An assessment of the extent to which the government of Pakistan exercises effective civilian control of the military, including a description of the extent to which civilian executive leaders and parliament exercise oversight and approval of military budgets, the chain of command, the process of promotion for senior military leaders, civilian involvement in strategic guidance and planning, and military involvement in civil administration.” The clause clearly dictates an upside down approach to turn the way the military and civilian authorities function in their well defined domains in Pakistan, an important official source observed.

“I think this is mischief to create a huge civil-military conflict but this will not happen. The prime minister fully understands the game,” the minister said.

Pakistani officials are unanimous in their opinion that the bill was a humiliating document for the country that has been offered to the government in exchange for Pakistan’s critical support in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. In post-Kerry-Lugar Bill discussions held quietly by the prime minister, some officials favour a transit treaty for Pakistan with Nato and American forces for a smooth flow of military and non-military supplies from the port of Karachi to Afghanistan. Some 5,000 containers of military and non-military supplies for the US and Nato forces are cleared through the port of Karachi for various destinations in Afghanistan every month, an official informed.

As controversial elements and critical strings attached to the Kerry-Lugar Bill continue to unfold, there is a growing impression in the opposition circles and the security establishment that Pakistan’s diplomatic corps, particularly its embassy in Washington, failed to convince the US lawmakers on matters of mutual security interest, thus clauses were added in the bill that may compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty over issues of critical national interest. Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani consistently maintains that neither the United States nor the government of Pakistan had a sway over content of the bill and Indian lobbying power far outweighs Pakistan’s meagre resources to lobby the US Congress.

The bill determines that major Pakistani cities such as Quetta and Muridke near Lahore were serving as bases for terrorist operations and Pakistan would have to mount operations in these cities to ensure flow of financial assistance under the Kerry-Lugar Bill.

The bill also carries a damning declaration that Pakistani military and its intelligence services support extremist and terrorist groups and desires that this perceived support is “ceased” for continued flow of funds to Pakistan.

The bill has so far not divided the Pakistani political spectrum along party lines. Condemnation of controversial clauses of the bill has been heard both from the leaders of the PPP, including Mian Raza Rabbani, and whole range of PML-N leaders besides more aggressive protests from the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Tehrik-e-Insaf.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch Nisar Ali Khan set the ball rolling for an anti-Kerry-Lugar Bill campaign in Pakistan on Monday when he stood up on the floor of the Lower House to declare that the bill only protects the rights and objectives of the American government while for Pakistan it has mortgaged even the future of Pakistani children.

‘US wants to expand drone attacks into Quetta’

US President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden. – (File Photo)

KARACHI: Senior Pakistani officials in New York have revealed that the United States has sought to extend drone attacks into Quetta and other areas of Balochistan.

‘It wasn’t so much a threat as an understanding that if you don’t do anything, we’ll take matters into our own hands,’ a report in British newspaper Sunday Times quoted an official as saying.

It said the US was threatening to launch air strikes on Taliban leadership allegedly present in Quetta.

‘Western intelligence officers say Pakistan has been moving Taliban leaders to the volatile city of Karachi, where it would be impossible to strike.

‘US officials have even discussed sending commandos to Quetta to capture or kill the Taliban chiefs before they are moved,’ the paper said.

It said suspicions remained among US officials that parts of Inter-Services Intelligence agency were supporting the Taliban and protecting Mullah Omar and other leaders in Quetta.

The threat came amid growing divisions in Washington about whether to deal with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan by sending more troops or by reducing them and targeting the terrorists.

This weekend the US military was expected to send a request to Defence Secretary Robert Gates for more troops, as urged by Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, the report said.

However, with President Barack Obama under pressure from fellow Democrats not to intensify the war, the administration has let it be known that it is rethinking strategy.

Vice-President Joe Biden has suggested reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan and focussing on Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

The camp argues that attacks by drones on Pakistan’s tribal areas, where Al Qaeda leaders are allegedly hiding, have been successful. Sending more troops to Afghanistan has only inflamed tensions. ‘Pakistan is the nuclear elephant in the room,’ said a western diplomat.

The Afghan election has strengthened the position of those in Washington who advocate eliminating Taliban leaders in Pakistan.

There have been complaints that fraudulent ballots may account for up to 20 per cent of the 5.5 million votes cast in the polls won by President Hamid Karzai.

The election has left many European leaders struggling to justify sending soldiers to support a government facing accusations of having been fraudulently elected.

Richard Barrett, head of the UN Commission on Monitoring Taliban and Al Qaeda, also believes that the presence of foreign troops has increased militant activity in Afghanistan and made it easier for the Taliban to recruit.

The Sunday Times report warned that drone attacks on Quetta would intensify anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. Some British officials argued that such missions would be ‘unthinkable’.

It said that while the government of President Asif Ali Zardari was committed to wiping out terrorism, the country’s military did not entirely share this view.

It was to shore up President Zardari’s domestic standing that President Obama attended a Friends of Pakistan summit in New York on Thursday. On the same day, the US Senate tripled non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year.

The Obama administration hopes such moves will reduce anti-American feeling. A survey last month by the Pew Research Centre found that almost two-thirds regarded the US as an enemy.

Meanwhile Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: ‘The Americans have never told us any location. We need real-time intelligence’ to take action.

However, ‘There has been tacit cooperation over the use of drones. Some are even stationed inside Pakistan, although publicly the government denounces their use,’ the paper said.

Courtesy: Dawn News Paper

China snubs India’s position on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD, Oct 2 (APP): A large number of students in occupied Kashmir are losing their admissions and traders money after the Indian immigration authorities have bared Kashmiris from travelling to China on the stapled visas provided by the Chinese embassy. According to Kashmir Media Service, the row started when Chinese embassy in New Delhi started issuing stamped visas to Kashmiris on a separate sheet of paper stappled with their passports.  The Indian government barred the Kashmiris from traveling to China on the stapled visas.

Shuja Altaf Mir and his friend Bilal who were denied permission by the Indian imigration oficials at Indra Gandhi International Airport New Delhi to travel to China, talking to the newsmen, said that the special stapled visas issued to Kashmiris by Chinese embassy were not acceptable to the immigration authorities. “Both of us missed the flights to China, where we had to participate in a business meeting in Guangzhou state,” he said. He said that the issuance of visas to Kashmiris with special status gave the impression that China had reservations on the status of occupied Kashmir. Another Kashmiri youth, Asgar said that he had missed his admission in Shanghai University, where he was to be admitted in Public Policy Programme. “I was supposed to take admission in Shanghai University before September 23 but was denied travel to China by the Indian Immigration officials at IGI Airport,” he said, talking to the media men. It may be mentioned here that the issuance of stapled visas to Kashmiris by Chienese Embassy is a major diplomatic snub to India’s position on the occupied territory. China has been issuing visas to Kashmiris on a separate piece of paper because it considers Kashmir a disputed land. Courtesy: APP

UK wants trade between EU, Pakistan

United Kingdom and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to set up UK-Pak Joint Task Force on Education which would be led by United Kingdom side with Michael Barber, a renowned and leading British educationist who played a significant role in educational reforms taking place in UK for the last one decade.

Talking to the media persons along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after the meeting with the President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said they had extensive discussions on education.

The Task Force will work on the implementation of strategy that is being developed by the government of Pakistan, he said adding that recent reports by the government of Pakistan identified the implementation gap and “we are going to use this task force to bridge the implementation gap”.

As the extra money comes from Britain, United States and other parts of the countries for education in Pakistan, it will ensured through the Task Force that the money is well spent in education, he added.

Earlier the meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly Asfandyar Wali, former senator and spokesman to the President Farahtuallah Babar, High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Deputy High Commissioner Asif Durani.

“We had extensive discourse about the education in Pakistan. The President has been passionate about the importance of education and the Foreign Minister as well,” said the British Foreign secretary.

This brings out the fact that our relations with Pakistan are long term one and the children who have school age in Pakistan are the future of Pakistan, Miliband said adding he looked forward the educational links are being taken forward through this task force and more extensive discussion will take place next week at the meeting.

Billing his meeting with the President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qrureshi, as excellent, the British Foreign Secretary said that they had very practical discussion about the FoDP meeting taking place in New York this week.

Referring to FoDP meeting taking place next week, he said, “we will hear from Pakistan’s President about very effective way in which the insurgency is being pushed back in the militancy-hit Swat adding, “we will hear about the strategy regarding Malakand which has really caught the imagination of the international community and has really got very strong support.

“We will hear further about the way the government wants to extend its comprehensive approach to counter the insurgency in terms of security politics and economics,” he said.

Responding to a question, he described the FoDP meeting taking place next week as unique. There are very few countries that get the sort of support Pakistan will get next week from the United States, United Kingdom and European Union Countries.

At the end of this, meeting will be important for two reasons. First of all it will be chance for international community to recognize that progress is being made in Pakistan and sacrifices being rendered by Pakistani people, Miliband said.

Secondly it will be a chance for international community to recommit and renew its commitment for Pakistan, he said adding as he is optimistic as there is no quick fix and there is never a magic bullet but it is an important step forward.

To a query, he said he was delighted to know that European Union had its first Europe-Pakistan summit in June and he came to know from Foreign Minister of Spain that he planned to have second EU-Pak Summit in the first six months of next year.

Referring to EU-Pak summit which will focus on trade, he said, “we want to escalate free trade between Pakistan and Europe and it will not happen over night. Pakistan’s entrepreneurship and Pakistani ideas need to be brought at international commercial system, he viewed.

To a question, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the world is giving recognition to Pakistan’s efforts. The people of Pakistan are united and convinced to fight extremism and terrorism. They have shown results in Malakand and swat, he added.

The world is willing to engage Pakistan beyond terrorism. They are talking of helping Pakistan in energy and education. UK and Pakistan have set up a task force for education, he observed.

“If we have to deal with this menace (terrorism) we will have to change the mind set. And the best way to change the mind set is to invest in people and the education sector is the best way to do it, he added.

McChrystal and India

Increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India, Gen McChrystal stated in his report. –Photo by Reuters

‘Indian political and economic influence is increasing in Afghanistan, including significant development efforts and financial investment. In addition, the current Afghan government is perceived by Islamabad to be pro-Indian.’

These words of Gen Stanley McChrystal, which are a part of his assessment of the war in Afghanistan, are perhaps as significant as any other in the report for two reasons. One, it is clear that peace in Afghanistan cannot prevail unless the interests of the Pakistani state are taken into account. And from that perspective, enhanced Indian interests in Afghanistan are inimical to peace in the region. Lest there be any doubt about this, Gen McChrystal has himself stated this in his report: ‘Increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India.’

Two, several factors have combined to force the Obama administration to revisit the very purpose of its mission in Afghanistan. Most apparent is the catastrophe that is the recent presidential election in Afghanistan. The US is now faced with a very difficult choice: either let Hamid Karzai be declared the victor in the first round, notwithstanding the serious allegations of fraud, or push for a run-off, with the attendant uncertainties and risks in a place as volatile as Afghanistan.

Domestically, President Obama is facing pressure from within his own party and from the public generally as Americans grapple with the necessity of the Afghan war.
What this adds up to, now more than ever, is the Obama administration needing to at the very least convince the skeptics that the war is winnable. But that means gaining Pakistan’s full cooperation, which in turn means alleviating the national security establishment’s concerns vis-à-vis India.

The Americans appear to have finally understood this and, more importantly from a Pakistani perspective, have become increasingly vocal about it. This should hopefully have a salutary effect on relations between the US and Pakistan, relations which have in part been hostage to Pakistan’s long-standing suspicions of the US being a fair-weather friend.

But welcome as it may be that the US appears to finally be coming around to understanding Pakistan’s security outlook, there are problems. Identifying the problem doesn’t mean the US is necessarily in a position to do something about it.

There are serious questions about whether India is in the mood to listen to advice suggesting it tamp down its interest in Afghanistan and about what leverage the Americans have to try and convince India. Be that as it may, it should not be lost on Pakistani policymakers that the US is at least willing to echo their view.

Source: Reuters

Hu talks trade and Tibet with Obama

CHINESE President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama, meeting in New York on Tuesday afternoon, pledged efforts to advance relations and called for closer cooperation on global challenges including global warming and the financial crisis.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN climate change summit and other UN sessions. It was their second meeting this year since April when they got together in London during a Group of 20 nations summit on the global financial crisis.

At Tuesday’s session, Hu said the recent US decision to impose special safeguard measures on tires imported from China contradicts the interests of both countries and such actions should not happen again.

No protectionism

Under the current economic and financial situation, both China and the US should stand firmly against trade and investment protectionism, Hu said.

On the currency issue, Hu said China has maintained stability in the exchange rate of its yuan even as the economy faced difficulties combating the international financial crisis.

Obama said the US supports free trade and is focused on further expanding trade and economic relations with China.

He said the US is willing to resolve disputes in trade and economic areas through dialogue and consultation.

He expressed appreciation for China’s efforts to expand domestic demand and maintain the stability of the yuan against the impact of the global downturn.

On the environmental front, Hu pointed out that global climate change is a common challenge that requires a response from the international community.

Hu emphasized that developed countries should continue to take the lead in reducing emissions after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires, and provide assistance for developing countries in tackling global warming.

Obama also expressed a wish to strengthen bilateral cooperation on climate change, especially in the area of clean energy.

Hu also emphasized that the two countries should respect each other’s interests. He said issues related to Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang concern China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the national sentiment of the 1.3 billion Chinese people.

Source: Xinhua

The battle of the ports… India Vs. China, US Vs. ???

clipped from: acorn.nationalinterest.in

The 218-km road connecting Delaram (on the Kandahar-Herat highway) to Zaranj, on the border with Iran has been completed.
It will provide landlocked Afghanistan an alternative access to the sea, the Iranian port of Chahbahar, allowing it to break free from Pakistan’s traditional stranglehold.

it remains to be seen if Iran will prove to be a better neighbour than Pakistan.
For Afghanistan, this is an opportunity to regain better access to the Indian market that it lost in 1947. For India, it is an opportunity to regain better access to Central Asia that it too lost in 1947.

US MILITARY SUPPLY ROUTE TO AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban has all but shut down the Pakistan supply route to Afghanistan. Russian routes are an option. The other option is to use the Iranian port of Chahbahar. The Indian government has spent over $1 billion to construct a multi-lane highway from the western Afghan city of Heart to the Iranian border to meet up with the road from Chahbahar. Some form of political deal with the regime in Tehran would enable the US and NATO to redirect most, if not all, the traffic that currently goes to Karachi—providing they retain control over Herat.

CHINA ALSO HAS A PLAN

clipped from: http://gawadarinnltd.com/page_1161468194468.html

In fact, Gwadar enjoys the status of a third Deep Sea Port of Pakistan which has a special significance with reference to trade links with Central Asian Countries, Persian Gulf, East Africa, United Arab Emirates and North Western India.

The Gwadar project came about as a result of a Sino-Pakistan agreement in March 2002, under which China Harbor Construction Corporation will build the port.

Beijing has provided $198 million for the first phase of the project and Islamabad’s contribution has been $ 50 million. The scope of phase-1 includes construction of three multi-purpose berths each 200 meters long and capable of handling vessels up to 30,000 DWT.

By virtue of its excellent location, Gwadar port is also visualized to become a regional hub serving incoming and outgoing commercial traffic of the Middle Eastern and Gulf countries, the Xinjiang province of China, Iran in the west and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the south and east.

According to some sources, Beijing also intends to take advantage of Gwadar’s accessible international trade routes to Central Asian republics and Xinjiang. The plan envisages extending China’s east-west railway from the border city of Kashi to Peshawar.

The incoming and outgoing cargo from Gwadar can then be delivered to China through the shortest route from Karachi to Peshawar. The same road and rail network can also be used for the supply of oil from the Gulf to the western provinces of China.

Additionally, China could also gain rail and road access to Iran through Pakistan’s internal road and rail network. Use of Gwadar port by China should accelerate the growth and development of the port and the hinterland and enhance its overall commercial and strategic value.

India is helping develop the Chabahar port and that would give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states, in this it is competing with the Chinese which is building the Gwadar port, in Pakistani Baluchistan.

Iran plans to use Chabahar for transhipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia while reserving the port of Bandar Abbas as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.

India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar

Work on the Chabahar-Melak-Zaranj-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. Iran is with Indian aid upgrading the Chabahar-Melak road and constructing a bridge on the route to Zaranj. India’s BRO is laying the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road. It is a part of its USD 750 million aid package to Afghanistan.

The advantages that Chabahar has compared to Gwadar are the greater political stability and security of the Iranian hinterland and the hositlity and mistrust that the Pakistani Baluchis hold against the Punjabi dominated Pakistani Federal government. The Baluchis consider Sino-Pak initiative at Gwadar as a strategy from Islamabad to deny the province its deserved share of development pie. They also look with suspicion on the settlement of more and more non-Baluchis in the port area.

The Chabahar port project is Iran’s chance to end its US sponsored economic isolation and benefit form the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the North – South corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg. Providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice-versa.

Mullah Omer’s Want Americans To Re-Call History!!!

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement Saturday telling people of the West not to listen to U.S. President Barack Obama‘s justifications of war and vowing to defeat NATO troops like other invaders of history.

In a statement posted in English on a Taliban website, shahamat.org, marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and attributed to the reclusive Taliban leader, Omar said U.S. and British offensives in recent months had been a failure.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on the public of the West not to be deceived by the assertions of Obama, who says the war in Afghanistan, is a war of necessity. The West does not have to wage this war,” the statement said.

“The public of the West should also not be deceived by the assertions of the General Secretary of NATO and British prime minister who claim the war in Afghanistan is for the defense of the West. Such deceiving and baseless utterances must not confuse you.”

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf, said the statement was genuine. The precise whereabouts and health status of Omar are not known, as he does not appear in public.

Obama, who has already ordered 21,000 extra troops to Afghanistan this year, is expected to consider a request for more troops from his commander there in coming weeks.

There are now more than 100,000 Western troops in Afghanistan, two thirds of them Americans.

“The invaders should study the history of Afghanistan from the time of the aggression of the Alexander,” the statement said.

“Still, if they are bent on ignoring the history, then they themselves saw with their own eyes the events of the past eight years. Have they achieved anything in the past eight years?”

U.S. commanders believe the reclusive Taliban leader has been hiding in Pakistan since he was driven from power in Kabul in 2001 after refusing to turn over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

A press officer for U.S. and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, Captain Elizabeth Mathias, declined to comment on the statement.

(Editing by Mike Peacock)

Courtesy: Reuters

India’s dubious role in Mumbai probe

India is not in a mood to let the Mumbai probe go in a smooth fashion. Earlier, on the request of Pakistan to provide necessary information regarding the incident, India has been sharing the information with Pakistan in bits and pieces. As a result, fourth folder has been handed over to Pakistan few days back. If the information was provided to Pakistan in one go, the results of the investigation could have been much different. Besides, India has been trying to create all sorts of hurdles in the court proceedings.

For example, A key witness in the 26/11 attacks case who had given statement against accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed at the trial failed to appear before the court on 28 August 2009 with the prosecution saying that he was “missing”, the Indian Express of 28 August 2009 reported. In his previous statement, the witness Nurudin Sheikh, told the court that the accused – Faheem and Sabauddin – had met him in Nepal and they discussed the maps of some locations in Mumbai. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam told the court that Crime Branch officials had gone to the witness’s residence, but his wife had said that Sheikh had left home early morning, saying that he had to go to the court. This clearly indicates that after obtaining the initial statement, the witness has deliberately been sent underground to create a delay in the judicial proceedings.

Despite Pakistan’s repeated demands, India has failed to supply solid information in relation to the culprits of Mumbai mayhem which occurred on November 26 last year. Instead of providing any evidence, New Delhi has only been propagating that the gunmen who conducted terrorist events in Mumbai came from Pakistan. Surprisingly, on July 21, Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon ruled out talking to Pakistan on any issue other than terrorism. Shankar further explained, “Our only issue with Pakistan is terrorism. We demand the perpetrators of terror be brought to justice” and Pakistan should “end infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.” It reminds the statement of PM Singh who had remarked on January 6 this year that Pakistan was using terrorism as state policy. Indian contradictory strategy could be judged from the opposite statements of some other important Indian personalities. For instance on February 8, Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi revealed that the Mumbai terror attacks could not have been carried out without internal help from India. On February 12, the Mumbai police Chief Hassan Ghafoor also admitted that two Indians who were arrested by the Indian police had been involved in the Mumbai carnage.

Confused statements by the Indian high officials show that New Delhi has been making deliberate efforts to entangle Pakistan in the Mumbai tragedy through fabricated stories and India is not serious in Mumbai probe. The aim is to conceal the involvement of Indian terrorists and the role of its secret agency RAW which is behind Mumbai drama. During attacks in Mumbai, the death of Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare left sufficient proof that Indian intelligence agencies had themselves planned the scheme. Narayan Rane, an Indian-Hindu leader of the Congress, disclosed on December 16, 2008 that Hindu politicians provided logistical and financial support to Hindutva terrorists for killing Karkare. While, Indian Minority Affairs Minister Abdul Rahman Antulay who had changed his statement after pressure from Congress had clearly revealed in the Lok Sabha that the killing of Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Karkare in Mumbai was a conspiracy, saying that Karkare was assassinated owing to his leading role in the investigation against Hindus regarding the 2006 Malegaon bombings which killed eight people outside a mosque. He further elaborated, “Anyone trying to go to the roots of terror has always been a target”, calling for a separate inquiry into Karkare’s death.

In wake of a continued debate and rising tension between the two South Asian nuclear states in connection with the culprits of Mumbai tragedy, Pakistan has proved itself as a responsible state actor. On February 12, 2009, Islamabad not only submitted its report to India after lodging FIR against the nine suspects and taking six accused persons into custody, but also repeatedly offered joint investigation to get hold of the real culprits. The fact of the matter remains that Indians were well-aware that any joint inquiry would have exposed the identity of Hindu terrorists and Indian militants. It would have also exposed the killing of Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Karkare during Mumbai events and the arrested Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit who was found involved in supplying high-grade explosives to the Hindu fundamentalists—played a key role in setting the Samjhota express on fire.

Setting aside Islamabad’s offer for joint investigation, New Delhi has also failed in providing reply to the questions asked by Pakistan in relation to the death of Karkare, progress regarding investigation of Purohit—and particularly about the first statement of the lonely-arrested gunman, Ajmal Kasab regarding the Mumbai events. Notably, in the recent past, Ajmal Kasab had disclosed in an Indian court that the police had forced him to give statement against Pakistan and ISI. He has also been forced to change his previous statement. On July 20, he confessed in the special court that he is Pakistani, and that five men who were involved in the Mumbai carnage also includes key operatives of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT). Backing out of his initial statement clearly proves that Indian intelligence agencies, especially RAW has kept him under continuous torture and thus forced him to show the involvement of Pakistan and ISI. The main aim behind is to conceal the real culprits who are Indian terrorists trained by RAW. In its latest dossier, sent to Islamabad, New Delhi has declared Hafiz Saeed as mastermind behind the incident, while earlier; Kasab was announced as the mastermind. Nevertheless it is another major contradiction in the matter.

As a matter of fact New Delhi wanted to achieve a number of goals through self-arranged Mumbai tragedy as its aftermath proved. First of all India suspended the Indo-Pak composite dialogue in order to use the incident to avoid the solution of Kashmir. Second, it tried its best to get Pakistan declared a terrorist state with the help of US-led western countries.

Third, it intended to isolate Pakistan diplomatically in the comity of nations. Fourth, India wanted to distort the image of Islamabad through a propaganda campaign that Pakistan is officially sponsoring terrorism in India and Afghanistan. After its failure in isolating Pakistan diplomatically, at present its leaders have been acting upon a hollow strategy which is based on opposition for the sake of opposition in order to conceal the Indian home-grown terrorism and the hand of RAW in Mumbai tragedy. Waqar Ahmed

Courtesy: Pakistan Daily