Pak receives $633mn CSF tranche
United States has transferred $633 million Coalition Support Funds (CSF) tranche this week to Pakistan.
According to a statement issued on Friday, Pakistan has received $8.760 billions from United States for the war against terrorism and that tranche has been paid for January to June period. The CSF process reimburses 27 nations, including Pakistan and the amount will help Pakistan to fight against terrorism. The statement further says that Pakistans role in fighting against terrorism is very important and US tries its best to pay its tranches as soon as possible so that war against terrorism could not affect.
US seeking to expand raids into Pakistan: NYT
United State News: Top US military commanders in Afghanistan are seeking to expand ground raids by Special Operations Forces across the border in Pakistans tribal areas, The New York Times reported Monday.
Amid growing US frustration with Pakistans lackluster efforts at removing militants from strongholds there, the officials are proposing to escalate military activities in the nuclear-armed nation, the Times said in its online edition.US forces have been largely restricted to limited covert operations and unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan due to fears of retaliation from a population that often holds strong anti-American sentiment in a country rife with militants.Even these limited operations have provoked angry reactions from Pakistani officials. The drones are believed to be largely operated by the CIA.Amid a looming July deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, military and political leaders pointed to a renewed sense of urgency.Military commanders told the newspaper that the Special Operations plan which has not yet been approved could help them secure much-needed intelligence if militants were captured, brought back across the border into Afghanistan and interrogated.US officials said they were particularly keen to capture rather than kill militant leaders from the Taliban or the Haqqani network in order to obtain intelligence about future operations.Weve never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead to go across, a senior US officer said.But a senior official from President Barack Obamas administration said he did not favor cross-border operations, saying they have been mostly counterproductive unless they targeted top al Qaeda leaders.The official also worried that political fallout in Pakistan over the operations could counter any tactical gains.CIA-backed Afghan militias, previously believed to only carry out intelligence-gathering operations, have also crossed the border into Pakistans tribal belt during secret missions, including one in which a militia destroyed a militant weapons cache, officials told the Times.An Afghan political leader said one of the raids by the Paktika Defense Force one of six CIA-trained Afghan militias was initiated to capture a Taliban commander in Pakistan. The mission was ultimately unsuccessful but Pakistani militants opened fire on the Afghans.Another CIA-backed force near the eastern Afghan province of Khost was recently deployed in the mountains along the Pakistan border, where it is due to try to intercept Taliban fighters during the winter, an American military officer told the Times, saying the militia has so far proven effective.
Hussain Haqqani confirms murder of Jameel Fakhris son in US
December 7, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
The Pakistan Embassy in the US has confirmed the murder of Jameel Fakhri son Ayaz Fakhri, who went missing in the US some 22 months ago, trendpk.Com reported on Tuesday.
Talking to trendpk.Com at his residence, Jameel said that Hussain Haqqani, Pakistans envoy to the US, had phone called him from Pakistani embassy in United States to confirm his sons murder. It is pertinent to mention here that Ayaz Fakhri had been missing for last 22 months in US.
BBs killers to be penalized, assures Gilani
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said that the killers of Benazir Bhutto would be penalized.
Addressing the PPP workers at its 44th founding day at Peshawar, Gilani said, Terrorism is Pakistans biggest problem, Benazir wants to eradicate this menace from the country and we are rendering sacrifices to realize this dream. BB gave her life for Pakistan, he maintained. He said that Pakistans economy is being badly affected for the investors are trickling down due to terrorism. He hailed the role of the people of Khyber Pkahtunkhwa in war against terror. Gilani said that the government is making strenuous efforts for the well-being of the people.
Musharrafs mistakes made Kayani careful: Wikileaks
The whistle-blower website Wikileaks said that General Ashfaq Kayani is doing back door politics after learning lessons from Musharrafs mistakes.
The whistle-blower website Wikileaks released sensitive documents alleging that the Pakistans army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayanis opposition led to the conflict on the Kerry-Lugar Bill as it was going to result in greater civilian control on the military.A correspondence from the head of the French Interagencys Pak-Afghan cell, Jasmine Zerinini, is also included in the new secret documents released by Wikileaks. The correspondence sheds light on the Pakistan Armys policies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). According to the released documents, General Kayani has learnt from the mistakes made by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. He is using the parliament and the government while staying in the background, the documents allege. In this way, he is becoming an obstacle to any major change in the countrys policy pertaining to Fata. Zerininis correspondence also stated that the West has lost the opportunity to crush the Afghan Taliban with Pakistans help. The correspondence stated that with aid coming in from the Gulf States, the Haqqani network has grown too strong, that defeating it will not be easy for the Pakistani military.
Pakistan needs to re-evaluate ties with USA: Lord Nazir
Former British Parliamentarian Lord Nazir Ahmed said that Pakistan has to re-evaluate its ties with the US.
In a special interview with trendpk.Com, he said that American people think that Pakistans affluent class doesnt pay taxes and it doesnt pressurize America to give more and more aid. He said that Pakistans rich people have to pay more taxes to avoid reliance on foreign aid in these difficult times.
Talks with US based on Pakistans interests: FM
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that talks with the US were based on Pakistans interests, and vowed to pursue the same agenda.
Talking to media at Lahore Airport, the FM said that there is no solution for the rumours in the air about the likely military operation in North Waziristan.
Qureshi said that Pakistans foreign policy is being made by the government and the foreign ministry, while the provinces are also being taken on board in this regard. He said that in todays session, the cabinet would be told about the recently held Pak-US talks.
FM Qureshi urges US to respect Pakistans sovereignty
Foreign Minster Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that rise in drone attacks made the Pak-US ties suffer a lot, and urged the latter to respect countrys sovereignty. During an address at the Harvard University, the FM maintained that the United States and Pakistan will try this week to get their crisis-prone relationship back on track after the latest US drive to win over hearts and minds faced quick setbacks.
The FM asked the US to pressurize India for an early resolution of Kashmir issue.
Senior officials from the two nations will on Wednesday open a strategic dialogue, an initiative launched by the United States earlier this year to show that it cares about more than just Pakistans help in Afghanistan. But that core cooperation was thrown into doubt last month when Pakistan closed the main land route for Afghan war supplies through the Khyber Pass, incensed after a Nato helicopter killed at least two Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan reopened the crossing after 11 days once the United States formally apologised for the killings, which officials of the Nato alliance said was an accident caused by the borders ambiguity. The chopper incident came just after the United States, conscious of widespread anti-Americanism in Pakistan, mobilised a major humanitarian drive to help victims of the countrys worst-ever floods. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who will represent Pakistan in the talks, praised the aid but said the relationship also suffered two steps back with the helicopter attack and relentless US drone strikes aimed at militants.We are an ally, not a satellite, Qureshi said Monday at Harvard University. We have to protect our borders you have to respect our sovereignty.You have to realise the political price you pay in Pakistan and that my government pays as your friend from the almost daily drone assaults on our territory, he said. If unmanned drone attacks were not difficult enough for our people to absorb, the recent acts of Nato helicopters in Pakistan, killing Pakistani soldiers, are nothing short of infuriating, he said. The three-day talks will culminate Friday in talks between Qureshi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Qureshi said the United States can improve relations by taking up issues on which it has long been hesitant such as pursuing a free trade deal, discussing civil nuclear cooperation along the lines of a US pact with Pakistans rival India, or pressuring India over the disputed Kashmir region.Most analysts consider such items on Pakistans wish-list to be long shots at a time when the public mood in the United States has also soured on Islamabad.US lawmakers have repeatedly criticised Pakistan, accusing it of playing a double-game by maintaining ties with Afghanistans Taliban and of showing ingratitude over US assistance in a time of austerity.The US Congress last year approved a five-year, 7.5 billion-dollar package to build schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions in Pakistan, deciding that development was the best bulwark against religious extremism.A survey by the Pew Research Center conducted in July found that a mere 17 per cent of Pakistanis held a favorable view of the United States.But despite the headlines, Dan Feldman, the deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said he has seen a very significant change in Pakistani media portrayals of the United States since the floods.Feldman voiced hope that the United States can sustain the momentum.I think that we can showcase that we are not only there during this crisis, but there for the long-haul, and hopefully that that will change perceptions in Pakistan, Feldman said.However, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, a US-based group which works on behalf of war victims, warned not to underestimate the impact of drone strikes.Christopher Rogers, who spent a year interviewing survivors in Pakistan, said the number of civilian victims was almost certainly more than officials admitted and that survivors received little to no help.The perceived legitimacy of the Pakistani state in conflict areas is key to lasting stability and security, Rogers said. Civilian casualties, especially when left unaddressed, do serious harm to these efforts.
US envoy calls on PM Gilani
US Envoy to Pakistan, Anne W. Paterson called on Prime Minister Gilani in Islamabad.
The envoy was honored with a lunch by the PM. Prime minister applauded the efforts of US envoy for the betterment of relations between US and Pakistan. PM said that during the stay of Ms. Paterson, the amicable relations between the two countries have improved to a comprehensive partnership. The US envoy appreciated Pakistans gradual return to democracy.
13th International Tennis Championship starts in Karachi
13th International tennis championship has started in Karachi. Five senior Indian tennis players could not come due to delayed permission from the Pakistani authorities.On the first day of the event in Karachi gymkhana, only one player each from Georgia and Germany are participating in 35-plus singles round whereas five senior Indian players also applied to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for Pakistans visa in order to play but unfortunately could not get the visa in time. In fact they were granted permission by Pakistans interior ministry just two hour before the commencement of the championship. Talking to Dunya News, Secretary Pakistan Senior Tennis Federation Khalid Rehmani said that according to ITF rules no player can participate after the draws get prepared.
