US must allay Pakistan concerns over KLB

The Pakistani civilian and military leadership, in spite of belated and hurriedly inserted clarification in the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009 (Kerry-Lugar Bill), clearly told the visiting Chairman US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry that the US must take cognisance of public sentiments in Pakistan and seek to address them.

Senator Kerry was clearly told that Pakistan would never compromise on its sovereignty and core national security interests.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in their separate meetings with Senator Kerry made it very clear that the bill was a matter of concern as it still failed to remove the apprehensions that the conditionalities had created. The senator also met President Asif Ali Zardari and ISI chief General Shuja Pasha.

Interestingly, the statement from the Presidency did not make any mention of what stand President Asif Ali Zardari had specifically taken regarding the bill in his meeting with Kerry and whether he had expressed concerns, if any. There was, however, a mention that the issue was raised in the meeting.

President Zardari expressed the hope that ROZs legislation would soon be approved by the US and counter-productive labour provision will be softened. He said that Pakistan looked forward to enhancement of area as well as product coverage in the ROZs scheme. He said that ROZs should not be seen as trade concession measures but an effective instrument to quell militancy and extremism.

The General Headquarters through a terse four-line statement issued by the ISPR barely acknowledged the meeting saying, “The visiting dignitary remained with the chief of Army staff for some time and discussed matters of mutual interests”.

DG ISPR, General Athar Abbas, when asked if the “clarification” added to the bill and the meeting between Kayani and Senator Kerry had changed the views from what it held publicly after the last corps commanders meeting, said: “We said at the time that it is up to the government and parliament to decide about the bill. Today, despite the ‘clarification’ and the meeting at the General Headquarters, our stance remains the same that it is up to the government and parliament to decide,” he told The News.

Senator Kerry, meanwhile, in his meetings stressed that the controversy over the Kerry-Lugar Bill was unfortunate, saying it was a genuine effort on the part of the US to build a long-term partnership between the two countries by investing $7.5 billion in the next five years in the socio-economic development of the people of Pakistan. Others who met him quoted him as saying that Pakistan was free to reject the aid if it so desired.

In his meeting with Gilani he once again stressed and hoped that the joint explanatory statement has successfully allayed the misgivings of the concerned circles in Pakistan. In all his meetings he tried to clarify that he wanted to reassure the leadership about the real intent of US Congress and administration to help Pakistan through the Kerry-Lugar Bill legislation.


Interestingly, Gilani has only recently, and that too under public pressure, talked about the intrusions that this bill contains. He, however, knows well that legally it is not possible to make any changes because it is now a law and has been signed by the US president.

The prime minister nevertheless stressed that Pakistan will never compromise on its sovereignty and core national security interests. He pointed out that the US administration should channel the assistance under the Kerry-Lugar Bill through the trust funds for uplift and reconstruction in the districts of Malakand Division and added that through Benazir Income Support Programme it could reach out the poor segments of society.

While underlining the importance of support of the masses for decisive victory, the prime minister highlighted the imperative of development aspect in his government’s strategy to gain the sustained support of the nation on this issue.

The prime minister apprised Senator Kerry of the dislocation of people that had already started and is expected to rise in the coming weeks. He urged the US and friends of Pakistan to come forward wholeheartedly to provide adequate financial assistance to cater to the needs of the dislocated persons. He emphasised that financial support was urgently required for the reconstruction of the affected areas in Malakand and Swat.

The prime minister said Pakistan would remain constructively engaged with the international partners including the US to promote the shared objectives of peace, security and development in Afghanistan. Pakistan looks forward to continued cooperation with the new elected government of Afghanistan in the best interest of peace and security of the region.


He also underlined the need for provision of market access for Pakistani products and for expeditious passage of ROZs Bill in this regard.

Nawaz Sharif stuck to the stand that his party had taken all along and in a luncheon meeting with the visiting senator reaffirmed that the bill, with its conditionalities, continues to cause concerns, which needed to be addressed to establish a relationship of trust and confidence between the two countries.

According to a statement from the party office, Sharif urged the senator to consider suitable measures to allay the doubts and misgivings that had arisen in Pakistan.

Sharif hoped that conditionalities would never come in the way of the US at any stage in fulfilling its commitments to Pakistan in the Kerry-Lugar Bill. This would be the real test of US credibility, he added.

The issue of Pakistan’s fight against militancy and terrorism also came up during Kerry’s meetings and he was informed by the civilian leadership that there was national consensus of all political forces in the country to eliminate terrorism and extremism on the basis of which military action is under way in South Waziristan.

Online adds: Talking to Senator Kerry, President Asif Ali Zardari again made it clear that Pakistan wants strong and stable relations based on principles while seeking timely reimbursement of over $1 billion on account of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan.

Briefing media, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said in his meeting with US Senator John F Kerry matters relating to Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, bilateral relations, fight against militancy and terrorism and regional situation were discussed.

President Asif Ali Zardari thanked the US leadership for supporting democracy in Pakistan and said he looked forward to Secretary Clinton’s visit to Islamabad and holding of US-Pak Strategic Dialogue.

The president asked the US Senator to use his influence for timely reimbursement of over $1 billion on account of CSF. Senator John Kerry said that as laid in the Joint Explanatory Statement, the core intent of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act is to demonstrate the American people’s long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan.

He hoped that this long-term assistance would help in bringing about qualitative change in the lives of the people of Pakistan, especially in the areas worst hit by militancy, through direct investment in needed areas such as infrastructural development, schools, roads and medical clinics.

Senator Kerry thanked the President for meeting him and assured that US would continue to provide all possible assistance to the democratic dispensation in Pakistan in strengthening democracy, rule of law, sustainable economic development and its capability to effectively take on militants.

The meeting at the Presidency was also attended by US Ambassador Anne W Patterson, senior officials of the Embassy and US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Up to 320 Civilians Killed in Pakistan Drone War

How many civilians have been killed in the U.S. drone war in Pakistan? The number could be as high as 320 innocents, according to an analysis released today by the New America Foundation. That’s about a third of the 1,000 or so people slain in the robotic aircraft attacks since 2006.

Reliable information from the drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas is incredibly hard to come by. The government not only keeps news organizations out, it also blocks aid groups, like Doctors Without Borders. So analysts are forces to rely only press reports, which are themselves relying on second-hand accounts. The result: wildly different estimates of who has died in the attacks. In April, the News of Pakistan claimed that Predator and Reaper attacks had only killed 14 militants; the rest were bystanders. Last month, the Long War Journal estimated that about 10 percent of the casualties were civilian. The New America study, lead by long-time terrorism researcher Peter Bergen, comes down somewhere in between.

CIA director Leon Panetta told an audience last May that the drones were “the only game in town in terms of confronting or trying to disrupt the Al Qaeda leadership.” But the New America study contends that the terror group’s chieftains make up just a tiny percentage of the unmanned aircraft’s victims. “Since 2006, our analysis indicates, 82 U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan have killed between 750 and 1,000 people. Among them were about 20 leaders of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied groups, all of whom have been killed since January 2008.” The rest have been footsoldiers in the militant organizations, or civilians.

Perhaps the most frequent target of the drone strikes was Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Since President Obama took office, 15 of the 41 reported attacks were specifically aimed at Mehsud.He was finally killed on August 5th, along with one of his wives and her father.

All of which leads Jane Mayer, the New Yorker reporter who revealed so much of what we know about the abusive treatment of detainees, to take aim at the drone program. “The embrace of the Predator program has occurred with remarkably little public discussion, given that it represents a radicall new and geographically unbounded use of state-sanctioned lethal force. And, because of the CIA program’s secrecy, there is no visible system of accountability in place, despite the fact that the agency has killed many civilians inside a politically fragile, nuclear-armed country with which the U.S. is not at war,” she writes in the magazine’s current issue.

In July 2001… the U.S. denounced Israel’s use of target killing against Palestinian terrorists… The CIA, which had been chastened by past assassination scandals, refused to deploy the Predator for anything other than surveillance purposes… George Tenet, then the agency’s director, argued that it would be a ‘terrible mistake’ for ‘the Director of Central Intelligence to fire a weapon like this.’

…Seven years later, there is no longer any doubt that targeted killing has become official U.S. policy.

Iran blames US, Britain, and Pakistan for bombings

Iran stepped up accusations on Monday against the US, Britain, and Pakistan, saying all three countries have links to a Sunni group blamed for Sunday's suicide blast that killed more than 40, including at least five senior members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Tehran said it would demand that Pakistan hand over the attack's suspected mastermind. It said the country's intelligence agency, along with those of the US and Britain had a hand in planning and directing the attack.

The accusations are likely to ratchet up tensions between Iran and the West, which are already high over Iran's nuclear program.

The US, Britain, and Pakistan have all denied any involvement in Sunday's attack.

A Sunni rebel group, Jundallah, claimed responsibility for the attack in Pasheen, in southeast Iran near the border with Pakistan. The group has long waged an anti-government insurgency in the Sistan and Baluchistan region, claiming Tehran discriminates against the area's Baloch ethnic minority.

Iran said Monday that Pakistan was harboring the planners of Sunday's attack, and that it would demand that the leader of Jundullah be arrested and sent to Iran.

"The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said a delegation would head to Pakistan to deliver 'proof' that Islamabad is supporting Sunni militant leader Abdolmalek Rigi, whose Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group has for years being waging war against the Shiite rule of Iran," reported media.

The speaker of Iran's parliament also accused the US of being behind the attack,

"We consider this recent terrorist act to be the result of the US actions and this is a sign of their enmity," said parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

A US State Department spokesman said the accusation was "completely false."

"We condemn this act of terrorism and mourn the loss of innocent lives. Reports of alleged US involvement are completely false," Ian Kelly told media.

Britain also denied Iran's allegations. Pakistan's foreign ministry denied Monday that Rigi was even in Pakistan, according to US media.

US trusts Pakistan Government on Terror War

US has said combating war on terrorism is in interest of both Pakistan and United States and it has full trust on Pakistani government and will continue extending support to Pakistan in this connection, Geo news reported Monday.


Briefing media here, the spokesman to US state department Ian Kelley said he was unaware of an agreement to keep some militant factions out of the fight for now, but other U.S. officials said the strategy is not surprising or necessarily worrisome.

Because the faction loyal to Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud poses the most direct threat to the Pakistani government and army, it is the logical first target, U.S. officials briefed on the offensive said.

He said conducting operation in tribal mountainous areas is an uneasy job but Pakistan army successfully carried out military offensive against Taliban in Swat and now is engaged in South Waziristan Agency (SWA), which reflects its determination to toot out terrorism.

The United States, while criticizing the suicide bombing on Iran, mentioned that it is not involved in the attack.

Spokesman Kelly said, “We condemn this act of terrorism and mourn the loss of innocent lives”. "Reports of alleged US involvement are completely false," he added.

Gilani praises Chairman Imran Khan for Education Promotion

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that the root cause of terrorism was illiteracy and his government had resolved to provide better education in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration of up-gradation of the NAMAL College in Mianwali to a university — a project launched by PTI chairman Imran Khan — Gilani said Imran Khan was doing a great service in the field of education in a remote area of Pakistan.

The premier praised the PTI chairman for setting up the institute, saying giving access to education was a noble cause because knowledge was power.

“Education and the provision of health facilities is the top priority of his government and we will focus on these issues,” he added. Prime Minister Gilani attended the ceremony at the residence of Imran Khan, defying security threats.

He announced 100 scholarships worth Rs200,000 each for the students of the NAMAL University. Degree classes at the university commenced from Saturday. Ambassadors and top elite of Islamabad was also present at the dinner hosted by Imran Khan.

In a brief speech, Prime Minister Gilani recalled that his forefathers were instrumental in setting up educational institutions in Multan and one of such institutes was still considered best in the region. He said it was his earnest desire to follow his forefathers.

Prime Minister Gilani said the government would strive to give best emoluments to the teachers so that they could fully concentrate on educating the future generations of Pakistan. He also lauded the services being rendered by the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, also set up by the former cricketer.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan briefed the audience about his aim to make the project a success. Imran Khan said it was not a political function and he had invited the people above the party line.

In his witty remarks, he said: “I wanted to invite President Asif Ali Zardari here but due to security situation I did not do so because if any thing happened to him then I might be prime suspect”.

Later, when reporters approached Prime Minister Gilani for a press talk, Imran Khan requested him not to hold press talk, saying it would make the function a political event because political questions would be asked.

NRO Bill Disgrace to Parliament

PMLN Chief Nawaz Sharif said that NRO’s approval will be a disgrace to Parliament. He said that “Parliament must not fail in this vital test because it amounts to legalising corruption and cronyism”.

Dawn reports:

Political parties, he added, should not use parliament for legitimising corruption because it would set a disastrous precedent, destroying their credibility.

‘If approved, the ordinance will tarnish the country’s image,’ he warned.


The News reports:

He said if parliament passed the NRO, a legacy of the oppose the NRO inside parliament but lobby hard against its passage in both houses of the legislature,” PML-N spokesman Senator Pervez Rashid told The News.

Asked about Nawaz’s direct role in getting the NRO scrapped through the disapproval resolution, he said that the PML-N would not hesitate to seek his active participation in such a campaign.

Musharraf Blames Aziz for Bugti’s Murder

Ex-President and Army Chief Pervez Musharraf has now blamed Shaukat Aziz for the murder of Akbar Bugti and claimed that he was merely head of the state, and Shaukat Aziz was running the government affairs.


Talking to media persons after attending a reception hosted in his honour here on Sunday night, Musharraf said he could not be accused of Akbar Bugti’s killing because at that time there was a chief minister, a prime minister and others, who were running the government…

PCB rejects Younis resignation

Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan board chairman, has given Younis Khan the backing he wanted, insisting he will remain ODI captain until the 2011 World Cup. Butt ended days of speculation over the future of the Pakistan captaincy, reiterating once again that he had not accepted Younis' resignation.

Younis handed in his papers last week after attending a National Assembly committee meeting, in which allegations of match-fixing during Pakistan's semi-final loss to New Zealand were investigated. Those charges - as well as persistent politicking in the team by a group of players to undermine his leadership - were reasons believed to be behind his move.

Butt, however, rejected the resignation and opted to meet Younis privately instead, in a bid to change his mind. It is believed that at the meeting Younis laid down conditions which had to be accepted before he could return: he wanted to streamline the selection process, an assurance of a lengthier tenure than just on a series-by-series basis, and also changes in the team management. The PCB held meetings to discuss the matter though the meeting with the governing board today is said not to have raised the subject.

Though Butt did not speak of any such conditions, he was unequivocal in his support for Younis. "When I first appointed him in January 2009, there was no tenure for his captaincy but obviously sometimes security is needed. He is definitely our captain till the 2011 World Cup provided he remains fit. His performance has been excellent, he is fit, he has won a World Cup and as long as the selectors keep picking him, he is our choice as captain," Butt told Cricinfo.

Earlier, Butt had rejected Younis' resignation during an eagerly-awaited press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, saying he understood why Younis handed in his papers. "I have not accepted Younis Khan's resignation. There is no justification in removing him as captain. I realise and understand his reaction. Had I been in his place I would've done the same."