Q&A: Why the attention on Pakistan’s Chashma nuclear complex?

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari visits China from Tuesday, following mounting signs that Chinese companies are moving ahead with plans to build two reactors at the Chashma nuclear complex in Punjab province.

Here is an explanation about those plans and why some other governments are concerned.

WHAT IS THE CHASHMA COMPLEX?

Chashma in Pakistan’s Punjab province is the site of a nuclear power complex built using Chinese expertise and designs. One 300 megawatt pressurized water reactor began commercial operation in 2000, and Chinese companies are building another one likely to be finished in 2011 or 2012.

Chinese nuclear companies have also unveiled plans to build another two bigger reactors at Chashma in coming years. They have not issued detailed information about when they will start, but contracts have been signed and financing is being secured.

WHY IS CHINA HELPING BUILD MORE REACTORS THERE?

Converging foreign policy and commercial motives appear to be driving China’s decision.

Pakistan is a long-standing partner of China, and Beijing believes it is important to back Pakistan to counter Indian regional dominance. It is also wary of growing U.S. sway across South Asia.

Pakistan faces increasing power shortages, and demand is likely to keep growing quickly as the country’s population expands.

There’s also a commercial pull, said Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Chinese nuclear companies want to win foreign markets, and for now Pakistan is virtually the only “springboard” they have to hone their skills abroad and nurture the expertise that they hope will later find customers in other parts of the world.

ARE THERE NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION RISKS?

In theory, Pakistan could at some later date take spent fuel from Chashma to reprocess for plutonium that could be used for nuclear weapons.

In practice, however, the International Atomic Energy Agency keeps safeguards at Chashma to prevent that happening, said Hibbs. China would keep control of the spent fuel to ensure it is not at risk of diversion to weapons programs, he said.

“There would be no connection between the fuel and reactors provided by China and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program,” he said.

SO WHAT ARE OTHER GOVERNMENTS WORRIED ABOUT?

Some of the worry is about Pakistan, and some is about the integrity of nuclear non-proliferation rules. There are those, including many commentators in India, who say Pakistan is so dogged by instability and militant pressures that it should not receive nuclear technology, which could be the target of attacks.

Also, leading Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan was an important illicit broker of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, and critics say that is another reason to worry.

The more broadly shared worry is that, however safe Chashma may be, expanding the nuclear complex there could be a fresh blow to the integrity of nuclear non-proliferation rules.

Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons, and both countries refuse to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would oblige them to scrap those weapons.

The NPT rules say that if countries not authorized to possess nuclear weapons want to receive nuclear materials from countries adhering to the Treaty, they should accept comprehensive safeguard agreements for their nuclear activities.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

For now, the main arena for addressing this issue is the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 46-member body that seeks to ensure nuclear exports are not diverted to non-peaceful purposes.

To receive nuclear exports, nations that are not one of the five officially recognized atomic weapons states must usually place all their nuclear activities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, say NSG rules.

When the United States sealed its nuclear agreement with India in 2008, it won a waiver from that rule from the NSG after contentious negotiations. Washington and other governments have said China should at least seek a similar exemption for the planned reactors in Pakistan.

But there is little likelihood of all 46 member governments of the NSG voting in favor of a waiver, and this is a group that operates by consensus, said Hibbs.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Factbox: Ties binding China and Pakistan

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visits China from Tuesday for high-level talks that may cover economic and security ties, as well as nuclear cooperation that has prompted qualms from other powers.

Here are some facts about relations between the long-time partners:

“ALL-WEATHER” PARTNERS

* China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather friends” and their close ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to hedge against U.S. influence in the region.

* China is Pakistan’s main supplier of conventional arms and analysts believe China supported Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme in past decades.

* Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited China last month, and over the weekend the two countries held a military drill in China the two sides said was aimed at honing their ability to respond to militant attacks.

* China helped Pakistan build its main nuclear power generation facility at Chashma in Punjab province, is completing a second reactor there, and has plans to built two more.

* China also helped build the deep-sea Gwadar port on Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast, partly with a view to opening up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf, across Pakistan to western China.

* The United States is also a close partner of Pakistan, but analysts say Pakistan sees China as a counterweight to the West. According to a Pew survey of Pakistan public opinion last year, 84 percent of respondents said they had a favorable few of China, and 16 percent had a favorable view of the United States.

* Soon after assuming power, Zardari announced he would visit China every three months. But until now Beijing has appeared lukewarm toward Zardari, according to Andrew Small of the German Marshall Fund.

* Zardari’s latest trip, including meetings with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, may mark a warming in that relationship.

ECONOMIC HOPES

* Annual two-way trade was worth $6.8 billion in 2009, according to Pakistan. Trade flows go heavily in China’s favor. It exported goods worth $5.5 billion to Pakistan and imported $1.3 billion worth from there. The two countries have set a target of $15 billion by 2011, helped by free trade agreements.

* But the global financial crisis and Pakistan’s frayed economy have frustrated those ambitions, and Pakistan’s growth and trade lag India’s.

* Chinese companies are involved in telecommunications, hydropower, mining and highway projects in Pakistan.

* China also helped build the Gwadar port in Baluchistan, and the Karakoram Highway, connecting northern parts of Pakistan to far western China, which could be upgraded to provide a conduit for Chinese energy imports from other markets.

SECURITY CONCERNS

* China has urged mainly Muslim Pakistan to take action against Uighur militants from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang who have slipped in to Pakistan in past years.

* On July 5, 2009, deadly violence broke out between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang, killing 197 people, many of them Han residents attacked by Uighurs. Pakistan deplored the riots, winning praise from China for its stance.

* The safety of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan is a also major concern for China. Several Chinese workers have been killed in militant attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

(Sources: Reuters; Chinese Ministry of Commerce; APP; Andrew Small, “China’s Caution on Afghanistan-Pakistan”; Bruce Riedel and Pavneet Singh, “U.S.-China Relations: Seeking Strategic Convergence in Pakistan”)

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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U.S. says new sanctions on Iran could impact Pakistan

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Pakistan should be wary of committing to an Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline because anticipated U.S. sanctions on Iran could hit Pakistani companies, the U.S. special representative to the region said on Sunday. While sympathetic to Pakistan’s energy needs, the U.S. special representative to the region, Richard Holbrooke, told reporters that new legislation, which targets Iran’s energy sector, is being drafted in the U.S. Congress and that Pakistan should “wait and see.”

Politics

“Pakistan has an obvious, major energy problem and we are sympathetic to that, but in regards to a specific project, legislation is being prepared that may apply to the project,” he said, referring to the pipeline. “We caution the Pakistanis not to over-commit themselves until we know the legislation.” Pakistan is plagued by chronic electricity shortages that have led to mass demonstrations and battered the politically shaky government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman said last week he expects Congress to finish shortly legislation tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran that will include provisions affecting the supply of refined petroleum products to Tehran, and add to sanctions on its financial sector.

Lieberman, an independent, is a member of a House-Senate committee of negotiators working on final details of the bill and said it could pass by July 4.

The $7.6 billion natural gas pipeline deal, signed in March, doesn’t directly deal with refined petroleum products and was hailed in both Iran and Pakistan as highly beneficial.

The U.S. has so far been muted in its criticism of the deal, balancing its need to support Pakistan, a vital but unstable ally in the global war against al Qaeda, with its desire to isolate Iran.

But the legislation could be comprehensive enough to have major implications for Pakistani companies, Holbrooke said.

“We caution Pakistan to wait and see what the legislation is.”

This was Holbrooke’s tenth trip to Pakistan since President Barack Obama appointed him special representative to the region. His visit followed a series of working groups this week that are part of the U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue, which both countries say will lay the groundwork for a new relationship.

Afghanistan was on the agenda in meetings with the Pakistani leadership, Holbrooke said, including talks on a Pakistani role in talks between the Afghan Taliban and the Kabul government.

But the United States would not support Pakistan pushing the Haqqani network, one of the strongest factions of the Afghan insurgency and mostly based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan, into talks with Kabul as Washington sees the group as intransigent, brutal and too tightly allied with al Qaeda.

The United States has said any groups wishing to lay down their weapons must renounced al Qaeda and agree to participate peacefully in the Afghan political process.

“It’s just hard to see that happening,” Holbrooke said of the Haqqani network.

Regardless of what happens in Afghanistan, he said, the United States would remain engaged with Pakistan.

“Pakistan matters in and of itself. Whatever happens in Afghanistan, the U.S. cannot turn away from Pakistan again,” he said. “We are not going to repeat the mistakes that occurred – at least not on our watch — of the last 20 years.”

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Report says Pakistan meddling in Afghanistan

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, June 13 (Reuters) – Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations, a report said.

The report, published by the London School of Economics on Sunday, said its research strongly suggested support for the Taliban was the “official policy” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

Although links between the ISI and the Taliban have been widely suspected, the findings, which it said were corroborated by two senior Western security officials, could raise more concerns in the West over Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.

The report also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was reported to have visited senior Taliban prisoners in Pakistan earlier this year, where he is believed to have promised their release and help for militant operations, suggesting support for the Taliban “is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government”.

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For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]

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Afghan blog: blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/

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In Islamabad, a Pakistani presidential spokeswoman, Farah Ispahani, dismissed the allegations in the report as “absolutely spurious”. She said there “seems to be a concentrated effort to try to damage the new Pakistan-American strategic dialogue”.

Militants were feeling the pressure, she added, because “we will rout them from every area of Pakistan we find them in”.

“Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude,” said the report, based on interviews with Taliban commanders, former senior Taliban ministers and Western and Afghan security officials.

In March 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, said they had indications elements in the ISI supported the Taliban and must end such activities.

Western officials have been reluctant to talk publicly on the subject for fear of damaging cooperation from Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state Washington has propped up with billions of dollars in military and economic aid.

“The Pakistan government’s apparent duplicity — and awareness of it among the American public and political establishment — could have enormous geo-political implications,” said the report’s author, Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.

“Without a change in Pakistani behaviour it will be difficult if not impossible for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency,” Waldman said in the report.

The report comes at the end of one of the bloodiest weeks for foreign troops in Afghanistan — more than 30 were killed — and at a time when the insurgency is at its most violent.

More than 1,800 foreign troops, including some 1,100 Americans, have died in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. The war has already cost the United States around $300 billion and now costs more than $70 billion a year, the report said, citing 2009 U.S. Congressional research figures.

ISI, GULF FUNDING

The report said interviews with Taliban commanders “suggest that Pakistan continues to give extensive support to the insurgency in terms of funding, munitions and supplies”.

“These accounts were corroborated by former Taliban ministers, a Western analyst and a senior U.N. official based in Kabul, who said the Taliban largely depend on funding from the ISI and groups in Gulf countries,” the report said.

Almost all of the Taliban commanders interviewed in the report believed the ISI was represented on the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s supreme leadership council based in Pakistan.

“Interviews strongly suggest that the ISI has representatives on the (Quetta) Shura, either as participants or observers, and the agency is thus involved at the highest level of the movement,” the report said.

The report also said Zardari, and a senior ISI official, allegedly visited some 50 senior Taliban prisoners at a secret location in Pakistan where he told them they had been arrested only because he was under pressure from the United States.

Afghanistan has been highly critical of ISI involvement in the conflict, while analysts believe Pakistan will be unwilling to cooperate fully against the Taliban without reassurances about a reduction in India’s large presence in country.

The report’s author, said some, but not all, the commanders he spoke to said the ISI support was given so as to undermine Indian influence in Afghanistan.

The main focus of those he interviewed was on driving out foreign forces, restoring sharia law and obtaining justice and security. “They didn’t talk about the Taliban regaining the reins of government,” Waldman told Reuters in London.

Nor was there any sign of al Qaeda being a significant influence. None expressed any affection for al Qaeda and some acknowledged its role in the Taliban’s downfall in 2001.

He said those he spoke to wanted peace, but not at any cost.

While he detected some reluctance to see an immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces — which could precipitate a civil war — the massive presence of troops was a major problem.

They wanted clean and honest government and the separation of men and women, including at work. They were happy to see girls’ education, but only up to a certain age.

They were also well aware of factors running in their favour, including the unpopularity of the government and divisions in the international community about the Afghan war.

“Although they are tired and war-weary, they feel a level of confidence in the eventual outcome,” he said. (Additional reporting by Myra MacDonald in London and Chris Allbritton in Islamabad, Editing by Matthew Jones) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

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RPT-Report slams Pakistan for meddling in Afghanistan

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, June 13 (Reuters) – Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations, a report said.

The report, published by the London School of Economics, a leading British institution, on Sunday, said research strongly suggested support for the Taliban was the “official policy” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).

Although links between the ISI and Islamist militants have been widely suspected for a long time, the report’s findings, which it said were corroborated by two senior Western security officials, could raise more concerns in the West over Pakistan’s commitment to help end the war in Afghanistan.

The report also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was reported to have visited senior Taliban prisoners in Pakistan earlier this year, where he is believed to have promised their release and help for militant operations, suggesting support for the Taliban “is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government”.

A Pakistani diplomatic source described that report as “naive”, and also said any talks with the Taliban were up to the Afghan government.

“Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude,” said the report, based on interviews with Taliban commanders and former senior Taliban ministers as well as Western and Afghan security officials.

“DUPLICITY”

In March 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, said they had indications elements in the ISI supported the Taliban and al Qaeda and said the agency must end such activities.

Nevertheless, senior Western officials have been reluctant to talk publicly on the subject for fear of damaging possible cooperation from Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state Washington has propped up with billions of dollars in military and economic aid.

“The Pakistan government’s apparent duplicity — and awareness of it among the American public and political establishment — could have enormous geo-political implications,” said the report’s author, Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.

“Without a change in Pakistani behaviour it will be difficult if not impossible for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency,” Waldman said in the report.

The report comes at the end of one of the bloodiest weeks for foreign troops in Afghanistan — more than 21 have been killed this week — and at a time when the insurgency is at its most violent.

More than 1,800 foreign troops, including some 1,100 Americans, have died in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. The war has already cost the United States around $300 billion and now costs more than $70 billion a year, the report said, citing 2009 U.S. Congressional research figures.

VIOLENT REGIONS

The report said interviews with Taliban commanders in some of the most violent regions in Afghanistan “suggest that Pakistan continues to give extensive support to the insurgency in terms of funding, munitions and supplies”.

“These accounts were corroborated by former Taliban ministers, a Western analyst and a senior U.N. official based in Kabul, who said the Taliban largely depend on funding from the ISI and groups in Gulf countries,” the report said.

Almost all of the Taliban commanders interviewed in the report also believed the ISI was represented on the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s supreme leadership council based in Pakistan.

“Interviews strongly suggest that the ISI has representatives on the (Quetta) Shura, either as participants or observers, and the agency is thus involved at the highest level of the movement,” the report said.

The report also stated that Pakistani President Zardari, along with a senior ISI official, allegedly visited some 50 senior Taliban prisoners at a secret location in Pakistan where he told them they had been arrested only because he was under pressure from the United States.

“(This) suggests that the policy is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government,” the report said.

Afghanistan has also been highly critical of Pakistan’s ISI involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan. Last week, the former director of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, Amrullah Saleh, resigned saying he had become an obstacle to President Hamid Karzai’s plans to negotiate with the insurgents. [ID:SGE6560IX]

In an exclusive interview with Reuters at his home a day after he resigned, Saleh said the ISI was “part of the landscape of destruction in this country”.

“It will be a waste of time to provide evidence of ISI involvement. They are a part of it. The Pakistani army of which ISI is a part, they know where the Taliban leaders are — in their safe houses,” he told Reuters. (Editing by David Fox and Alex Richardson) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

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US forces Pak into new anti-Taliban war

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

After intense pressure from the United States, Pakistan has reportedly agreed to launch a full-scale offensive against the Taliban and other extremist organisations in their stronghold North Waziristan, but has also clarified to the Obama administration that the timing of the military offensive would be decided by it.

A top Pakistani official confirmed that during the meeting between US National Security Adviser General James Jones and Central Investigation Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta and President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani leadership agreed to expand the counterinsurgency offensive to North Waziristan.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson also attended the meeting.

“Pakistan is sincere and committed in combating terrorism and is ready to expand its anti-militancy operations to North Waziristan. However, for that we will require time to do the necessary shaping up. The operation will be started according to our own judgment,” The Dawn quoted the official, as saying.

A joint statement issued after the meeting also confirmed that Islamabad is ready to open a new front against militants in the volatile tribal region.

“Discussions focused on measures that both the countries (the US and Pakistan) are, and will be, taking to confront the common threat we face from extremists and prevent such potential attacks from occurring again. Both sides pledged to do everything possible to protect our citizens,” the statement said.

Sources privy to the meeting said Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership categorically told Obama’s top security aides that the country’s armed forces were not in a position to move immediately into North Waziristan because of a number of limitations, including efforts being made to consolidate gains made in the areas cleared of the Taliban and capacity and resource issues.

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No army officer held for Times Square plot: Pakistan

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 20 (IANS) No Pakistani Army officer has been held for involvement in the attempted Times Square car bombing for which Pakistani American Faisal Shahzad has been arrested, the military said Thursday.

‘No Pakistan Army officer has been arrested for having links’ with Shahzad, Online news agency quoted Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj. Gen Athar Abbas as saying.

‘Western media reports in this regard are baseless concocted and devoid of facts,’ he said, adding: ‘There is no truth to such news and no army officer, retired or in service, has been taken into custody for links with Faisal Shahzad.’

He clarified that last month, a retired major was sacked and arrested for violating discipline but he has no link with Shahzad case.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that investigators had arrested a Pakistani Army major linked to Shahzad.

Abbas’s remarks come a day after Pakistan and the US Wednesday pledged to enhance cooperation to foil future terrorist attacks as senior US officials briefed Pakistan’s political and military troika on the probe into the Times Square attempt.

US National Security Advisor James Jones and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ‘provided an update on the ongoing investigation into the Times Square terrorist incident’, a joint statement issued from the presidency said.

‘The talks covered measures that both countries are, and will be, taking to confront the common threat we face from extremists and prevent such potential attacks from occurring again,’ the statement added.

On Tuesday, Shahzad was arraigned before a federal magistrate in Manhattan on five felony counts two weeks after his arrest.

Appearing before Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV Tuesday evening, Shahzad, 30, did not enter a plea, simply answering ‘yes’ when the judge asked whether an affidavit attesting to his finances was accurate.

He was then charged with one count each of attempting terrorism by attempting to kill people; attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; using a destructive device in connection with an attempted crime of violence; transporting explosives; and attempting to destroy property with fire and explosives. Attempted terrorism carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Shahzad, a Pakistani immigrant who lived in Connecticut and had worked as a financial analyst, was taken into custody May 3 as he tried to flee to his native Pakistan on a flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport minutes before the plane was to leave for Dubai.

Prosecutors said he had left a Nissan Pathfinder rigged with makeshift, defective explosives in Times Square on May 1. The suspect who has been kept in an undisclosed location since he was taken into custody immediately began cooperating with federal investigators.

Three other Pakistanis were taken into custody in New England after a series of raids last week, and three others were arrested in Pakistan. None face criminal charges in connection with the plot.

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Govt. would lend all support to SC over summoning Musharraf : Pak law minister

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 20 (ANI): Pakistan Law Minister Babar Awan has made it clear that the government would not obstruct the judiciary’s way in summoning former President General Pervez Musharraf.

Addressing the Senate during the conclusion of the debate on Presidential address to the joint sitting of the Parliament, Awan said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led government would lend all support to the Supreme Court if it decides to summon Musharraf in cases concerning the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

“The government will not create any hurdles in the way of the apex court if it summons Musharraf in connection with the NRO,” The Daily Times quoted Awan, as saying.

“The Pakistan People’s party (PPP) believes in accountability, but it should be across the board and must not result in political victimisation. It should not be for a specific person or party,” he added.

During his speech, Awan also defended President Asif Ali Zardari over the issue of holding two offices.

“There is nothing in the Constitution that suggests that more than one office cannot be held by a President,” he said. (ANI)

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Pak agrees ‘in principle’ for North Waziristan offensive under intense US pressure

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 20 (ANI): After intense pressure from the United States, Pakistan has reportedly agreed to launch a full-scale offensive against the Taliban and other extremist organisations in their stronghold North Waziristan, but has also clarified to the Obama administration that the timing of the military offensive would be decided by it.

A top Pakistani official confirmed that during the meeting between US National Security Adviser General James Jones and Central Investigation Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta and President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani leadership agreed to expand the counterinsurgency offensive to North Waziristan.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson also attended the meeting.

“Pakistan is sincere and committed in combating terrorism and is ready to expand its anti-militancy operations to North Waziristan. However, for that we will require time to do the necessary shaping up. The operation will be started according to our own judgment,” The Dawn quoted the official, as saying.

A joint statement issued after the meeting also confirmed that Islamabad is ready to open a new front against militants in the volatile tribal region.

“Discussions focused on measures that both the countries (the US and Pakistan) are, and will be, taking to confront the common threat we face from extremists and prevent such potential attacks from occurring again. Both sides pledged to do everything possible to protect our citizens,” the statement said.

Sources privy to the meeting said Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership categorically told Obama’s top security aides that the country’s armed forces were not in a position to move immediately into North Waziristan because of a number of limitations, including efforts being made to consolidate gains made in the areas cleared of the Taliban and capacity and resource issues. (ANI)

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Obama’s top security aides to tell Pak to shun its ‘India-centric’ policies

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 19 (ANI): Two of US President Barack Obama’s top security advisors, the National Security Advisor General James Jones and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon Panetta, who are in Islamabad to press the Gilani government ‘do more’ in the botched Times Square bombing plot investigations, are also likely to deliver Obama’s message that the Pakistan government must do away with its India centric policy.

According to a top Pakistani official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, during their meeting with country’s military and civilian leaderships, the US delegation is likely to instruct Islamabad to shun its India-centric approach and focus more on the ‘war on terror’, The Daily Times reports.

The official said that while the agenda of talks would pivot around the Times Square bombing plot, the top US officials will raise some other important issues as well.

In the recent past, Washington has sent several blunt messages to Islamabad warning of ‘severe consequences’ if any future terror attack on the US is traced back to Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had also admitted that the bungled New York terror plot had soured the relationship between both countries.

Since the Times Square incident, the US has been demanding that Pakistan initiate a military offensive in the terror hot bed North Waziristan without wasting much time.

However, during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the Army Chief General Pervaz Kayani, which was held last week, it was decided that Islamabad would not bow down to any pressure from the White House. (ANI)

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Lahore High Court issues notice to Zardari over holding two offices

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 18 (ANI): The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a notice to President Asif Ali Zardari over the legality of holding two offices of interest.

Hearing a petition filed by the Pakistan Lawyers Forum (PLF) challenging the right of Zardari to hold on to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief’s post, the high court directed Zardari’s Principal Secretary to explain the legality of President dual posts.

“Since the president could not appear because of security reasons, the court asked his principal secretary to appear in court on May 25,” The Daily Times quoted PLF president A.K. Dogar, as saying.

Dogar said that though there was no constitutional bar on the President holding office in a political party, the Supreme Court had barred a president from holding a party post.

“Our Supreme Court judges decided in 1993 that the president should be non-partisan. He should not involve himself in political battles. He should shun politics but here he is a party head, which is illegal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has come out openly in favour of Zardari over the issue, saying there are no legal bar on holding two offices at a time.

President Zardari can keep two offices at a time and there is no constitutional or legal bar whatsoever, Gilani told media persons during a brief interaction here. (ANI)

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Zardari grants Malik presidential pardon to save him from 3-yr jail term

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 18 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has come to the rescue of one of his most trusted aides, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, as barely hours after the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected Malik’s plea in a corruption case, he pardoned the minister using his special power under the Article 45 of the Constitution.

The LHC had dismissed an appeal filed by Malik against punishments announced by the Accountability Court on Monday.

Hour’s after the court’s verdict, Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar hastly announced that the ‘President using his constitutional power on the advice of the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’ has granted remission to Malik.

Babar, however, refused to give any more details on the issue, The Dawn reports.

The spokesman said that the pardon has been granted under Article 45 of the Constitution which says: “The president shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or authority.”

Observers believe that Zardari’s move is likely to heighten tension between the Presidency and the higher judiciary at a time when the relationship between the two is already at its lowest ebb. (ANI)

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Awan to appear before SC to explain government’s stance on Swiss case against Zardari

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 15 (ANI): Pakistan Law Minister Babar Awan is likely to personally appear before the Supreme Court on May 25 and explain the reasons behind the government’s decision not to formally ask the Swiss government to open the money-laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Supreme Court has expressed its discontent over the government’s inaction in light of its December 2009 verdict declaring the controversial amnesty law, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as ‘unconstitutional’ following which all pending cases against Zardari and other beneficiaries of the NRO had to be reopened.

The apex court had summoned Awan to highlight the official stand concerning the case, as many contradictions had appeared in the past due to the government’s continuous flip-flops over the issues, The News reports.

Earlier, Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq had told the Supreme Court that Law Secretary Justice (retired) Muhammad Aqil Mirza , who has resigned, had made it clear that the Swiss cases had been closed and that there was no need for any communication with the Swiss government to reopen the multi-million dollar money laundering cases.

Cases against Zardari and 157 others were reopened after the Supreme Court declared the controversial amnesty law, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as ‘unconstitutional’ in December last year.

Zardari and his assassinated wife Benazir Benazir were convicted by a Geneva court in 2003 of laundering 13 million dollars linked to kickbacks, but that verdict was overturned on appeal. In 2008, Swiss judicial authorities said they had closed the file related to the case. (ANI)

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PCB mulling IPL-like T20 tournament in UAE

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 15 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly mulling to launch a T20 cricket tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the lines of the much famous Indian Premier League (IPL), and the proposal has already been approved by President Asif Ali Zardari, who is the PCB’s chief patron.

According to well-informed sources in the PCB, the board had sent a proposal of starting a T20 tournament in association with Abdul Rehman Bukhatir’s led Bukhatir group of companies.

“President Asif Zardari has given his consent to the proposal,” The Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

The proposed league, named the Middle-east Cricket League (MCL) is likely to be launched in October, and the matches would be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

“The concept is the same as the IPL. The cricket league will have franchised teams around five or six who will be allowed to sign on and play overseas players,” sources added.

Sources said that efforts were on to get clearance and support from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its member boards and try to find a window for the MCL later this year.

Bukhatir has been associated with cricket for the past many years, and is primarily known for his Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) venture in Sharjah. The CBFS series was suspended in 2003 following a match-fixing scandal. (ANI)

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Zardari hits jackpot after being handed back Bhutto trusts by Pak Shariat Court

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 14 (ANI): Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court has ordered the concerned agencies to give back the authority of two trusts, which were founded by late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and have properties worth billions, to President Asif Ali Zardari and his family members.

Reversing a 1977 order, which gave the control of the two trusts to the then military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq, the Federal Shariat Court declared the previous orders as repugnant to Islam, and directed the Pakistan government and its ministries and divisions to return the ownership, properties and assets of these two government-controlled trusts to the heirs of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, the widow of Zulfikar.

The 75-page judgment said that the orders under Martial Law had never existed and had no legal effect under the ‘Injunctions of Islam.’

“As a consequence thereof, all the steps taken, actions suffered, and all orders passed by any court, tribunal or any authority, including the Martial Law Establishment, under any of the impugned orders, are also declared repugnant to the aforementioned Injunctions of Islam, and thus never to have existed in the eyes of law and resultantly of no legal effect…” The News quoted a part of the verdict, as saying.

The court also asked various ministries and division, including the Finance Division, Auditor General of Pakistan, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and others to submit a detailed response to notices issued by it to them. (ANI)

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Zardari’s ‘Eureka’ moment to see end of troublesome Swiss graft cases

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 13 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has directed his team of legal eagles to tell the Supreme Court that there were never any money laundering cases pending against him in Swiss courts, so the question of reopening them does not arise.

While Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar refused to comment on the issue, insiders said Zardari has asked his legal team, consisting Attorney General Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Additional Attorney General K K Agha, and acting law secretary Sultan Shah to counter demands of reopening the corruption cases by stressing that there were no such petitions pending against him.

“ The strategy has been prepared in the light of guidelines given by President Asif Ali Zardari. Its main element is to stress the theme that no cases could be revived against the president because these never existed and additionally Zardari enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution under Article 248 of the Constitution,” The News quoted officials, privy to the issue, as saying.

It may be noted that during the last hearing on a case concerning the implementation of the Dec 16, 2009 judgment of Supreme Court against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), a five-member apex court bench had expressed its dismay over Haq’s statement that the Swiss cases were a ‘closed chapter.’

A senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said Zardari has particularly told his legal team not to be provoked which could result in confrontation between the government and the superior judiciary.

“Some people want a collision between the executive and the judiciary,” the PPP leader said. (ANI)

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Zardari’s electoral eligibility cannot be challenged by any court or authority: SHC

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, May 13 (ANI): Backing the electoral validity of President Asif Ali Zardari, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has observed that it can not be challenged before any court of law or authority.

Hearing a petition filed by Advocate Maulvi Iqbal Haider challenging Zardari’s electoral eligibility, a division bench headed by Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany said that the Chief Election Commissioner had already dismissed Haider’s plea, and that the validity of nomination papers filed in 2008 could not be allowed to be challenged in 2010 on the basis of “ flimsy, fake and fabricated grounds.”

Haider, in his petition, had said that being a beneficiary of the now defunct amnesty law, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), Zardari was not qualified for contesting the presidential elections.

He argued that Zardari’s nomination papers were liable to be re-scrutinised in light of the Supreme Court’s NRO verdict on December 16, 2009.

After hearing Haider’s argument, the SHC dismissed his petition observing that Zardari didn’t enjoy any immunity under the NRO.

“ We have heard the petitioner in person and have pointed out to him provision of Article 41(6) of the Constitution which in so many words provides that the validity of election of the President shall not be called in question by or before any court or other Authority,” The Dawn quoted the court’s ruling, as saying.

“ The petitioner did not have any locus-standi to challenge the Presidential election on ground that Asif Ali Zardari was disqualified for any reason to contest the same. The crux of petitioner’s arguments is that after decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan declaring National Reconciliation Ordinance, 2007, null and void ab initio, any benefit derived by any person in pursuance of Section six thereof was also declared none to have legally accrued to any such person and consequently of no legal effect,” the ruling said. (ANI)

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BB murder: Pak officials submit details of evidence collected from crime scene

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Rawalpindi, May 13 (ANI): Pakistani police officials, who were accused of destroying vital ground evidence in the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto assassination case, have submitted details of 30 articles and other evidences, which were collected from the crime scene on December 27, 2007 before the area was hosed down.

The details were submitted to the three member enquiry committee constituted by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to probe the hosing down of the crime scene at Liaquat Bagh , and also to the joint investigation team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

According to the report, officials had colleted 30 important evidences, including a 30 bore pistol, a damaged magazine, a nine-MM pistol, a black leather jacket, samples of blood, and also the dismembered head of the suspected suicide bomber before the site was washed off.

Various other materials such as several empty bullet cartridges, damaged vehicles including that of Bhutto, her blood samples from the Land Cruiser, mobiles phones and identity cards were also colleted, the report said.

However, some crucial pieces of possible evidence are missing, including a SIM card used by the suspected bomber or his accomplices, which may have been lost because of the hosing down of the area, The Dawn reports.

But the most important piece of evidence submitted by the officials is the letter written by the then City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz to the Inspector General of Police of Punjab saying that police had sought Asif Ali Zardari’s permission for Bhutto’s autopsy, but it was denied.

“ But Asif Ali Zardari turned down our request and declared that her post-mortem shall not be conducted,” the letter states.

Citing the Scotland Yard report on the assassination, the report said that the person who had fired at Bhutto was the same who had detonated the explosives. (ANI)

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Pak not to wilt under US pressure to launch offensive in North Waziristan

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 13 (ANI): Pakistan has apparently made it clear that it would not succumb under intense US pressure to launch an offensive in North Waziristan, the stronghold of the Taliban.

The decision was taken after President Asif Ali Zardari held separate meetings with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss national and international issues.

In the wake of the failed Times Square bombing plot, the Obama Administration has been piling up pressure on Pakistan to launch a military operation in North Waziristan, saying there are indications that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had played a major role in the terror plot.

According to a statement released after the meetings, both the political and military leadership resolved not to accept any pressure from Washington to start an operation against extremists, who are based in North Waziristan and threatening the whole world, including the US.

“Matters relating to current security situation in the country and professional preparedness of the Armed Forces were discussed during the meeting,” The Nation quoted an official’s handout released after General Kayani’s meeting with Zardari, as saying.

Sources privy to the meetings said that the situation arising after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s blunt warning was also discussed.

It may be noted that Clinton, during a television interview, had warned Islamabad of ‘dire consequences’ if Pakistan based terrorists succeeded in attacking the United States.

During the CBS’ 60 minute, Clinton said that though Pakistan’s attitude towards Islamic terrorism had changed in the recent past, it still needed to take far more stringent measures to quell militancy emanating from its soil.

“We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven-forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences,” she had warned. (ANI)

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Islamabad, May 7 (IANS) Pakistan’s English media Friday front-paged but did not lead with the death sentence awarded to Ajmal Amir Kasab for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, focusing instead on an emerging dispute between the government and the judiciary on reopening a graft case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 (IANS) Indian origin Labour candidate Manish Sood, who called his Labour party leader Gordon Brown ‘the worst prime minister’, has lost badly in the Norfolk North West constituency in Britain.

Sood had hit out at Brown a couple of days before balloting. But the offensive did not help him in Thursday’s balloting. According to the BBC, Sood got 6,353 votes and finished third.

The seat was won by Conservative Henry Billingham who polled 25,916 votes while Liberal Democrat William Summers stood second.

Sood had said during campaigning: ‘Immigration has gone up which is creating friction within communities. The country is getting bigger and messier. The role of ministers has gone bureaucratic and the action of ministers has gone downhill – it is corrupt.

‘The loss of social values is the basic problem and this is not what the Labour Party is about. I believe Gordon Brown has been the worst prime minister we have had in this country. It is a disgrace and he owes an apology to the people and the Queen,’ Lynn News newspaper had quoted him as saying.

Following his comments, David Collis, chairman of the North West Norfolk Constituency Labour Party, had called Sood a ‘dreadful candidate’.

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