Pak-US strategic talks ruled out

The US government sources told News Trends that there was no possibility of the talks till the US government is satisfied that Pakistan has adopted measures in this regard.

The sources further disclosed that the issues including defence, regional peace, nuclear non-proliferation and eradication of terrorism would be on the top agenda of the talks while issues like economic stability, trade, energy, science and technology, education, agriculture, health and interaction with the masses will be included in the agenda only to enhance the range of the dialogue .

The sources added that the whole process was affecting due to the differences between both the countries on issues like defence and eradication of terrorism.

The issue also came under discussion during US special envoy Mark Grossman’s recent visit to Pakistan but no breakthrough came to the fore regarding strategic dialogue.

However, the sources ascertained that the USA was not pondering to end ties with Pakistan.

Pak-India secretary-level talks on all issues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India home secretaries would hold talks on all issues including the Mumbai attacks.

Senior officials told that the talks slated March 28-29 in New Delhi would discuss besides terrorism, wide range of issues covering eight different subjects including swapping of prisoners, easing the visa facility, anti-drug measures etc.

The officials said that the schedule of the proposed Indian visit of Pakistan Judicial Commission would also be decided in these meetings.

Pakistan would be participating in the talks with open mind, official further said.

MQM Urges Agriculture Tax in RGST Talks

KARACHI, News Trends: The second round of talks, held between government officials and a delegation from MQM to review RGST, has concluded here late Wednesday.

Talks, ended after 1:00 am, lasted for no less than 8 hours .

Government, during the talks, assured MQM of reviewing RGST, however, MQM insisted on imposition of taxes on agriculture sector instead of poor people.

Federal Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik and Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh met with MQM delegation comprising Dr. Farooq Sattar, Syed Mustafa Kamal, Babar Khan Ghauri, Haider Abbas Rizvi and Dr. Sagheer Ahmed here at Governor House.

Talking to media at the end of talks, Malik, dispelling news regarding deadlock, said dialogues were ‘successful’, adding that MQM apprised government of reservations over RGST. Talks held amid friendly atmosphere, he maintained.

He said both sides agreed upon not overburdening poor masses by means of huge taxes.

“Government reckons MQM’s suggestions of bringing agriculture sector under tax network rational,” the minister said, “government is in favour of agriculture tax but provincial governments should have to take measures in this regard.”

Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said RGST is not a new tax while daily commodities would not be brought under tax through RGST, he added.

He hoped continuation of talks to review RGST.

Subsequently, MQM’s Farooq Sattar, Federal Minister for Oversees Pakistanis, told media that MQM had informed government of reservations over RGST, which comprised of 9 points.

Imposition of agriculture tax is leading the rest among 9 points, which MQM presented to government officials during talks, the minister maintained.

He said, “MQM wants government to bring well-offs under taxing network instead of overloading poor people.”

Babar Khan Ghauri, on the occasion, said MQM hopes government will show seriousness in reviewing RGST in light of our party’s suggestions.

Karzai holds ‘secret talks’ with Taliban

Three Taliban figures met secretly with Afghanistan’s president two weeks ago in an effort by the Afghan government to weaken the US-led coalition’s most vicious enemy, a powerful al-Qaeda linked network that straddles the border region with Pakistan.
A former Afghan official said the meeting in Kabul included an ex-Taliban governor, Maulvi Abdul Kabir. He comes from the same Zadran tribe as the leaders of the Haqqani network, an autonomous wing of the Taliban responsible for many attacks against US and Afghan forces, the former official said over the weekend. US and Afghan officials hope that if Kabir agrees to quit the insurgency, it could split the Zadran tribe and undercut the pool of recruits from which the Haqqanis currently draw fighters. But it was unclear whether any progress toward that end was made during the talks.
Weakening the Haqqanis’ grip over the Zadran tribe could help shift the power balance in eastern provinces where the network poses a major threat. The Haqqani network, led by ailing Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, is believed to be sheltering top al-Qaida leaders across the border in Pakistan. Kabir served as governor of Nangarhar province and deputy prime minister during the Taliban rule, which ended with the U.S.-led invasion of 2001. He is believed to run the Taliban council in the Pakistani city of Peshawar but is not considered a powerhouse in the Taliban. The two other Taliban who took part in the talks were Mullah Sadre Azam and Anwar-ul-Haq Mujahed. Mujahed is credited with helping Osama bin Laden escape the US assault on Tora Bora in 2001, the former official said. He has been in Pakistani custody since June last year when he was picked up in a raid in Peshawar, where one of several Afghan Taliban shuras, or councils, is located. The men were brought by helicopter from Peshawar and spent two nights in a luxury Kabul hotel before returning to Pakistan. The US earlier this month acknowledged facilitating some Taliban trips to Kabul but provided no specifics. The Pakistani military has not commented on such reports. The former Afghan official, who asked not to be named because of his relationship with both the government and the Taliban, described Kabir and his associates as midlevel contacts because they have little, if any influence over more powerful Taliban factions. Karzai has formed a 70-member council to try to reconcile with the Taliban and find a political solution to the insurgency. The Taliban’s top leadership has denied that any of their representatives have been involved in talks. They claim their leaders will not discuss peace with the government unless foreign troops first leave Afghanistan.

Taliban Talks Part of US Strategy on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: The United States said Thursday it cannot see Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar meeting criteria for peace talks with the Afghan government and playing a constructive role in Afghanistan’s future.

US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Taliban foot-soldiers and leaders could participate in Afghanistan’s future if they renounce violence, cut ties with Al-Qaeda and support the Afghan constitution.

But he doubted the opportunity would be seized by Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s one-eyed leader who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and who, the Washington Post said last week, backs secret high-level peace talks with Kabul.

“From our view, Mullah Omar has been attached at the hip to bin Laden for some time. So, based on everything that we know about him today, in fact he will not meet the criteria that we have laid out,” Crowley told reporters.

“He had many opportunities during the ’90s and even after 9/11 to disassociate himself from Osama bin Laden. He chose not to,” Crowley said.

“So you know, there’s nothing that we see that indicates that Mullah Omar will, in fact, change his stripes. As a result, we don’t see that he qualifies to play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s future.”

Last week The Washington Post cited unnamed Afghan and Arab sources as saying the high-level peace talks were believed to involve delegates authorized by Mullah Omar and his Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban group based in Pakistan.

Mullah Omar and other top Taliban figures have insisted for years that US-led foreign forces must first leave Afghanistan before peace talks can begin.

But a source close to the talks told the Post that the leadership knows “that they are going to be sidelined,” and was negotiating with the government of President Hamid Karzai to ensure their positions are protected.

A senior State Department official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, suggested Quetta Shura members would be taking part in the talks, just not those close to Mullah Omar.

“I don’t think we’re ruling out participation by members of the Quetta Shura. I happen to believe personally that certain members of the Quetta Shura will not qualify,” the official said.

“The Quetta Shura includes Mullah Omar but we’ll see who’s willing to actually disassociate himself from Al-Qaeda and who won’t.”

Iran says ready for nuclear talks with major powers

TEHRAN: Iran is ready to hold talks with six major powers over its nuclear programme could take place “in late October or Early November”, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday.

“We think late October or early November will be an appropriate date for the talks by the representatives of Iran and 5+1 countries,” Mottaki told a news conference.

He gave no details about the venue of the talks. AGENCIES

No serious talks with Netanyahu seen–Abbas aide

RAMALLAH: A senior Palestinian official said on Thursday he saw no hope of a serious peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in some of the darkest comments to date on the U.S.-mediated talks.

Yasser Abed Rabbo’s remarks signaled deep Palestinian scepticism about the outlook for the talks, which began on Sept. 2 but have been on hold since an Israeli moratorium on new settlement building in the occupied West Bank expired last week.

The United States wants the talks toB continue and has been trying to find a formula to save the negotiations.

“There will be no serious political process while Netanyahu’s government pursues settlements,” Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Voice of Palestine radio.

“I can go further still and say that there will be no serious political process with Netanyahu’s

Taliban in Talks with Hamid Karzai Govt

The Taliban and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai have begun high-level talks over a negotiated end to the war in the country, the Washington Post said.

Citing unnamed Afghan and Arab sources, the paper said the talks are believed, for the first time, to involve representatives authorized by the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban group based in Pakistan, and Taliban leader Mohammad Omar.

“They are very, very serious about finding a way out,” a source close to the talks told the paper, referring to the Taliban.

Omar and other Taliban leaders on both sides of the border have insisted for years that no peace talks were possible before foreign fighters had left Afghanistan.

But sources said that the leadership knows “that they are going to be sidelined,” and was negotiating to ensure their positions were protected.

“They know that more radical elements are being promoted within their rank and file,” the source said.

“All these things are making them absolutely sure that, regardless of their success in the war, they are not in a winning position.”

The negotiations involve agreements to allow Taliban leaders positions in the Afghan government and the withdrawal of US and NATO forces, the newspaper said.

But the talks are believed to exclude representatives of the Haqqani group, which the Post said was the target of recently escalated US drone attacks.

US General David Petraeus, the commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, said last week that the Taliban was approaching the Afghan government and foreign forces with “overtures” about quitting the fight.

Settlements row to dominate US led Mideast talks

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: US of State Hillary Clinton was in Egypt on Tuesday to lead a second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, aiming to prevent negotiations from collapsing days after their launch.

Remarks by Palestinians and Israelis ahead of the talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh did not suggest a compromise was at hand to resolve a dispute over Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

“Choosing to continue with settlements in any form means destroying the negotiations,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Erekat was speaking after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would not extend a partial building freeze, though he indicated he would curb future construction.

Clinton said en route to the talks the two sides must resolve their dispute over the end of the freeze on Jewish

Palestine accepts US call for talks with Israel

Palestinian leaders on Friday accepted a US invitation for face-to-face peace talks with Israel but said they would withdraw if it resumed Jewish settlement building on occupied land.
The chief Palestinian negotiator said the Palestinians would pull out of the talks, due to start on Sept 2, if the Israeli government announced any new settlement building on land where the Palestinians aim to found their state. If the Israeli government decides to announce new tenders on Sept. 26, then we won’t be able to continue with the talks, Saeb Erekat said after a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) executive committee in Ramallah.He was referring to the date when a 10-month, Israeli freeze on settlement building in the West Bank is due to end. His comments reflected the immediate challenges facing the U.S. effort to revive the two-decade-old Middle East peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads a coalition government that backs Jewish settlement on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

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