Air Commodore Rizwan Butt, Defence Attaché accompanied the Ambassador in the meeting.
Thursday 17 April 2014
Pakistan Ambassador calls on Commander of UAE Naval Forces
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Ireland deports bedoons who tore own passports
KUWAIT: Two bedoon brothers were taken to the Criminal Investigations Department after returning to Kuwait from Ireland where they reportedly headed to seek political asylum. The men tore their article 17 Kuwaiti passports and demanded asylum on the basis that they were subjected to persecution in Kuwait, according to the Irish authorities’ report. The two claimed they had lost their passports, but Irish police took reports of eyewitnesses who said that they saw them tearing their documents. The two were put back on a plane that had brought them from the United Arab Emirates where they had transited after a flight from Kuwait. They arrived at the Kuwait International Airport Tuesday and taken in police’s custody for questioning. A letter was sent to the General Department for Citizenship and Passports in the meantime containing a recommendation to include the two brothers on the blacklist of bedoons not allowed to obtain temporary passports for emergency travel.
Spotrs play an important role in development of personality,Javed Malik
DUBAI: Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Ambassador Javed Malik was the guest of honour alongwith diplomats from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India who were joined by the Chairman of Dubai Cricket Council at the launching ceremony of T-20 Super stars cricket tournament being organized in Dubai under the auspices of Dubai Cricket Council. Sixteen teams would take part in the high profile tournament which also includes *seven teams from Pakistan.
Speaking about the initiative Ambassador Javed Malik said “sports play an important role in connecting people and promoting a sense of healthy interaction aimed at building positive relations between the communities,and therefore we always support such initiatives that bring people together, this is part of diplomacy aimed at building positive relations"he added.
Speaking about the initiative Ambassador Javed Malik said “sports play an important role in connecting people and promoting a sense of healthy interaction aimed at building positive relations between the communities,and therefore we always support such initiatives that bring people together, this is part of diplomacy aimed at building positive relations"he added.
Durrani calls on Commander of UAE Air Force
DUBAHI:Ambassador of Pakistan H.E. Mr. Asif Durrani called on Major General. Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence at the Air Headquarters. Matters pertaining to close cooperation between the air forces of the two countries and the forthcoming visit of Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff,Pakistan Air Force were discussed during the meeting.
Issues pertaining to training of UAE air force personnel, and joint air exercises also came up for discussion.
Issues pertaining to training of UAE air force personnel, and joint air exercises also came up for discussion.
Putin congratulates Assad on Independence Day
DAMASCUS (SANA) President Bashar al-Assad received Wednesday a letter from the Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulating him on the Evacuation (Independence) Day.
President Putin said he is confident that a continued bolstering of traditional friendly relations between Russia and Syria and the constructive bilateral cooperation will help ensure stability and security in the Middle East.
President Putin wished President al-Assad health and success and the Syrian people peace and wellbeing.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi received a letter from his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, congratulating him on the occasion.
Medvedev said he is sure that a continued consolidating of mutual, multi-faceted ties between Syria and Russia and developing cooperation of mutual benefits in the trade, economic, scientific, artistic and cultural fields serves the interests of the two friendly nations.
Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, for his part, received a congratulation letter from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. In his letter, Lavrov expressed confidence that the Syrian people can overcome ordeals, restore security and stability and lay the groundwork of prosperity for all citizens in a strong, democratic and undivided state.
Lavrov said that he highly appreciates close cooperation between Russia and Syria on all regional and international issues, affirming that Russia will continue to fully back the inter-Syrian dialogue and work to prevent external meddling in the affairs of the sovereign Syrian state.
President Putin said he is confident that a continued bolstering of traditional friendly relations between Russia and Syria and the constructive bilateral cooperation will help ensure stability and security in the Middle East.
President Putin wished President al-Assad health and success and the Syrian people peace and wellbeing.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi received a letter from his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, congratulating him on the occasion.
Medvedev said he is sure that a continued consolidating of mutual, multi-faceted ties between Syria and Russia and developing cooperation of mutual benefits in the trade, economic, scientific, artistic and cultural fields serves the interests of the two friendly nations.
Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, for his part, received a congratulation letter from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. In his letter, Lavrov expressed confidence that the Syrian people can overcome ordeals, restore security and stability and lay the groundwork of prosperity for all citizens in a strong, democratic and undivided state.
Lavrov said that he highly appreciates close cooperation between Russia and Syria on all regional and international issues, affirming that Russia will continue to fully back the inter-Syrian dialogue and work to prevent external meddling in the affairs of the sovereign Syrian state.
Egypt police attack students at al-Azhar University
Egyptian riot police have attacked supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, at Cairo’s al-Azhar University.
Security forces used buckshot and tear gas to disperse the protesters at the university, which has been a common site of unrest in recent months.Dozens of protesting students were injured and several others bussed to detention centers.
Spokesmen for student protesters have claimed security forces fired live rounds at them.Violent clashes have been also reported in other universities in the cities of Zagazig and Asyut.
Armed men under the protection of security forces have reportedly attacked the protesters, causing injuries.The fierce clashes at university campuses have been the latest in a new wave of bloody crackdown against anti-military students.
Also on Wednesday, an Egyptian court sentenced nearly 120 supporters of Muslim Brotherhood to three years in jail each.The latest developments come after Egypt's former defense minister, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, officially submitted his bid to run for president.
Sisi led the overthrow of Morsi, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament in July last year. He is also accused of leading a severe crackdown against the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.Egyptian military-installed interim officials have mounted a heavy-handed crackdown on Morsi supporters and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Give us a clear majority: Modi
RATLAM,INDIA:The BJP prime ministerial candidate appealed to youth to give BJP 300 seats for a secure future Vowing to let no ‘Hand’ — the Congress symbol — near the union exchequer, Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi asked supporters in Ratlam on Wednesday to give a clear majority to “the only party whose goal is development and to change people’s lives.” Mr. Modi lauded the voters of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for voting his party to power for a third time.
“If Bantadhar (spoilsport, a slur on former CM Digvijaya Singh) had remained in MP, then what would have been the plight of your lives? The same spoilsport politics that made MP a BIMARU (backward) state has also destroyed India. MP finished off the spoilsport. Now it is your task to finish off the spoilsport in Delhi,” he said.
He added that during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime the Congress controlled all forms of government from “panchayats to parliament” and there was no sign of the BJP. “He (Gandhi) had then said that for every rupee sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reach villages. Which Hand scrubbed the rupee into 15 paise... I shall not let any Hand come near the treasury in Delhi,” he said.
Mr. Modi asked voters below 28 years of age to ensure his party getting a clear majority. “This is the most important age of your lives,” he said comparing the life period of 18 to 28 years to one’s intermediate exams. “If there is a useless government at the centre then your lives will be destroyed... The elders will ensure a BJP victory for sure, but you need to see to it that we get 300 seats to form a strong government.”
“If Bantadhar (spoilsport, a slur on former CM Digvijaya Singh) had remained in MP, then what would have been the plight of your lives? The same spoilsport politics that made MP a BIMARU (backward) state has also destroyed India. MP finished off the spoilsport. Now it is your task to finish off the spoilsport in Delhi,” he said.
He added that during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime the Congress controlled all forms of government from “panchayats to parliament” and there was no sign of the BJP. “He (Gandhi) had then said that for every rupee sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reach villages. Which Hand scrubbed the rupee into 15 paise... I shall not let any Hand come near the treasury in Delhi,” he said.
Mr. Modi asked voters below 28 years of age to ensure his party getting a clear majority. “This is the most important age of your lives,” he said comparing the life period of 18 to 28 years to one’s intermediate exams. “If there is a useless government at the centre then your lives will be destroyed... The elders will ensure a BJP victory for sure, but you need to see to it that we get 300 seats to form a strong government.”
PM calls urgent meeting on national security
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called an urgent meeting of the cabinet committee on national security on Thursday at PM House, official sources told Dawn.com on Wednesday.
Federal ministers for defence, interior, information and adviser on national security have been invited to attend the meeting.
Chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, three services chiefs, DG IB, DG ISI are also expected to attend the meeting.
“Latest developments with regard to government, Taliban peace talks would come under consideration,” said a cabinet source.
Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan would brief the participants about the latest situation of the dialogue process between government and the Tehreek-i-Taliban including demands of the umbrella militant group.
The cabinet source said that recent Afghan elections and the impact of its result would also come under consideration.This is the first time in last one month that civil and military leadership would face each other after tension rose between them due to statements of few cabinet members against the military establishment.
Federal ministers for defence, interior, information and adviser on national security have been invited to attend the meeting.
Chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, three services chiefs, DG IB, DG ISI are also expected to attend the meeting.
“Latest developments with regard to government, Taliban peace talks would come under consideration,” said a cabinet source.
Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan would brief the participants about the latest situation of the dialogue process between government and the Tehreek-i-Taliban including demands of the umbrella militant group.
The cabinet source said that recent Afghan elections and the impact of its result would also come under consideration.This is the first time in last one month that civil and military leadership would face each other after tension rose between them due to statements of few cabinet members against the military establishment.
Protecting Pakistan at the cost of civil liberty
[caption id="attachment_709" align="aligncenter" width="112"]
Muhammad Waqas[/caption]
Muhammad Waqas[/caption]In a recently held heated National Assembly session, the government of Pakistan was able to successfully promulgate the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO). There was plenty of drama, with the opposition parties tearing up copies of the proposed bill and staging a walkout protest. The controversial ordinance empowers security forces to arrest and detain suspects at secret locations, shoot them at sight and also conduct raids without any search warrants. The opposition parties believe that the law proposes extra-constitutional measures, and could turn Pakistan into a police state. However, the law faces a stern test in the country’s Upper House or Senate before it can be formally adopted by the State. Further, opposition parties have vowed to file a petition against the “draconian and regressive law” in the Supreme Court.
The law was conceived to give sweeping powers to security forces and make them more effective in overcoming the menace of poor security situation across the country. Besides being plagued by militancy in the volatile northwestern region bordering Afghanistan, security forces in Pakistan continue to battle militancy, which has crept into urban centers. Meanwhile, the country’s sluggish economic performance and widening socioeconomic divide have also increased the rate of street crimes. In this backdrop, the decree was well intended but fails to tackle the root causes of Pakistan’s main security challenges. According to the law, all elements that create disorder in the country have been declared as “enemies of the state.”
The government also pledges to make the protection of life as its top priority. While all political parties and members of the civil society back the government’s resolve of restoring peace in the country, the proposed bill may be used to target political workers of certain affiliations and also curb civil freedom. The need for such a law is also being questioned with the government already in talks with the main faction of Pakistani Taleban. Perhaps, the law is intended to send a strong message to the militants and warn them of a massive military action in case they back track from the peace process.
The controversial bill could also pave the way for use of brutal force to crush different political and civil rights movement in the country. It will raise the level of insecurity in political and civil circles from neglected provinces, like Balochistan. The government is already struggling to explain its position to the Supreme Court in the alleged enforced disappearances case, and this law would provide a cover to security agencies to continue with their covert activities.
The government would have been wiser to carry out consultations with members of the civil society and other political parties before tabling this law. Given the influence of opposition in Upper House, the law is anyway not expected to be passed in its current shape. Rather than imposing such drastic measures, the government should focus on developing a coherent anti-terrorism strategy that weeds out the primary issues of contention. The ordinance is completely against democratic ideals of freedom of expression and deliberation as it grants the government extraordinary powers to quell dissent under the garb of state protection.
NATO ups military presence amid Russian threat
BRUSSELS: NATO is strengthening its military footprint along its eastern border immediately in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the alliance’s chief said Wednesday.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO’s air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region and allied ships will deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed.
“We will have more planes in the air, mores ships on the water and more readiness on the land,” Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels, declining to give exact troop figures.
Moscow must make clear “it doesn’t support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists” in eastern Ukraine, he added.
NATO’s eastern members — including Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland — have been wary following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, demanding a more robust military deterrence to counter neighboring Russia.
He said the NATO deployments are about “deterrence and de-escalation” in the face of Russia’s aggressive behavior.
The NATO chief did not mention naval deployments to the Black Sea — which Russia would likely see as a direct aggression even though NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey also border the sea. He insisted, however, that “more will follow if needed.”
NATO estimates Russia has amassed some 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and could invade parts of the country within days if it wished. Fogh Rasmussen urged Russia to pull those troops back.
The 28-nation alliance has already suspended most cooperation and talks with Russia. The United States has dispatched fighter planes to Poland and the Baltics, enabling NATO to reinforce air patrols on its eastern border. NATO also performs daily AWACs surveillance flights over Poland and Romania.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO’s air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region and allied ships will deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed.
“We will have more planes in the air, mores ships on the water and more readiness on the land,” Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels, declining to give exact troop figures.
Moscow must make clear “it doesn’t support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists” in eastern Ukraine, he added.
NATO’s eastern members — including Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland — have been wary following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, demanding a more robust military deterrence to counter neighboring Russia.
He said the NATO deployments are about “deterrence and de-escalation” in the face of Russia’s aggressive behavior.
The NATO chief did not mention naval deployments to the Black Sea — which Russia would likely see as a direct aggression even though NATO members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey also border the sea. He insisted, however, that “more will follow if needed.”
NATO estimates Russia has amassed some 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and could invade parts of the country within days if it wished. Fogh Rasmussen urged Russia to pull those troops back.
The 28-nation alliance has already suspended most cooperation and talks with Russia. The United States has dispatched fighter planes to Poland and the Baltics, enabling NATO to reinforce air patrols on its eastern border. NATO also performs daily AWACs surveillance flights over Poland and Romania.
Reject Modi's ambition, religious fanaticism: Sonia
KANYAKUMARI,INDIA:Stepping up her attack against BJP and Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi today said they represented a dangerous combination of religious fanaticism, power and money and asked the country to reject the "ambition of that individual".
Addressing her maiden election rally in Tamil Nadu, the Congress President said the BJP seeks to divide the country on communal lines and harmony is under threat from them. "We have to fight the forces that want to divide India. (Courtesy Press Trust of India)
Addressing her maiden election rally in Tamil Nadu, the Congress President said the BJP seeks to divide the country on communal lines and harmony is under threat from them. "We have to fight the forces that want to divide India. (Courtesy Press Trust of India)
Tensions escalate with Ukrainian troop defections
DONETSK, Ukraine :Tensions escalated in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with pro-Russian gunmen storming City Hall in the sprawling city of Donetsk and a cluster of Ukrainian troops meant to be restoring order in the region apparently defecting to the side of separatists.
The events suggested the challenge ahead for the pro-Western Ukrainian government on the second day of a campaign to quell the restive east, and came as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine was on the verge “of a civil war.”
A line of combat vehicles flying Russian flags rolled Wednesday morning into Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 where separatists have set up roadblocks since Saturday. One soldier named Andrei, speaking to the Associated Press, identified the men as part of the 25th Brigade of Ukraine’s airborne forces that had switched to the side of pro-Russian forces. The troops in green camouflage and packing automatic weapons and grenade launchers received a warm welcome from local separatists, AP said. The report could not be immediately verified.
Around 10 a.m. local time, a squad of separatists backed by seven masked gunmen in camouflage stormed the seat of Donetsk’s mayor and local council.
By Wednesday afternoon, more than 40 men, some masked and heavily armed, were occupying the building but still allowing workers and local officials to go about their business inside City Hall.
The scene was calmer than earlier in the morning, when suited bureaucrats were running back and forth to vehicles in an attempt to save files and computers. City workers were shuffling to and from meetings under the watchful gaze of camouflage-clad militants who loitered in the corridors, many clutching automatic weapons. Offering glaring evidence of the Kiev government’s tenuous grip on the region, a few local police officers casually strolled outside without attempting to intervene.
The pro-Russian militants who took over City Hall said they were separate from a similar group that occupied the regional headquarters in this city of nearly 1 million 10 days ago, but they issued at least one similar demand. They called for a referendum on May 11 with two questions: whether the populace agreed with the creation of a new “Donetsk People’s Republic” and, if so, whether it should be part of Ukraine or Russia.
“Why should we consider Russia a hostile state?” asked Alexander Zakharchenko, a spokesman for the militants. “They are the closest people to us in the world.” He belongs to a group called Oplot, a pro-Russian movement that started as a fight club of young men in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, to the north.
The events suggested the challenge ahead for the pro-Western Ukrainian government on the second day of a campaign to quell the restive east, and came as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine was on the verge “of a civil war.”
A line of combat vehicles flying Russian flags rolled Wednesday morning into Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 where separatists have set up roadblocks since Saturday. One soldier named Andrei, speaking to the Associated Press, identified the men as part of the 25th Brigade of Ukraine’s airborne forces that had switched to the side of pro-Russian forces. The troops in green camouflage and packing automatic weapons and grenade launchers received a warm welcome from local separatists, AP said. The report could not be immediately verified.
Around 10 a.m. local time, a squad of separatists backed by seven masked gunmen in camouflage stormed the seat of Donetsk’s mayor and local council.
By Wednesday afternoon, more than 40 men, some masked and heavily armed, were occupying the building but still allowing workers and local officials to go about their business inside City Hall.
The scene was calmer than earlier in the morning, when suited bureaucrats were running back and forth to vehicles in an attempt to save files and computers. City workers were shuffling to and from meetings under the watchful gaze of camouflage-clad militants who loitered in the corridors, many clutching automatic weapons. Offering glaring evidence of the Kiev government’s tenuous grip on the region, a few local police officers casually strolled outside without attempting to intervene.
The pro-Russian militants who took over City Hall said they were separate from a similar group that occupied the regional headquarters in this city of nearly 1 million 10 days ago, but they issued at least one similar demand. They called for a referendum on May 11 with two questions: whether the populace agreed with the creation of a new “Donetsk People’s Republic” and, if so, whether it should be part of Ukraine or Russia.
“Why should we consider Russia a hostile state?” asked Alexander Zakharchenko, a spokesman for the militants. “They are the closest people to us in the world.” He belongs to a group called Oplot, a pro-Russian movement that started as a fight club of young men in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, to the north.
No more extention in ceasefire,warns TTP
ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday said that they would not be extending the ceasefire, the group’s spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid said.
The reason for this, they claim, is the lack of progress from the government’s side regarding the Taliban’s demands.
The central council of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan will not be extending the ceasefire, the TTP spokesman said in a statement.
The Taliban had earlier declared a month-long ceasefire on March 1, 2014, and later extended it for ten more days. The extended ceasefire expired on April 10, 2014.
The reason for this, they claim, is the lack of progress from the government’s side regarding the Taliban’s demands.
The central council of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan will not be extending the ceasefire, the TTP spokesman said in a statement.
The Taliban had earlier declared a month-long ceasefire on March 1, 2014, and later extended it for ten more days. The extended ceasefire expired on April 10, 2014.
Shahnaz to take up reins as Pakistan coach
LAHORE: Pakistan named new coaches for their senior and junior hockey teams on Wednesday as they try to drag themselves out of a slump and revive past glories.
Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup to be held in the Netherlands in June -- the first time they have ever missed the tournament, which they have won four times.
Pakistan have also won three Olympic gold medals but slumped to seventh position in the 2012 London Olympics. They were 12th and last in the 2010 World Cup in India.
Crumbling finances forced the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to pull out of international events this year.
Hockey struggles to compete with cricket for popularity and funding, but the PHF is hoping a 100 million rupee ($1 million) grant promised by Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif will give the sport the boost it needs.
The PHF said Olympian Shahnaz Shaikh will coach the senior team, while former captain Manzoor Ahmed will take charge of the junior team.
Another former captain, Islahuddin Siddiqui, will be the chief selector after the PHF persuaded former players to end their boycott of the federation and help the revival.
Shaikh, who had two unsuccessful stints as coach, said his first target would be to defend the Asian Games title which Pakistan won in China in 2010.
“I am here to do my best to revive Pakistan hockey and my first target will be to defend the Asian title in South Korea in September,” said Shaikh.
Pakistan also suffered badly at the junior level, finishing ninth out of 12 teams in the Junior World Cup held in India last year.
Ahmed, captain of Pakistan's last Olympic gold medal-winning team in Los Angeles in 1984, said his task will be to give the junior team a stronger base.
PPP tells Faisal Raza Abdi to quit senate seat
ISLAMABAD-Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has demanded of Faisal Raza Abdi to resign as senator, a private news channel reported on Wednesday.
PPP leader Pervaiz Ashraf conveyed the message from party leadership to Abidi who is known for his bold and brazen discussions various talk shows.
The report added that the decision was taken after much consultations among the party leaders and their chief Asif Ali Zardari.
PPP leader Pervaiz Ashraf conveyed the message from party leadership to Abidi who is known for his bold and brazen discussions various talk shows.
The report added that the decision was taken after much consultations among the party leaders and their chief Asif Ali Zardari.
PM Nawaz, Zardari meet up to discuss army, PPO, peace talks
Their meeting comes against the backdrop of the tensions between the country's civilian and military leaderships.
Both leaders also discussed the ongoing operation in Karachi and other matters of mutual interest besides reviewing dialogue process with Taliban.
Earlier, both leaders held delegation-level talks and discussed the country’s political situation.
Federal ministers Ishaq Dar and Zahid Hamid assisted the prime minister and senior PPP leaders, including Khurshid Shah and Mian Raza Rabbani, accompanied Asif Ali Zardari.
Hamid briefed the meeting on the Protection of Pakistan Bill while a member of from the government side, Fawad Hassan Fawad, briefed the PPP delegation on the latest situation in the dialogue with the Talban.Wednesday’s was one of the very few meetings between the two leaders since Zardari’s departure from the presidency.
It also comes a day after PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar extended his party’s support to the PML-N government against any “undemocratic adventurism”.
Unpaid dues: Saudi aviation authority threatens to stop PIA flights
KARACHI: Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) warned the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) of halting all flights in case unpaid dues were not cleared by the national airliner by April 17.
According to the notification, sent by Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation , PIA flights will be stopped from April 17 onwards if the dues were not paid.
Sources said that the dues owed to the Saudi aviation also include 500,000 riyals from year 2005.
PIA has been suffering losses worth billions since many years and its accumulated dues have been on the rise. The national airline had recorded cumulative losses of Rs141 billion from 2002 to 2012.
The PIA had also suffered financial losses to the tune of Rs401 million in Hajj operations 2012.
According to the notification, sent by Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation , PIA flights will be stopped from April 17 onwards if the dues were not paid.
Sources said that the dues owed to the Saudi aviation also include 500,000 riyals from year 2005.
PIA has been suffering losses worth billions since many years and its accumulated dues have been on the rise. The national airline had recorded cumulative losses of Rs141 billion from 2002 to 2012.
The PIA had also suffered financial losses to the tune of Rs401 million in Hajj operations 2012.
Israel, Kuwait secret talk will lead to Arab ties against Iran, claims Israeli FM
JERUSALEM: Israel is holding secret talks with some Arab states that do not recognize it, looking to establish diplomatic ties based on a common fear of Iran, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday. Amongst the countries he was in contact with were Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Lieberman told newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth – the first such disclosure by a senior Israeli official.
Both these states, along with most other Arab nations, have traditionally been highly hostile towards Israel, which has only signed peace deals with two neighbours – Egypt and Jordan. However, anti-Israeli sentiment was being superseded by a growing concern over Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran’s regional allies, and the menace of Islamist militancy, Lieberman said.
“For the first time there is an understanding there that the real threat is not Israel, the Jews or Zionism. It is Iran, global jihad, (Lebanese Shiite guerrilla group) Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda,” the foreign minister said. “There are contacts, there are talks, but we are very close to the stage in which within a year or 18 months it will no longer be secret, it will be conducted openly,” added Lieberman, who is a far rightist in the coalition government.
Yedioth paraphrased Lieberman as saying some new Israeli-Arab peace accords would be signed in 2019. “I’m certain that by then we will have a situation in which we have full diplomatic relations with most of the moderate Arab states. And you can count on my word,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long hinted that Israel and the Gulf states share a similar goal in halting Iran’s nuclear program, saying they all saw a mortal threat in its ambitious atomic drive. Iran denies that it is planning to build nuclear weapons.
Senior Israeli officials have also said that like themselves, moderate Sunni states are worried that Washington was not taking a tough enough line with Tehran. However, analysts have scoffed at the idea that ties between Israel and much of the Arab world could be normalised while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained unresolved. US-brokered peace talks between the two are floundering, with no indication that a resolution is anywhere in sight.
Both these states, along with most other Arab nations, have traditionally been highly hostile towards Israel, which has only signed peace deals with two neighbours – Egypt and Jordan. However, anti-Israeli sentiment was being superseded by a growing concern over Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran’s regional allies, and the menace of Islamist militancy, Lieberman said.
“For the first time there is an understanding there that the real threat is not Israel, the Jews or Zionism. It is Iran, global jihad, (Lebanese Shiite guerrilla group) Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda,” the foreign minister said. “There are contacts, there are talks, but we are very close to the stage in which within a year or 18 months it will no longer be secret, it will be conducted openly,” added Lieberman, who is a far rightist in the coalition government.
Yedioth paraphrased Lieberman as saying some new Israeli-Arab peace accords would be signed in 2019. “I’m certain that by then we will have a situation in which we have full diplomatic relations with most of the moderate Arab states. And you can count on my word,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long hinted that Israel and the Gulf states share a similar goal in halting Iran’s nuclear program, saying they all saw a mortal threat in its ambitious atomic drive. Iran denies that it is planning to build nuclear weapons.
Senior Israeli officials have also said that like themselves, moderate Sunni states are worried that Washington was not taking a tough enough line with Tehran. However, analysts have scoffed at the idea that ties between Israel and much of the Arab world could be normalised while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained unresolved. US-brokered peace talks between the two are floundering, with no indication that a resolution is anywhere in sight.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
Obama calls for irregular forces to lay down arms in Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to press pro-Moscow groups to lay down their arms in Ukraine amid escalating tensions.
Obama used the phone call requested by Moscow to express his "grave concern about Russian government support for the actions of armed, pro-Russian separatists who threaten to undermine and destabilize the government of Ukraine," the White House said.
"The president emphasized that all irregular forces in the country need to lay down their arms, and he urged President Putin to use his influence with these armed, pro-Russian groups to convince them to depart the buildings they have seized."
Washington said earlier it was consulting European allies and hinted that more sanctions on Russia's economy could be coming, to punish what it sees as Moscow's sponsorship of pro-Russia violence in eastern Ukraine.
In the latest in a string of tense phone calls between the two leaders, Obama "reiterated the importance of Russia withdrawing its troops from Ukraine's border in order to defuse tensions."
He also hailed Ukraine's "remarkable restraint" in the face of what Washington brands as Russian meddling in its neighbor.
The Kremlin had earlier said Putin told Obama the charges of interference were "unfounded."
The White House and the State Department signaled fresh sanctions could be coming for Russia over what Washington says are provocations in eastern Ukraine, including the seizure of administrative and police buildings by Moscow-backed armed groups.
And Obama pointed out to Putin "Russia's growing political and economic isolation as a result of its actions in Ukraine and made clear that the costs Russia already has incurred will increase if those actions persist," the White House said.
In a sign of growing tensions in the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, a Russian Su-24 fighter jet made several low-altitude, high-speed passes near the USS Donald Cook cruise missile destroyer over the Black Sea.
EU foreign ministers also announced they were expanding the list of 33 Ukrainian and Russian officials and business leaders hit by asset freezes and visa bans for their role in the Ukraine crisis -- though the bloc stopped short of harsher measures ahead of a Geneva meeting of top EU, US, Russian and Ukrainian officials this week.
Obama warned that while a diplomatic solution is still possible, "it cannot succeed in an environment of Russian military intimidation on Ukraine's borders, armed provocation within Ukraine and escalatory rhetoric by Kremlin officials."
Obama used the phone call requested by Moscow to express his "grave concern about Russian government support for the actions of armed, pro-Russian separatists who threaten to undermine and destabilize the government of Ukraine," the White House said.
"The president emphasized that all irregular forces in the country need to lay down their arms, and he urged President Putin to use his influence with these armed, pro-Russian groups to convince them to depart the buildings they have seized."
Washington said earlier it was consulting European allies and hinted that more sanctions on Russia's economy could be coming, to punish what it sees as Moscow's sponsorship of pro-Russia violence in eastern Ukraine.
In the latest in a string of tense phone calls between the two leaders, Obama "reiterated the importance of Russia withdrawing its troops from Ukraine's border in order to defuse tensions."
He also hailed Ukraine's "remarkable restraint" in the face of what Washington brands as Russian meddling in its neighbor.
The Kremlin had earlier said Putin told Obama the charges of interference were "unfounded."
The White House and the State Department signaled fresh sanctions could be coming for Russia over what Washington says are provocations in eastern Ukraine, including the seizure of administrative and police buildings by Moscow-backed armed groups.
And Obama pointed out to Putin "Russia's growing political and economic isolation as a result of its actions in Ukraine and made clear that the costs Russia already has incurred will increase if those actions persist," the White House said.
In a sign of growing tensions in the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, a Russian Su-24 fighter jet made several low-altitude, high-speed passes near the USS Donald Cook cruise missile destroyer over the Black Sea.
EU foreign ministers also announced they were expanding the list of 33 Ukrainian and Russian officials and business leaders hit by asset freezes and visa bans for their role in the Ukraine crisis -- though the bloc stopped short of harsher measures ahead of a Geneva meeting of top EU, US, Russian and Ukrainian officials this week.
Obama warned that while a diplomatic solution is still possible, "it cannot succeed in an environment of Russian military intimidation on Ukraine's borders, armed provocation within Ukraine and escalatory rhetoric by Kremlin officials."
Iraq shuts infamous Abu Ghraib prison over security fears
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq has closed Abu Ghraib prison, made infamous by Saddam Hussein s regime and US forces, due to security concerns following a mass breakout last year, the justice ministry said Tuesday.
The country is suffering a protracted surge in violence that has claimed more than 2,550 lives so far this year, and the area west of Baghdad where the prison is located is particularly insecure.
"The ministry of justice announced the complete closure of Baghdad Central Prison, previously (known as) Abu Ghraib, and the removal of the inmates in cooperation with the ministries of defence and justice," it said in an online statement.
The statement quoted Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari as saying that 2,400 inmates arrested or sentenced for terrorism-related offences have been transferred to other facilities in central and northern Iraq.
"The ministry took this decision as part of precautionary measures related to the security of prisons," Shammari said, adding that Abu Ghraib prison is "in a hot area." It was not immediately clear whether the closure was temporary or final.
The prison is located between Baghdad and the city of Fallujah, which has been held by anti-government fighters since early January.
The prison served as a notorious torture centre under now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, with an estimated 4,000 detainees perishing there.
Abu Ghraib later became a byword for abuses carried out by US forces following the 2003 invasion when photographs surfaced the following year showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated by American guards, igniting worldwide outrage.
In July 2013, militants assaulted Abu Ghraib prison and another in Taji, north of Baghdad.
Officials said hundreds of inmates escaped and over 50 prisoners and members of the security forces were killed in the assaults, which were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a powerful jihadist group.
Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in violence, driven principally by widespread anger among the Sunni Arab minority, who say they are mistreated by the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as by the civil war in neighbouring Syria.
Violence in Iraq has killed more than 340 people since the beginning of the month, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.
The country is suffering a protracted surge in violence that has claimed more than 2,550 lives so far this year, and the area west of Baghdad where the prison is located is particularly insecure.
"The ministry of justice announced the complete closure of Baghdad Central Prison, previously (known as) Abu Ghraib, and the removal of the inmates in cooperation with the ministries of defence and justice," it said in an online statement.
The statement quoted Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari as saying that 2,400 inmates arrested or sentenced for terrorism-related offences have been transferred to other facilities in central and northern Iraq.
"The ministry took this decision as part of precautionary measures related to the security of prisons," Shammari said, adding that Abu Ghraib prison is "in a hot area." It was not immediately clear whether the closure was temporary or final.
The prison is located between Baghdad and the city of Fallujah, which has been held by anti-government fighters since early January.
The prison served as a notorious torture centre under now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, with an estimated 4,000 detainees perishing there.
Abu Ghraib later became a byword for abuses carried out by US forces following the 2003 invasion when photographs surfaced the following year showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated by American guards, igniting worldwide outrage.
In July 2013, militants assaulted Abu Ghraib prison and another in Taji, north of Baghdad.
Officials said hundreds of inmates escaped and over 50 prisoners and members of the security forces were killed in the assaults, which were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a powerful jihadist group.
Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in violence, driven principally by widespread anger among the Sunni Arab minority, who say they are mistreated by the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as by the civil war in neighbouring Syria.
Violence in Iraq has killed more than 340 people since the beginning of the month, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.
Making peace in South Asia By Masood Sharif Khattak
It is now time for the world to take the spotlight off Pakistan and give a little more attention
to the extremist situation in India. The focus needs to be turned to India if the rising graph of the extreme political school of thought in South Asia is to recede.
In India, The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) came into being on Aug 29, 1964, where S S Apte, one of its founding fathers and the then secretary general of the RSS (Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh), declared that the world has been divided into being either Islamic, Christian or Communist and that all three of them viewed the Hindu society adversely. He also added that it had become necessary to organise the Hindu world (India) in order to save it from the evils of the Islamic, Christian and Communist world. The VHP believes that all Muslims and Christians in India were Hindus and so they must be encouraged to revert to Hinduism.
One of the stated goals of the VHP is to now make the global Hindu fraternity invincible through adherence to the Sanatan Dharma–i.e., Hinduism. Hindu nationalism is now a hard-line national ideology that looks at the modern-day so-called secular Republic of India as a Hindu polity–i.e., Hindu Rashtra.
The Sangh Parivar, posing as a charity organisation, provides organisational cover to all the violent and extremist Hindu organisations. BJP (Bharatya Janata Party), RSS, VHP and numerous other organisations are now a part of the Sangh Parivar. It is this organisation that collects funds within India and from abroad, including the USA and the UK, in the name of charity that is then diverted to violence against other religions.
The spate of communal violence in India against the minorities has been an outcome of this extremist Hindu nationalism ideology. In 1984, the Sikhs faced the onslaught after Operation Blue Star was launched and the most sacred Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was militarily attacked and destroyed. Sikhs were killed all over India at that time. The Babri Mosque episode, the more recent Gujarat massacre and many more atrocities against Indian Muslims are too well known. Over the years, the Christians have faced violence of sorts in India. Recently we witnessed incidents where churches were destroyed and Christians were burnt alive. The list of incidents can go into volumes.
In simple and plain words all I am saying is that if that peace in South Asia has to be achieved then the Hindu extremist political school of thought in India has to be reigned in fast. As long as Hindu extremism grows, the Kashmir issue is left unresolved and Afghanistan remains on the boil no one will be able to stem the growth of extremism in South Asia and it shall soon raise its head in all the South Asian countries where it currently exists in a latent state. The world, therefore, needs to awaken to what is happening on the religious extremist front in the world’s second most populous country–India. It is past the danger mark for everyone to begin working towards sanity and peace.
(Courtesy "The Sharif Post) published in 2009.
to the extremist situation in India. The focus needs to be turned to India if the rising graph of the extreme political school of thought in South Asia is to recede.In India, The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) came into being on Aug 29, 1964, where S S Apte, one of its founding fathers and the then secretary general of the RSS (Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh), declared that the world has been divided into being either Islamic, Christian or Communist and that all three of them viewed the Hindu society adversely. He also added that it had become necessary to organise the Hindu world (India) in order to save it from the evils of the Islamic, Christian and Communist world. The VHP believes that all Muslims and Christians in India were Hindus and so they must be encouraged to revert to Hinduism.
One of the stated goals of the VHP is to now make the global Hindu fraternity invincible through adherence to the Sanatan Dharma–i.e., Hinduism. Hindu nationalism is now a hard-line national ideology that looks at the modern-day so-called secular Republic of India as a Hindu polity–i.e., Hindu Rashtra.
The Sangh Parivar, posing as a charity organisation, provides organisational cover to all the violent and extremist Hindu organisations. BJP (Bharatya Janata Party), RSS, VHP and numerous other organisations are now a part of the Sangh Parivar. It is this organisation that collects funds within India and from abroad, including the USA and the UK, in the name of charity that is then diverted to violence against other religions.
The spate of communal violence in India against the minorities has been an outcome of this extremist Hindu nationalism ideology. In 1984, the Sikhs faced the onslaught after Operation Blue Star was launched and the most sacred Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was militarily attacked and destroyed. Sikhs were killed all over India at that time. The Babri Mosque episode, the more recent Gujarat massacre and many more atrocities against Indian Muslims are too well known. Over the years, the Christians have faced violence of sorts in India. Recently we witnessed incidents where churches were destroyed and Christians were burnt alive. The list of incidents can go into volumes.
In simple and plain words all I am saying is that if that peace in South Asia has to be achieved then the Hindu extremist political school of thought in India has to be reigned in fast. As long as Hindu extremism grows, the Kashmir issue is left unresolved and Afghanistan remains on the boil no one will be able to stem the growth of extremism in South Asia and it shall soon raise its head in all the South Asian countries where it currently exists in a latent state. The world, therefore, needs to awaken to what is happening on the religious extremist front in the world’s second most populous country–India. It is past the danger mark for everyone to begin working towards sanity and peace.
(Courtesy "The Sharif Post) published in 2009.
Nations world over must decide, how long will peace elude them?
By Yasmeen Aftab Ali:
Peace is a state desired not only on a personal level but also on national level and in relationships between nations. Yet it continues to elude at all levels. On a very general level it may be defined as, ‘freedom from disturbance; tranquility.’ Yet, how many of us, at an individual level have ‘complete’ peace? Not many, is my bet. Each one of us has those gray areas in our lives that perturb us. Relationships can be marred by various differences.
Then there is the national peace we hanker after, especially in today’s Pakistan. The *Merriam-Webster *dictionary defines it as, a) ‘a state in which there is no war or fighting b) an agreement to end a war and c) a period of time when there is no war or fighting.
In a country fraught with differences that have reached a boiling point,any difference to approach is dealt with extra-judiciously. A country with citizens and those residing within (they may not be citizens), armed with the state-of-the-art weapons with little or no accountability, taking law in their hands to settle scores. The culprits are either not nabbed or go unpunished. The writ of the state has been negatively affected as a result.
Root causes of lack of peace, leading to terrorism are many – like injustice, increasing levels of social gap, economic disparity with the rich accumulating more and more wealth and the poor falling to sustenance level or below, lack of equal opportunities to better one’s social standing, rampant corruption that has seeped into every level of the society, increasing radicalism resulting from politicizing religion etc.
Religious conflicts have increased over time, deepening rather than lessening. Unfortunately since 2001 religious conflicts owing to armed factions has become a huge security threat to the nation – in particular its innocent citizens. A difficult-to-manage border situation with Afghanistan does not help.
Unfortunately, various governments that have come and gone have not really processed through the issues to move towards a logical solution. A short term and long term plan has been consistently missing, marrying a political and social approach towards addressing the issues at base level. If at all,there has been an effort to address an issue, at best it has been at a superficial level.
A friend argued this is so because governments have been dismissed repeatedly, and take-overs by the Army have been a regular feature of Pakistan’s checkered past. I respectfully disagree. Though the fact so stated, cannot be denied, it is also a fact that the civilian governments formed to rule have failed to develop a blueprint to the effect, what to speak of taking the first step towards any implementation that even came close to addressing the issues briefly touched upon.
The challenge that faces the Pakistan government is to reorient the people of Pakistan ideologically. This is a more uphill task than original orientation. It requires more focused, more determined approach towards clearing up of the fog enveloping the society. There is, in many pockets, a genuine confusion.
*The challenge that faces the Pakistan government is to reorient the people of Pakistan ideologically. This is a more uphill task than original orientation. It requires more focused, more determined approach towards clearing up of the fog enveloping the society.*
This confusion is often channelized by vested interest groups into acts of hate having a negative cascading effect on the society. Arshi Saleem Hashmi, Senior Research Analyst, Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad in his research paper published way back in 2009 states, ‘The real clash is not between Islam and the west, as projected, but between the orthodox and the moderates. The key question is how far the new generation will be different from the one lost to orthodoxy and militancy. Pakistan’s inability to control radicalization limits its capacity to engage in a sustained struggle to control extremism and terrorism and revive the pluralist and tolerant spirit of Pakistan’.
He just about hit the nail on the head here. He suggests, ‘Pakistan needs to emphasize the synthesis of culture and religion rather than be influenced by “Arabization” to prove its true Islamic credentials’.
I could not agree more. In my earlier articles I have always promoted support to all cultures, religions, sects within under the umbrella of Pakistan – for appreciation of the differences enriches the society. Former president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk to the Rotary Reunion Conference in Cape Town on February 4, 2011 rightly said, “The main threat to peace during the 21st century will come from the inability of states to manage relationships between ethnic, cultural and religious communities.”
Then there is peace sought at international level. J. Kirk Boyd, a lawyer
and professor at the University of California in his article on peace (excerpted from 2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together; on May 11,2010) writes, “Religious diversity also lies at the root of some of the ongoing conflicts in the world. Ongoing tensions in India have their roots in the unresolved conflict between Moslems and Hindus in Kashmir and elsewhere in the sub-continent. Differences between Hindus, Moslems and Sikhs in India; and Moslems and Christians in Nigeria and Sudan all create volatile situations that can explode into violence and terrorism at almost any time… The age of the single culture, single language state is over. Two
thirds of the world’s 200 countries have minorities comprising more than 10% of their populations. Cultural and ethnic minorities now comprise more than 900 million people throughout the world – one in seven of the human population… Everywhere populations are becoming more multicultural.
Throughout the world people are on the move, legally or illegally, across borders, across continents and across oceans.”
The problem surfaces when one or more nations become more equal than equal.
They take over the moral responsibility of making a determination as to who is right and who is wrong. Not stopping at that, they then launch upon a course of action to punish the ‘wrong doer’. This responsibility is left best to the relevant world forums without being subjected to external influences. Sometimes, one or more religious, ethnic groups overshadow others marginalizing space for their freedom. This too leads to chaos.
In a world riddled with conflict, there must be an effort to move towards a harmonious one. Peace however, cannot be imposed by pressure, threats and bullying. This has to be achieved with patience, setting of specific time related goals, addressing issues at grassroots level. Thor Halvorssen,
President of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and founder and CEO
of the Oslo Freedom Forum writes, “Meaningful peace is never based on coercion between nations. It is based on open international communication,and problem-solving through non-violent channels. Such a network can only exist when its individual pieces are free.” (Forbes Magazine 12/09/2011) Nations must stop viewing issues through a narrow prism with self-interest first. One country cannot be allowed to get away with a wrong as the world criticizes another for the same. He further shares, “If we are to achievemeaningful peace, the foreign policy of free governments and the cultural export of free societies must: help build civil society, establish rule of law, secure individual freedoms, spark economic development, separate religion and government, secure freedom of thought and belief, and expose
human rights violations.” Agreed with Thor!
The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’
Courtesy Pakistan Today
Ukrainian tanks take up positions
KIEV:Pro-Russian insurgents dug in across eastern Ukraine, fortifying their positions around seized buildings and erecting fresh barricades even as Ukrainian tanks took up positions outside one eastern city now controlled by armed men.
In Kiev, Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced an "anti-terrorist operation" to root out the separatists, but it was unclear how that measure differed from the one announced yesterday, which resulted in no visible action.
Much of the focus was on the eastern city of Slovyansk, 160 kilometres from the Russian border, which has come under ever more secure control of the gunmen since it was taken over on Saturday.
An Associated Press reporter saw at least 14 armoured personnel carriers with Ukrainian flags, one helicopter and military trucks parked 40 kilometres (24 miles) north of the city. Other heavy military equipment appeared to be parked in a nearby area off limits to journalists.
Government troops at a checkpoint at the spot, located outside the town of Izyum, searched vehicles driving in and out for weapons.
Roads into Slovyansk were dotted with militia's checkpoints, at least one with a Russian flag. Another bore a sign reading: "If we don't do it, nobody will."
Despite mounting fears of a possible imminent assault by Ukrainian troops, the city appeared calm. That may be because the threat the Ukrainian military posed to the highly organised pro-Russian insurgents was unclear.
One video posted online late yesterday showed a hapless Ukrainian tank stuck in the mud in a field reportedly outside Slovyansk. Local residents chased it on foot, trying to stop it, shouting: "Who are you going to fire at?"
The insurgents, many of them armed, continued to occupy government, police and other administrative buildings in at least nine cities in the country's Russian-speaking east of the country, demanding broader autonomy and closer ties with Russia. The central government has so far been unable to rein in the insurgents, and many of the local security forces have switched to their side.
The unrest comes a month after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula following the removal of Ukraine's pro-Russian president in Kiev after months of protests.
The city of Horlivka, also not far from the Russian border where the local police station was seized yesterday by unidentified gunmen, has been turned into the latest of a wave of sit-ins across eastern Ukraine.
Outside the police station, a sign pinned to the wall of tyres listed items required by protesters, including blankets, drinking water and tape to cover up windows smashed during the storming of the building.
Anatoly Zhurov, a 53-year-old Horlivka resident at the site, said the insurgents' goal was to resist the government in Kiev.
Elsewhere the interior ministry in the Donetsk region said the police station in Kramatorsk that had been seized by pro-Russian gunmen was "liberated" today, but a nearby small airport was still controlled by the militia.
Mr Turchynov, speaking to parliament in Kiev, gave few details of the "anti-terrorist operation", saying only that it would be conducted in a "responsible and balanced" manner. He blamed Russia for sponsoring the camouflage-wearing insurgents, who are often armed and move with a precision unlikely for local militia.
"The plans of the Russian Federation were and remain brutal. They want not only for Donbass (Donetsk region), but for the whole south and east of Ukraine to be engulfed by fire," Mr Turchynov said. The aim of the government operation is to "defend the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, stop crime and stop attempts to tear our country into pieces".
Ukraine's security services said they have identified a Russian foreign intelligence agent who is running pro-Russian operations in Slovyansk. It named him as Igor Strelkov, a man they said also co-ordinated Russian troops in Crimea during the seizure of military facilities on the peninsula that used to belong to Ukraine.
Russia strongly warned Kiev against using force against the pro-Russian protesters, saying Moscow could walk out of the international conference in Geneva on Thursday that is devoted to the Ukrainian crisis.
"You can't send in tanks and at the same time hold talks. The use of force would sabotage the opportunity offered by the four-party negotiations in Geneva," Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.
In a sign that Ukraine's economic situation is becoming ever more dire, its central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by a whopping 7% to 14.5%. The move aims to contain the risk of inflation by supporting the currency, which has been falling to record lows in recent days. A dropping currency fuels inflation by boosting the cost of imports.
However, hiking interest rates can cause collateral damage to the economy by making loans and mortgages more expensive to residents and businesses.
Ukraine has relied on cheap gas supplies from Russia for years. Moscow raised gas prices for Kiev in the past weeks, leaving Ukraine scrambling to pay the mounting gas bills as well as past bills that Russian president Vladimir Putin now says adds up to over 35 billion dollars.
In the wake of Moscow's threats to cut off energy supplies to Ukraine, the German utility company RWE AG said it has started supplying gas to Ukraine via Poland and could sell it up to 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year. Ukraine consumes between 52 and 55 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
In Kiev, two pro-Russian politicians were attacked by pro-Western activists as tensions mounted over unrest in the east.
Oleh Tsaryov, a pro-Russian politician and a candidate in the May 25 presidential elections, was beaten by dozens of enraged activists early today as he was leaving a television studio. The activists pelted him with eggs, shouted insults and then assaulted him.
Another Russian-leaning politician and presidential hopeful, Mikhaylo Dobkin, was sprayed with a green disinfectant and had flour thrown at him late yesterday.
Moscow has accused Kiev authorities of condoning such radicalism and says attacks against pro-Russian candidates shows that the presidential election will not be fair or democratic.
In Kiev, Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced an "anti-terrorist operation" to root out the separatists, but it was unclear how that measure differed from the one announced yesterday, which resulted in no visible action.
Much of the focus was on the eastern city of Slovyansk, 160 kilometres from the Russian border, which has come under ever more secure control of the gunmen since it was taken over on Saturday.
An Associated Press reporter saw at least 14 armoured personnel carriers with Ukrainian flags, one helicopter and military trucks parked 40 kilometres (24 miles) north of the city. Other heavy military equipment appeared to be parked in a nearby area off limits to journalists.
Government troops at a checkpoint at the spot, located outside the town of Izyum, searched vehicles driving in and out for weapons.
Roads into Slovyansk were dotted with militia's checkpoints, at least one with a Russian flag. Another bore a sign reading: "If we don't do it, nobody will."
Despite mounting fears of a possible imminent assault by Ukrainian troops, the city appeared calm. That may be because the threat the Ukrainian military posed to the highly organised pro-Russian insurgents was unclear.
One video posted online late yesterday showed a hapless Ukrainian tank stuck in the mud in a field reportedly outside Slovyansk. Local residents chased it on foot, trying to stop it, shouting: "Who are you going to fire at?"
The insurgents, many of them armed, continued to occupy government, police and other administrative buildings in at least nine cities in the country's Russian-speaking east of the country, demanding broader autonomy and closer ties with Russia. The central government has so far been unable to rein in the insurgents, and many of the local security forces have switched to their side.
The unrest comes a month after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula following the removal of Ukraine's pro-Russian president in Kiev after months of protests.
The city of Horlivka, also not far from the Russian border where the local police station was seized yesterday by unidentified gunmen, has been turned into the latest of a wave of sit-ins across eastern Ukraine.
Outside the police station, a sign pinned to the wall of tyres listed items required by protesters, including blankets, drinking water and tape to cover up windows smashed during the storming of the building.
Anatoly Zhurov, a 53-year-old Horlivka resident at the site, said the insurgents' goal was to resist the government in Kiev.
Elsewhere the interior ministry in the Donetsk region said the police station in Kramatorsk that had been seized by pro-Russian gunmen was "liberated" today, but a nearby small airport was still controlled by the militia.
Mr Turchynov, speaking to parliament in Kiev, gave few details of the "anti-terrorist operation", saying only that it would be conducted in a "responsible and balanced" manner. He blamed Russia for sponsoring the camouflage-wearing insurgents, who are often armed and move with a precision unlikely for local militia.
"The plans of the Russian Federation were and remain brutal. They want not only for Donbass (Donetsk region), but for the whole south and east of Ukraine to be engulfed by fire," Mr Turchynov said. The aim of the government operation is to "defend the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, stop crime and stop attempts to tear our country into pieces".
Ukraine's security services said they have identified a Russian foreign intelligence agent who is running pro-Russian operations in Slovyansk. It named him as Igor Strelkov, a man they said also co-ordinated Russian troops in Crimea during the seizure of military facilities on the peninsula that used to belong to Ukraine.
Russia strongly warned Kiev against using force against the pro-Russian protesters, saying Moscow could walk out of the international conference in Geneva on Thursday that is devoted to the Ukrainian crisis.
"You can't send in tanks and at the same time hold talks. The use of force would sabotage the opportunity offered by the four-party negotiations in Geneva," Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.
In a sign that Ukraine's economic situation is becoming ever more dire, its central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by a whopping 7% to 14.5%. The move aims to contain the risk of inflation by supporting the currency, which has been falling to record lows in recent days. A dropping currency fuels inflation by boosting the cost of imports.
However, hiking interest rates can cause collateral damage to the economy by making loans and mortgages more expensive to residents and businesses.
Ukraine has relied on cheap gas supplies from Russia for years. Moscow raised gas prices for Kiev in the past weeks, leaving Ukraine scrambling to pay the mounting gas bills as well as past bills that Russian president Vladimir Putin now says adds up to over 35 billion dollars.
In the wake of Moscow's threats to cut off energy supplies to Ukraine, the German utility company RWE AG said it has started supplying gas to Ukraine via Poland and could sell it up to 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year. Ukraine consumes between 52 and 55 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
In Kiev, two pro-Russian politicians were attacked by pro-Western activists as tensions mounted over unrest in the east.
Oleh Tsaryov, a pro-Russian politician and a candidate in the May 25 presidential elections, was beaten by dozens of enraged activists early today as he was leaving a television studio. The activists pelted him with eggs, shouted insults and then assaulted him.
Another Russian-leaning politician and presidential hopeful, Mikhaylo Dobkin, was sprayed with a green disinfectant and had flour thrown at him late yesterday.
Moscow has accused Kiev authorities of condoning such radicalism and says attacks against pro-Russian candidates shows that the presidential election will not be fair or democratic.
New Pakistani envoy Syed Hasan Javed arrives in Germany
BERLIN (PR):Senior Pakistani diplomat ,Syed Hasan Javed, set to take over as his country's new Ambassador in Germany arrived here today.Syed Hasan Javed,who has held various assignments in Pakistani missions and at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, was received at the airport by Dr. Mazhar Javed, Deputy Chief of Protocol, representative of German's external affairs ministry and other officials of the Pakistan Embassy.
On arrival, Mr.Javed said that he would make endeavor to further strengthen and expand already existing cordial relations between Pakistan and Germany in all fields with special focus on trade & investment, culture, and education sectors. He is likely to present his credentials to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany on April 25, 2014.
He served in Pakistan Missions abroad in various capacities during his diplomatic career spanning over 30 years.. He held diplomatic assignments in Pakistan Missions abroad including Beijing (twice), Harare, Dushanbe,Brussels and High Commissioner for Pakistan to Mauritius with concurrent accreditation to Madagascar,Comoros and Seychelles. He was serving as Additional Secretary(Asia-Pacific) at the Ministry of Foreign affairs before moving to Singapore as High Commissioner for Pakistan.
On arrival, Mr.Javed said that he would make endeavor to further strengthen and expand already existing cordial relations between Pakistan and Germany in all fields with special focus on trade & investment, culture, and education sectors. He is likely to present his credentials to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany on April 25, 2014.
He served in Pakistan Missions abroad in various capacities during his diplomatic career spanning over 30 years.. He held diplomatic assignments in Pakistan Missions abroad including Beijing (twice), Harare, Dushanbe,Brussels and High Commissioner for Pakistan to Mauritius with concurrent accreditation to Madagascar,Comoros and Seychelles. He was serving as Additional Secretary(Asia-Pacific) at the Ministry of Foreign affairs before moving to Singapore as High Commissioner for Pakistan.
Delegation of Air War College, Karachi visited Pak Embassy Berlin
BERLIN:A 19-member delegation of Air War College, Karachi led by Air Vice Martial Mr.Farooq Habib visited the Embassy today. On arrival they were received by the Charge d' affairs, Dr. Mazhar Javed and other officials of the Embassy. They were updated about the status of Pakistan Germany relations.
Sunday 13 April 2014
34 hashish-selling tribesmen released
KHYBER AGENCY:34 tribesmen were released on Sunday by militants who abducted them from Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley, DawnNews reported.
Sources said that 40 tribesmen were kidnapped from the opium and hashish selling “grand fair” Saturday from the Haider Kando area of Tirah Valley.
The militants also took away hundreds of kilograms of cannabis and hashish from the area, said the sources.
They added that Sheikmal Khel sub tribesmen of the Qamberkhel tribe were segregated from the others and were taken away by the militants.
At least six tribesmen are still held captive by militants.
According to unofficial sources, the number of kidnapped tribesmen is close to 100 and they had been picked up for their involvement in the drug trade.
Security forces also conducted a search operation in the area to rescue the men, according to the sources.
Other sources claimed that the release of the abductees was made possible through the efforts of tribal elders.
A lush green forested, snow-bound valley, Tirah has long served as one of the smuggling routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan and is approximately an hour's drive away from Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Saturday 12 April 2014
Manmohan didn't put wife's name in RS affidavit: BJP
DELHI:BJP on Saturday claimed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had not 
mentioned his wife's name in the affidavit submitted along with nomination he filed as a Rajya Sabha candidate, as the party sought to blunt Congress' attack on Narendra Modi over his marital status.
"This is Manmohan Singh's affidavit that was put before the Rajya Sabha.He has not put his wife's name in that affidavit. Why should we talk about such issues?" BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told a press meet in Ahmedabad while waving a copy of what he claimed was the PM's affidavit.
Prasad did not say the affidavit was from which year, but Gujarat BJP leaders claimed it was filed in 2013 when Singh was re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
"This country has been following a tradition that personal issues are not raised in public. His (Modi's) elder brother made a statement that he had left his home and family life to serve the country," he said.
Prasad was answering a volley of questions related to Modi's affidavit, submitted along with nomination paper filed from Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency, where for the first time he revealed he is married.
mentioned his wife's name in the affidavit submitted along with nomination he filed as a Rajya Sabha candidate, as the party sought to blunt Congress' attack on Narendra Modi over his marital status."This is Manmohan Singh's affidavit that was put before the Rajya Sabha.He has not put his wife's name in that affidavit. Why should we talk about such issues?" BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told a press meet in Ahmedabad while waving a copy of what he claimed was the PM's affidavit.
Prasad did not say the affidavit was from which year, but Gujarat BJP leaders claimed it was filed in 2013 when Singh was re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
"This country has been following a tradition that personal issues are not raised in public. His (Modi's) elder brother made a statement that he had left his home and family life to serve the country," he said.
Prasad was answering a volley of questions related to Modi's affidavit, submitted along with nomination paper filed from Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency, where for the first time he revealed he is married.
Thursday 10 April 2014
35th death anniversary of Z.A.Bhutto observed by PYO UK
LONDON:The PYO UK paid rich tribute to the Late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in recognition of his life-long struggle for the stability, integrity and democracy in Pakistan and for ‘Kashmir cause’.
Speaking on the occasion ,PakistanPeoples Party’s senior leader,Pir Mazhar ul Haq recalled the struggles and sacrifices of the party’s leaders and talked of how they laid down their lives for their cause. He also pointed out that the party is still being targeted. “Even our present leaders, Bilawal and Zardari, are receiving life threats,” he said.
Bhutto visualised the institution of democracy and wanted the adoption of a political system that helped the masses. “The Quaid-e-Awam was the only leader who encouraged the poor and the downtrodden to raise their voice for their rights,” he added.
“He was great political leader and thinker who was murdered for his support for democracy,” said, Pir Mazhar ul Haq. He said that Bhutto gave common man the right to speak against the feudal system.
Pakistani Film Superstar and Leader of PPP, Mustafa Qureshi, elucidated Bhutto’s vision of a united Muslim world. He was a top notch politician and an intellectual. Mr. Bhutto rendered many sacrifices time and again to ensure Pakistan became democratically strong, said Mr.Qureshi adding it is because of this that the anti-democratic forces in Pakistan engineered his murder. But his voice lives in our hearts and will keep guiding us through and through.
He said, “I urge the youth of Pakistan to come forward and strengthen the People’s Political Party (PPP) and bring about a visible change. I am confident they can. They will.” “On this occasion I urge the party workers to rededicate themselves to the ideals of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.” Qaid –e-Awam was a friend of the poor and oppressed and a great and fearless thinker, he refused to bow before superpowers. “In a span of thirty years both Benazir Bhutto and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto laid down their lives fighting for the cause.
Deputy General Secretary PPP UK, Abrar Mir,on the occasion elucidated Bhutto’s 
Chairman PYO Britain Malik Meharban said youth is united and ready to play its role at any level. The PYO Britain is reposing its confidence on leadership of Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto and PPP and it is firm to stand always on back of the leadership. “We will carry forward the mission of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto”. He said that the federation of Pakistan owed a lot to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who gave unanimous constitution of 1973 to the Pakistan nation, adding, that federation of Pakistan was intact today only because of the Constitution.He further said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founding father of Pakistan’s Nuclear Programme who made the defence of the country impregnable by making it 7th atomic power of the world.
Ashraf Chugtaie, Aslam chugtaie, Farrukh Sultan Abbasi General Secretary PSF Islamabad, Councilor Munawar Hussain, Chaudhry Tanveer Chief Organizer PYO Mirpur, Dr Khalid Saeed acting president Greater London, Masood Bokhari, Asghar Khan, Ijaz Hussain Shah Chief Organizer PPP Luton, Raja Azam Khan President PPP Luton, Chaudhry Shafqaat President PPP Slough, Chaudhry Nisar, Naheed Hayat General Secretary PPP Women wing, Mian Muhammad Saleem President PPP South Zone, Shamim Bhutto Coordinator Women Wing, Khadim Hussain Nasir and Akram Chechi also addressed in the function.
A resolution was presented by PYO Coordinator, to condemn the threats to Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and assured Bilawal that every party worker would sacrifice their lives to protact the Chairman.
The speakers also appreciated the PYO UK team and prasied the Suhail Iqbal and Murtaza Gujjar efforts to organise the programme. The function was attended by a large number of PYO and PPP worker.
(pictures by Miss.S.Rana)
Wednesday 9 April 2014
A conference "Kashmir Through Women's Eyes" held at EU Parliament
Brussels: A conference titled as "Kashmir Through Women's Eyes" was organised by International Council for Human Development (ICHD) and Kashmir Council EU on Tuesday at European Parliament.
The conference was hosted by member of European Parliament Dr.Sajjad Haider Karim.
A number of the prominent personalities including Farzana Yaqoob, the minister of Social Welfare of AJK, Khaula Siddiqi, co-founder of SILK from Canada, Member of Brussels Parliament Daniel Caron, Sadia Mir, a lecturer at a University in UK, Saddiqe Kayani from Germany and Shamaila Mehmood from Pakistan, HR activist from Holland Marjan Locas, MEPs and a large number of women from Kashmir and Europe participated in the event.
Addressing the conference as main guest, the AJK Minister Farzana Yaqoob said, people in Indian Held Kashmir are being deprived of basic rights. Their rights have been violated by the state machinery. The government in the Held Kashmir is involved in the statement terrorism through black laws. Unfortunately, big powers of the world take action only when they have interests. By oppressing the people, India avoided the rights of self-determination of Kashmiris but nobody is ready to prevent it. International community should come forward and help the Kashmiris in order to provide them right of self-determination.
Sajjad Karim as host of the conference said, we have talked about the rights of the Kashmiri people and would continue to raise our voices in support of Kashmir cause.
Khaula Saddiqi from Canada informed the participants of the conference about her personal story and said, she was just four years old when her parents brought out her from the Held Kashmir.
She said, she is still in contact with her friends and relatives as they are suffering from hardships and severe miseries.
Life of the people of Kashmir has been difficult specially Kashmiri women are suffering more than others.
Shamaila Mehmmod also described her story and said International community should provide justice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. She also highlighted the issue of water in the region.
Member of Brussels Parliament Daniel Caron said, we always support the human rights and Europe should not ignore the issue of human rights in Kashmir. Member EU parliament Philip Bennion also talked during the conference.
Speakers of the conference emphasized that international community particularly human rights organizations should come forward to prevent human rights violation against the oppressed Kashmiri people especially innocent women of Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, ICHD Chairman Ali Raza Syed said, Kashmir is one of the longest outstanding conflicts that remain to this day. The conference was designed to highlight the plight of the Kashmiri women as the major victim of the conflict facing myriad problems including torture, rape, humiliation, murders, displacements and repressions.
He said, many leading voices struggling for the rights and freedoms of the women in general and Kashmiri women in particular attended the conference. We are proud to tell that most of the individuals, forums and organizations constituting women rights activists and lobbyists have acknowledged our initiative by participating in the event.
The ICHD is a representative forum of volunteer activists working for the human rights in Kashmir including right to self determination. We believe in peaceful promotion of the rights and freedoms of the people of Kashmir who are forced the live under the tyranny of the state repression, Ali Raza Syed said.
We believe that the conference would contribute towards the richness of the debate and strength of the demands by the women of Kashmir, he said. Questions and answers session was also held at the conclusion of the conference.
Monday 7 April 2014
3 UAE women attacked with hammer at London hotel
LONDON:Three female tourists were hit in the face and head with a hammer in a brutal attack at one of London’s biggest and busiest hotels just yards from busy Oxford Street.One of the women is in a critical but stable condition after the assault in a room at the Four Star Cumberland Hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The women, understood to be sisters from the United Arab Emirates, were staying at the hotel with children as young as seven-years-old in adjoining rooms when they were attacked.
The women, understood to be sisters from the United Arab Emirates, were staying at the hotel with children as young as seven-years-old in adjoining rooms when they were attacked.
Disabled children ‘sexually harassed’ in Saudi Arab
The chairman of the Disability Society in the Gulf, Musaed al-Awla, said that students with Down’s Syndrome are being sexually harassed by students in general education schools in Saudi Arabia, Makkah daily reported.
The director of Special Education at the Ministry of Education, Abdullah al-Aqeel, said cases of sexual harassment are also present in girls’ schools, but they are isolated incidents.
Al-Awla said many families have withdrawn their children from schools due to the sexual harassment their children face. He criticized special education schools for failing to properly protect disabled students.
“Teachers allow all students to mix and play together during break time. Because of this, disabled children play with normal children with the latter sexually harassing them.”
Al-Aqeel, however, said cases of harassment among students exist in both boys’ and girls’ schools, and denied that only disabled children were being harassed. “These are individual and isolated cases and have not reached the level of becoming a phenomenon thanks to the values and religious teachings present in Saudi society. Every three or four years, one case occurs in one of the kingdom’s regions. The majority of these cases occur among students and rarely are teachers involved,” he said.
The director of Special Education at the Ministry of Education, Abdullah al-Aqeel, said cases of sexual harassment are also present in girls’ schools, but they are isolated incidents.
Al-Awla said many families have withdrawn their children from schools due to the sexual harassment their children face. He criticized special education schools for failing to properly protect disabled students.
“Teachers allow all students to mix and play together during break time. Because of this, disabled children play with normal children with the latter sexually harassing them.”
Al-Aqeel, however, said cases of harassment among students exist in both boys’ and girls’ schools, and denied that only disabled children were being harassed. “These are individual and isolated cases and have not reached the level of becoming a phenomenon thanks to the values and religious teachings present in Saudi society. Every three or four years, one case occurs in one of the kingdom’s regions. The majority of these cases occur among students and rarely are teachers involved,” he said.
India test fires Brahmos supersonic cruise missile
DEHLI:India on Monday successfully test-fired 290 km range Brahmos supersonic cruise missile at Pokharan in Rajasthan.
Jointly developed by India and Russia, the Brhamos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg.
The Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile and can be used against ship and land targets.
India is readying several versions of the missile which includes land attack, anti-ship and submarine-launched versions.
The Brhamos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg. (Photo Courtesy: DRDO website)
Jointly developed by India and Russia, the Brhamos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg.
The Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile and can be used against ship and land targets.
India is readying several versions of the missile which includes land attack, anti-ship and submarine-launched versions.
The Brhamos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg. (Photo Courtesy: DRDO website)
No terrorists here
By Khaled Ahmed
Carlotta Gall’s book will be met by the same denialism that has gripped Pakistan for many years.
Pakistan, where over 80 per cent of people hate America, is greatly upset over the yet-to-be-published book by reporter Carlotta Gall — a woman and a Jew — who has written in The New York Times that Pakistan was keeping Osama bin Laden in a safehouse in Abbottabad; and that it actually faked shock followed by populist rage at “discovering” him there after America’s dastardly attack to kill him on Pakistani soil.
We say her lies are myriad, typical of a Jewish hater of Pakistan and Islam. She says “the madrasas in Quetta are a cover, a camouflage. Behind the curtain, hidden in the shadows, lurks the ISI. The Pakistani government, under President Pervez Musharraf and his intelligence chief, Lt Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was maintaining and protecting the Taliban, both to control the many groups of militants now lodged in the country and to use them as a proxy force to gain leverage over and eventually dominate Afghanistan.”
She goes on to indict Pakistan further as an abettor of terrorism through proxy warriors it pretends not to know and claims to be helpless to curb. It pretends to “apparently” cooperate with America but covertly trains militants through its dreaded ISI to go to Afghanistan and kill Americans. She says Americans knew what its great ally was doing but refused to face up to it “for fear of setting off a greater confrontation with a powerful Muslim nation”.
She quotes a former chief of the ISI, Ziauddin Butt — a simple soldier, if you run into him at the Lahore Gymkhana, you will see him stuffing the heads of rich shopkeepers with stories of great derring-do against enemy America — as saying that “he thought Musharraf had arranged to hide bin Laden in Abbottabad”.
Of course, Butt has quickly denied what he said to Gall but he had already told a lot of foreign reporters about how Musharraf and the ISI’s Brigadier Ijaz Shah and ISI chief Shuja Pasha had actually placed him in Abbottabad.
Then Gall turns to the 2007 Lal Masjid affair in Islamabad when Musharraf ordered the attack on this al-Qaeda-linked mosque — and thus dug his grave by daring to go against the hardcore establishment within the army and represented in the ISI. She quotes a cabinet minister on the affair: “One hundred per cent they knew what was happening. The ISI allowed the militants to do what they wanted out of sympathy. The state is not as incompetent as people believe.”
More dangerously, she states: “In 2007, a former senior intelligence official who worked on tracking members of al-Qaeda after September 11 told me that while one part of the ISI was engaged in hunting down militants, another part continued to work with them.” We say officers who don’t have the stomach to play double often spill dangerous beans to foreign journalists. If it weren’t for these cowards, Pakistan would be floating on the mists of a utopia at whose gates America and India — the latter with its hands clasped together in supplication — would beg entry.
We say Butt is a military genius because he was the first head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division, which controls nuclear weapons, and that Nawaz Sharif made him director general of the ISI in 1997, and promoted him to army chief in 1999. (Whisper: Sharif was overthrown by the army after this.)
Pakistani journalist Amir Mir, who is not yet convinced that terrorism in Pakistan is carried out by America and India working in tandem, has revealed more juice: “It was in December 2011 that General Ziauddin Butt was quoted by the Western media for the first time saying that Osama was kept in an Intelligence Bureau safehouse in Abbottabad and Musharraf knew about it. He was quoted in an article on the well-known Jamestown Foundation website, saying: ‘General Ziauddin Butt said Osama bin Laden was kept in Abbottabad under the instructions of IB Director Brigadier Ijaz Shah’.”
Ijaz Shah is the same brave man who clairvoyant Benazir Bhutto predicted would be instrumental in killing her. Shah was also “responsible” for hiding Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had killed American journalist Daniel Pearl. General Butt stated that “former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had set up a 90-man commando team to track and kill Osama bin Laden but it was disbanded after he was ousted in a military coup.”
The American diplomats in Islamabad were sending a lot of dastardly information back home. WikiLeaks claimed, while citing secret documents seized from the Abbottabad compound of bin Laden, that the al-Qaeda chief was in routine contact with up to 12 ISI officials. We say, all lies! As the chief priest of Makka said, it is an international conspiracy to make Muslims fight each other.
to help us personalise your reading experience.
Late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation, mistakenly linked the deep state with terrorism and feared she would be eliminated through this dark nexus. According to her, Pakistan’s establishment comprised the army, the intelligence agencies, religious leaders piously building political muscle through proxy warriors and those brainwashed with textbook nationalism favouring the Islamic state.
She was attacked in Karachi by one of the three assassination squads she had listed in her book. No special security was provided to her. Her book referred to Saifullah Akhtar, a specially favoured jihadi leader in Pakistan who, together with General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, nearly toppled the Bhutto government in 1995. But all these “facts” are in abeyance, so to speak, while the case of Bhutto’s assassination is being investigated. And India must have arranged the murder of the man who was investigating it, senior police officer Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, who was gunned down in a street in Islamabad in broad daylight.
Assistant secretary general at the United Nations, Chilean diplomat Heraldo Munoz, who headed a UN inquiry commission on Bhutto’s assassination, writes: “Akhtar had joined hands with Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, a former intelligence officer, not only in an attempted coup against Benazir Bhutto in 1995 but also in an attempt to remove the army leadership. After Akhtar spent five months in jail, he was released from detention. Years later, arrested in the United Arab Emirates for plotting to murder Musharraf, he was handed over to Pakistan; but after being held in jail for a couple of years, he was quietly released by the government after the Supreme Court inquired as to his whereabouts.”
Who did Bhutto name as her potential killers in her book? In a letter sent to then president Musharraf, she named former ISI director general Hamid Gul, the Intelligence Bureau’s retired chief, Brigadier Ijaz Shah, and the then-chief minister of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi, plus former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim. Surely, she was brainwashed by the enemies, you know who, of Pakistan; therefore the letter was ignored.
Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, who attempted a coup in 1995, was a soldier of Islam. Now dead, as Brigadier Abbasi, he was once Pakistan’s military attaché in New Delhi and believed that “India will soon be destroyed because of its obscene movies,” as he told me once when I was visiting Delhi. He got thrashed by RAW in a sting operation and was repatriated, only to be promoted and sent to Gilgit to challenge India on the Siachen. As Allah willed it, he got a large number of troops killed by mounting an unauthorised operation.
We hold that obscene movies will be the end of India. Good riddance. Dastardly America is dying anyway.
The writer is consulting editor, ‘Newsweek Pakistan’
(The India Express)
Carlotta Gall’s book will be met by the same denialism that has gripped Pakistan for many years.Pakistan, where over 80 per cent of people hate America, is greatly upset over the yet-to-be-published book by reporter Carlotta Gall — a woman and a Jew — who has written in The New York Times that Pakistan was keeping Osama bin Laden in a safehouse in Abbottabad; and that it actually faked shock followed by populist rage at “discovering” him there after America’s dastardly attack to kill him on Pakistani soil.
We say her lies are myriad, typical of a Jewish hater of Pakistan and Islam. She says “the madrasas in Quetta are a cover, a camouflage. Behind the curtain, hidden in the shadows, lurks the ISI. The Pakistani government, under President Pervez Musharraf and his intelligence chief, Lt Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was maintaining and protecting the Taliban, both to control the many groups of militants now lodged in the country and to use them as a proxy force to gain leverage over and eventually dominate Afghanistan.”
She goes on to indict Pakistan further as an abettor of terrorism through proxy warriors it pretends not to know and claims to be helpless to curb. It pretends to “apparently” cooperate with America but covertly trains militants through its dreaded ISI to go to Afghanistan and kill Americans. She says Americans knew what its great ally was doing but refused to face up to it “for fear of setting off a greater confrontation with a powerful Muslim nation”.
She quotes a former chief of the ISI, Ziauddin Butt — a simple soldier, if you run into him at the Lahore Gymkhana, you will see him stuffing the heads of rich shopkeepers with stories of great derring-do against enemy America — as saying that “he thought Musharraf had arranged to hide bin Laden in Abbottabad”.
Of course, Butt has quickly denied what he said to Gall but he had already told a lot of foreign reporters about how Musharraf and the ISI’s Brigadier Ijaz Shah and ISI chief Shuja Pasha had actually placed him in Abbottabad.
Then Gall turns to the 2007 Lal Masjid affair in Islamabad when Musharraf ordered the attack on this al-Qaeda-linked mosque — and thus dug his grave by daring to go against the hardcore establishment within the army and represented in the ISI. She quotes a cabinet minister on the affair: “One hundred per cent they knew what was happening. The ISI allowed the militants to do what they wanted out of sympathy. The state is not as incompetent as people believe.”
More dangerously, she states: “In 2007, a former senior intelligence official who worked on tracking members of al-Qaeda after September 11 told me that while one part of the ISI was engaged in hunting down militants, another part continued to work with them.” We say officers who don’t have the stomach to play double often spill dangerous beans to foreign journalists. If it weren’t for these cowards, Pakistan would be floating on the mists of a utopia at whose gates America and India — the latter with its hands clasped together in supplication — would beg entry.
We say Butt is a military genius because he was the first head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division, which controls nuclear weapons, and that Nawaz Sharif made him director general of the ISI in 1997, and promoted him to army chief in 1999. (Whisper: Sharif was overthrown by the army after this.)
Pakistani journalist Amir Mir, who is not yet convinced that terrorism in Pakistan is carried out by America and India working in tandem, has revealed more juice: “It was in December 2011 that General Ziauddin Butt was quoted by the Western media for the first time saying that Osama was kept in an Intelligence Bureau safehouse in Abbottabad and Musharraf knew about it. He was quoted in an article on the well-known Jamestown Foundation website, saying: ‘General Ziauddin Butt said Osama bin Laden was kept in Abbottabad under the instructions of IB Director Brigadier Ijaz Shah’.”
Ijaz Shah is the same brave man who clairvoyant Benazir Bhutto predicted would be instrumental in killing her. Shah was also “responsible” for hiding Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had killed American journalist Daniel Pearl. General Butt stated that “former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had set up a 90-man commando team to track and kill Osama bin Laden but it was disbanded after he was ousted in a military coup.”
The American diplomats in Islamabad were sending a lot of dastardly information back home. WikiLeaks claimed, while citing secret documents seized from the Abbottabad compound of bin Laden, that the al-Qaeda chief was in routine contact with up to 12 ISI officials. We say, all lies! As the chief priest of Makka said, it is an international conspiracy to make Muslims fight each other.
to help us personalise your reading experience.
Late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation, mistakenly linked the deep state with terrorism and feared she would be eliminated through this dark nexus. According to her, Pakistan’s establishment comprised the army, the intelligence agencies, religious leaders piously building political muscle through proxy warriors and those brainwashed with textbook nationalism favouring the Islamic state.
She was attacked in Karachi by one of the three assassination squads she had listed in her book. No special security was provided to her. Her book referred to Saifullah Akhtar, a specially favoured jihadi leader in Pakistan who, together with General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, nearly toppled the Bhutto government in 1995. But all these “facts” are in abeyance, so to speak, while the case of Bhutto’s assassination is being investigated. And India must have arranged the murder of the man who was investigating it, senior police officer Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, who was gunned down in a street in Islamabad in broad daylight.
Assistant secretary general at the United Nations, Chilean diplomat Heraldo Munoz, who headed a UN inquiry commission on Bhutto’s assassination, writes: “Akhtar had joined hands with Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, a former intelligence officer, not only in an attempted coup against Benazir Bhutto in 1995 but also in an attempt to remove the army leadership. After Akhtar spent five months in jail, he was released from detention. Years later, arrested in the United Arab Emirates for plotting to murder Musharraf, he was handed over to Pakistan; but after being held in jail for a couple of years, he was quietly released by the government after the Supreme Court inquired as to his whereabouts.”
Who did Bhutto name as her potential killers in her book? In a letter sent to then president Musharraf, she named former ISI director general Hamid Gul, the Intelligence Bureau’s retired chief, Brigadier Ijaz Shah, and the then-chief minister of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi, plus former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim. Surely, she was brainwashed by the enemies, you know who, of Pakistan; therefore the letter was ignored.
Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, who attempted a coup in 1995, was a soldier of Islam. Now dead, as Brigadier Abbasi, he was once Pakistan’s military attaché in New Delhi and believed that “India will soon be destroyed because of its obscene movies,” as he told me once when I was visiting Delhi. He got thrashed by RAW in a sting operation and was repatriated, only to be promoted and sent to Gilgit to challenge India on the Siachen. As Allah willed it, he got a large number of troops killed by mounting an unauthorised operation.
We hold that obscene movies will be the end of India. Good riddance. Dastardly America is dying anyway.
The writer is consulting editor, ‘Newsweek Pakistan’
(The India Express)
Friday 4 April 2014
Taliban dictatorship not acceptable: Bilawal Bhutto
GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Friday that Taliban are deceiving in the name of negotiations, adding that his party won’t bow before savages, Dunya News reported. Addressing a public gathering in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the occasion of 35th death anniversary of party’s founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Bilawal said that those who termed Quaid-e-Azam as ‘Kaafir-e-Azam’ are being negotiated with today. He said that those who level allegations against PPP are politicking over children’s dead bodies. He alleged that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif only issued statements and made promises when he came to Tharparkar, claiming that Prime Minister’s team stopped aid of drought affectees. He said the nation is at a point of history right now where uncertainty prevails and every heart is filled with fear. “Terrorists want to take away our identities and existence,” he said, adding that people are asking for way from blind in the name of negotiations. “What did we do that history is not willing to forgive us?” he asked the audience. He said that the country is facing the crises today because the nation buried the man thirty five years ago that was akin to light for nation. “Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a philosophy and ideology; he was the man upon whom the poor relied,” he said. Bilawal said that it was his grandfather who transformed the country into an atomic power. He said that he is worried seeing Punjab as held hostage in the hands of terrorists, adding that this wouldn’t be the case if Z.A. Bhutto was alive. Pakistan needs a Bhutto once again today, he said. Lamenting at the privatization scheme of government, Bilawal said that nation’s house is being auctioned in the name of privatization, adding that no one even thought of taking the nation into confidence. Pakistan’s assets are capital of nation’s poor people, he said, adding that the nation will not be thrown in unemployment. Our nation has built these assets after making several sacrifices, he added.
“If government cannot run the country, does this mean we should sell it?” He asked. Bilawal asked what price Pakistan has to pay for friendly money paid by friendly country. He said those who want to rob the country in the name of privatization are not friends. He said the government has left the nation as professional beggars. Bilawal said that his party is descendant of martyrs, adding that dictatorship of Taliban will not be tolerated. Several Jiyalas (party workers) are confronting terrorists even today, he added. He said that his party’s government will not remain silent on demolishing of temples unlike Punjab government. Harming and burning minorities’ worship places is not Islam, he said, adding that the army is honourable and not anyone’s private property. He said that it is not wise to muddle in others’ war. Bilawal kept chanting “Khappay khappay Bhutto Khappay” slogan which literally means “Bhutto needed.”
“If government cannot run the country, does this mean we should sell it?” He asked. Bilawal asked what price Pakistan has to pay for friendly money paid by friendly country. He said those who want to rob the country in the name of privatization are not friends. He said the government has left the nation as professional beggars. Bilawal said that his party is descendant of martyrs, adding that dictatorship of Taliban will not be tolerated. Several Jiyalas (party workers) are confronting terrorists even today, he added. He said that his party’s government will not remain silent on demolishing of temples unlike Punjab government. Harming and burning minorities’ worship places is not Islam, he said, adding that the army is honourable and not anyone’s private property. He said that it is not wise to muddle in others’ war. Bilawal kept chanting “Khappay khappay Bhutto Khappay” slogan which literally means “Bhutto needed.”
Ensure open access for internet service suppliers and ban roaming fees: EU Parl.
Brussels: Internet access providers would be barred from blocking or slowing down selected services for economic or other reasons by the latest draft EU “telecoms package” legislation voted by Parliament on Thursday. MEPs also voted to ban "roaming” charges for using a mobile phone in another EU country, as of from 15 December 2015.
"Today's vote is a great step towards strengthening the telecommunications single market. Parliament wants to abolish retail roaming charges for voice, SMS and data by 15 December 2015 and improve radio spectrum management to develop 4G and 5G throughout Europe", said rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP, ES).
“We have achieved further guarantees to maintain the openness of the Internet by ensuring that users can run and provide applications and services of their choice as well as reinforcing the Internet as a key driver of competitiveness, economic growth, jobs, social development and innovation”, she added. Ms del Castillo's report was approved by 534 votes to 25, with 58 abstentions.
MEPs want clear rules to prevent internet access providers from promoting some services at the expense of others. EU telecoms regulator BEREC reported that several internet access providers were blocking or slowing down services like “Skype”, which is used to make phone calls over the internet.
Internet access providers would still be able to offer specialized services of higher quality, such as video on demand and business-critical data-intensive “cloud” (data storage) applications, so long as these services are not supplied to "the detriment of the availability or quality of internet access services" offered to other companies or service suppliers.
MEPs shortened the European Commission's list of “exceptional” cases in which internet access providers could still be entitled to block or slow down the internet. MEPs say these practices should be permitted only to enforce a court order, preserve network security or prevent temporary network congestion. If such "traffic management measures" are used, they must be "transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate" and "not be maintained longer than necessary", they add.
MEPs underline that internet access should be provided in accordance with the principle of "net neutrality", which means that all internet traffic is treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independently of its sender, recipient, type, content, device, service or application.
MEPs also amended the text to ban “roaming” charges (extra fees for using a mobile phone to call, send text messages or access the internet in another EU country) anywhere in the EU as of 15 December 2015. If roaming services are abused, however, capped charges could exceptionally be imposed, MEPs say.
The European Parliament voted on its first reading of the draft legislation, in order to consolidate the work done so far and hand it over to the next Parliament. This ensures that the MEPs newly elected in May can build on work done during the current term.
"Today's vote is a great step towards strengthening the telecommunications single market. Parliament wants to abolish retail roaming charges for voice, SMS and data by 15 December 2015 and improve radio spectrum management to develop 4G and 5G throughout Europe", said rapporteur Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP, ES).
“We have achieved further guarantees to maintain the openness of the Internet by ensuring that users can run and provide applications and services of their choice as well as reinforcing the Internet as a key driver of competitiveness, economic growth, jobs, social development and innovation”, she added. Ms del Castillo's report was approved by 534 votes to 25, with 58 abstentions.
MEPs want clear rules to prevent internet access providers from promoting some services at the expense of others. EU telecoms regulator BEREC reported that several internet access providers were blocking or slowing down services like “Skype”, which is used to make phone calls over the internet.
Internet access providers would still be able to offer specialized services of higher quality, such as video on demand and business-critical data-intensive “cloud” (data storage) applications, so long as these services are not supplied to "the detriment of the availability or quality of internet access services" offered to other companies or service suppliers.
MEPs shortened the European Commission's list of “exceptional” cases in which internet access providers could still be entitled to block or slow down the internet. MEPs say these practices should be permitted only to enforce a court order, preserve network security or prevent temporary network congestion. If such "traffic management measures" are used, they must be "transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate" and "not be maintained longer than necessary", they add.
MEPs underline that internet access should be provided in accordance with the principle of "net neutrality", which means that all internet traffic is treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independently of its sender, recipient, type, content, device, service or application.
MEPs also amended the text to ban “roaming” charges (extra fees for using a mobile phone to call, send text messages or access the internet in another EU country) anywhere in the EU as of 15 December 2015. If roaming services are abused, however, capped charges could exceptionally be imposed, MEPs say.
The European Parliament voted on its first reading of the draft legislation, in order to consolidate the work done so far and hand it over to the next Parliament. This ensures that the MEPs newly elected in May can build on work done during the current term.
MEPs cut customs duties on imports from Ukraine
Brussels: About 98% of the customs duties that Ukrainian iron, steel, farm produce and machinery exporters pay at EU borders will be removed by a proposal backed by European Parliament on Thursday. This unilateral measure will boost Ukraine’s struggling economy by saving its manufacturers and exporters €487 million a year.
"The European Parliament has supported an EU path for Ukraine for many years. This is our first chance to demonstrate our support in practical terms, to help Ukraine during its current economic crisis in the face of dwindling currency reserves and increased pressure from the Kremlin", said rapporteur Pawel Zalewski (EPP, PL).
"As Putin closes Russian markets for Ukrainian exports, we are opening them" he added. The European Parliament backed his proposal by 531 votes to 88, with 20 abstentions.
This unilateral trade measure, set to apply from May 2014, will remove 94.7% of EU tariffs currently charged on industrial goods imports from Ukraine and reduce them for the remaining handful of industrial goods.
It will also remove EU tariffs on over 80% of Ukraine’s farm produce exports.
However, the EU will restrict the amounts of “sensitive” products, such as cereals, pork, beef, poultry, and processed food, that may be imported tariff free, so as not to harm the interests of EU producers of these products.
This EU trade “preference” measure does not require Ukraine to reciprocate by removing its own customs duties on imports from the EU, but will require it not to raise them.
EU imports from Ukraine will nonetheless have to comply with EU rules on origin labeling and the Ukrainian authorities will have to ensure that third country goods disguised as Ukrainian ones do not enter the EU via Ukraine.
The measure also entitles the EU to reimpose tariffs if imports from Ukraine flood the EU market in volumes that cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to EU producers of the same goods.
It would apply from the date when it is finally approved until 1 November 2014, or until the EU-Ukraine association agreement, including a deep and comprehensive trade deal which foresees bilateral liberalization of trade, enters into force.
The measure still requires the formal approval of the EU Council of Ministers. The EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has already announced that the preferences “will start to be applied within a few weeks
"The European Parliament has supported an EU path for Ukraine for many years. This is our first chance to demonstrate our support in practical terms, to help Ukraine during its current economic crisis in the face of dwindling currency reserves and increased pressure from the Kremlin", said rapporteur Pawel Zalewski (EPP, PL).
"As Putin closes Russian markets for Ukrainian exports, we are opening them" he added. The European Parliament backed his proposal by 531 votes to 88, with 20 abstentions.
This unilateral trade measure, set to apply from May 2014, will remove 94.7% of EU tariffs currently charged on industrial goods imports from Ukraine and reduce them for the remaining handful of industrial goods.
It will also remove EU tariffs on over 80% of Ukraine’s farm produce exports.
However, the EU will restrict the amounts of “sensitive” products, such as cereals, pork, beef, poultry, and processed food, that may be imported tariff free, so as not to harm the interests of EU producers of these products.
This EU trade “preference” measure does not require Ukraine to reciprocate by removing its own customs duties on imports from the EU, but will require it not to raise them.
EU imports from Ukraine will nonetheless have to comply with EU rules on origin labeling and the Ukrainian authorities will have to ensure that third country goods disguised as Ukrainian ones do not enter the EU via Ukraine.
The measure also entitles the EU to reimpose tariffs if imports from Ukraine flood the EU market in volumes that cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to EU producers of the same goods.
It would apply from the date when it is finally approved until 1 November 2014, or until the EU-Ukraine association agreement, including a deep and comprehensive trade deal which foresees bilateral liberalization of trade, enters into force.
The measure still requires the formal approval of the EU Council of Ministers. The EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has already announced that the preferences “will start to be applied within a few weeks
EU strategy beyond the nuclear file
Brussels: The EU should exploit the current window of opportunity of nuclear talks and internal developments in Iran, which favour both domestic reform and better EU-Iran relations, says Parliament in a resolution passed on Thursday. It also calls on the EU to be more active in addressing the human rights situation and in supporting civil society in Iran. MEPs say that once a comprehensive agreement is reached that guarantees that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, the EU should gradually drop its nuclear-related sanctions.
If substantial progress is made in talks on the nuclear file, the Council should start devising a concept for bilateral EU-Iran relations, including a possible formal EU-Iran agreement, says the resolution. The EU and Iran could focus cooperation on areas including the development of civil society and the private sector in Iran, the fight against narcotics and the environment, education and health.
Parliament also calls for the first steps to be taken towards opening an EU delegation in Tehran by the end of this year. This would be an efficient means of influencing Iranian policies and the dialogue on human and minority rights, it believes. MEPs add that EU policy towards Iran should be more independent.
MEPs have major concerns about the persistent systematic violation of fundamental rights, the high number of executions and the restrictions on freedom in Iran. The country should release all jailed human rights defenders, political prisoners, trade unionists and those detained after the 2009 presidential elections, the resolution says. Iran’s Charter of Citizens' Rights must also comply with its international obligations, namely when it comes to non-discrimination, banning torture and ensuring individual and collective freedoms.
The EU should engage in an inclusive high-level human rights dialogue with Iran that would include the judiciary and security forces and the EU institutions must do more to empower and develop civil society within Iran, MEPs say.
The resolution stresses that Iran should be involved in all discussions seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria and in the region, provided it shows commitment to achieving this. It should use its influence in Syria to stop the bloodshed and cooperate with the EU and the US in Afghanistan, namely on drug trafficking and protection of refugees, MEPs add.
If substantial progress is made in talks on the nuclear file, the Council should start devising a concept for bilateral EU-Iran relations, including a possible formal EU-Iran agreement, says the resolution. The EU and Iran could focus cooperation on areas including the development of civil society and the private sector in Iran, the fight against narcotics and the environment, education and health.
Parliament also calls for the first steps to be taken towards opening an EU delegation in Tehran by the end of this year. This would be an efficient means of influencing Iranian policies and the dialogue on human and minority rights, it believes. MEPs add that EU policy towards Iran should be more independent.
MEPs have major concerns about the persistent systematic violation of fundamental rights, the high number of executions and the restrictions on freedom in Iran. The country should release all jailed human rights defenders, political prisoners, trade unionists and those detained after the 2009 presidential elections, the resolution says. Iran’s Charter of Citizens' Rights must also comply with its international obligations, namely when it comes to non-discrimination, banning torture and ensuring individual and collective freedoms.
The EU should engage in an inclusive high-level human rights dialogue with Iran that would include the judiciary and security forces and the EU institutions must do more to empower and develop civil society within Iran, MEPs say.
The resolution stresses that Iran should be involved in all discussions seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria and in the region, provided it shows commitment to achieving this. It should use its influence in Syria to stop the bloodshed and cooperate with the EU and the US in Afghanistan, namely on drug trafficking and protection of refugees, MEPs add.
Wednesday 2 April 2014
Join the debate on Europe's future on 27 March
Brussels: On 27 March, over 150 EU citizens will be in Brussels to debate the future of Europe, at the EU's invitation.
The debate follows discussions with European Commissioners held in all the countries of the EU since September 2012. Attended by over 15 000 people, these have enabled citizens to air their views on Europe's future economic and political development ahead of the European elections in May.
3 participants from each of these discussions will take part in debates throughout the day in Brussels. Topics will include
The final debate will bring everyone together with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso from 16.00 to 17.00 CET. You can watch the event live via webstream and join in on social media.
2013 was the European Year of Citizens, which sought to familiarise people with their rights as EU citizens. Dialogues were held all over Europe, enabling EU citizens to express their hopes and aspirations for the future and their views on the direction the EU should take. These have continued into 2014. In a poll conducted during the debates, 51% thought Europe would emerge stronger from the crisis, while 74% wanted closer political union. 88% favoured holding more debates.
The views expressed by citizens will help to guide plans for future reform of the EU. In an election year, it is particularly important for citizens to have a direct say in the debate.
The debate follows discussions with European Commissioners held in all the countries of the EU since September 2012. Attended by over 15 000 people, these have enabled citizens to air their views on Europe's future economic and political development ahead of the European elections in May.
3 participants from each of these discussions will take part in debates throughout the day in Brussels. Topics will include
- citizens’ rights
- overcoming the crisis
- climate change
- consumer concerns that affect people's everyday lives.
The final debate will bring everyone together with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso from 16.00 to 17.00 CET. You can watch the event live via webstream and join in on social media.
2013 was the European Year of Citizens, which sought to familiarise people with their rights as EU citizens. Dialogues were held all over Europe, enabling EU citizens to express their hopes and aspirations for the future and their views on the direction the EU should take. These have continued into 2014. In a poll conducted during the debates, 51% thought Europe would emerge stronger from the crisis, while 74% wanted closer political union. 88% favoured holding more debates.
The views expressed by citizens will help to guide plans for future reform of the EU. In an election year, it is particularly important for citizens to have a direct say in the debate.
Wajid Shamsul Hasan announces departure
[caption id="attachment_545" align="aligncenter" width="400"]
Cake cutting at the Pakistan Day Reception organized by Pakistan High
Commission London on 31 March 2014[/caption]
LONDON (PR): Following the National Day Celebrations on 23 March Pakistan Day reception was held at a local hotel on Monday. A large number of people including Parliamentarians, diplomats, leading media and business personalities and people belonging to different walks of life participated.
[caption id="attachment_544" align="aligncenter" width="605"]
Pakistan High Commissioner for UK Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan; Baroness D'Souza,
Lord Speaker; Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs and Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Imran Mirza speaking at the Pakistan Day Reception organized by Pakistan High Commission London on 31 March 2014[/caption]
Rt Hon Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was the guest of honour and represented Foreign Secretary Rt Hon William Hague.
In his address he mentioned the strong ties between the two countries and said:”We are here to honour our past as we mark the National Day of Pakistan”. He said the UK looked forward to forging even stronger ties with Pakistan.
Cake cutting at the Pakistan Day Reception organized by Pakistan HighCommission London on 31 March 2014[/caption]
LONDON (PR): Following the National Day Celebrations on 23 March Pakistan Day reception was held at a local hotel on Monday. A large number of people including Parliamentarians, diplomats, leading media and business personalities and people belonging to different walks of life participated.
[caption id="attachment_544" align="aligncenter" width="605"]
Pakistan High Commissioner for UK Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan; Baroness D'Souza,Lord Speaker; Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs and Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Imran Mirza speaking at the Pakistan Day Reception organized by Pakistan High Commission London on 31 March 2014[/caption]
In his welcome address, Pakistan High Commissioner for UK, Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan, paid tributes to the Muslims of South Asia who, under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, established their own separate homeland. Mr Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan was of a liberal, progressive and egalitarian democratic country where every citizen was to enjoy equal rights, freedom and opportunities—irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender, said the High Commissioner.
Speaking about the Pakistan-UK bilateral ties, he highlighted the historical, political trade and business relations between the two countries He particularly lauded the role of the Pakistani diaspora in the UK in development of Pakistan and cementing the ties between two countries.
On this occasion, he announced to step down from his position. Mr Wajid informed that he will devolve his authority to the Deputy High Commissioner Imran Mirza.
He was deployed as high commissioner in UK for last six years, which is a record tenure for any Pakistani envoy.
The reception was attended by a large number of Lords, MPs, the British
friends, Pakistani diaspora in the UK and media representatives. The attendees included Rt Hon Baroness D’SOUZA, Lord Speaker; Rt Hon Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Secretary General Commonwealth H.E. Kamalesh Sharma and Mrs Sharma; His Excellency Khaled Al-Duwaisan, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,Former Speaker Baroness Boothroyd. Mr.Mubeen Rashed (Nai Baat), Mr.Mobeen Chaudhry Chief Edtor (Kashmir Link London) ,Lord Nazir Ahmad,Murtaza Ali Shah (The News London) and Lord Qurban Hussain,Barrister Amjad Malik.Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Imran Mirza conducted the ceremony.
Rt Hon Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was the guest of honour and represented Foreign Secretary Rt Hon William Hague.
In his address he mentioned the strong ties between the two countries and said:”We are here to honour our past as we mark the National Day of Pakistan”. He said the UK looked forward to forging even stronger ties with Pakistan.
The Rt Hon Baroness D’Souza, Lord Speaker also spoke on the occasion about the existing goodwill between the two countries. She specifically appreciated the participation of women in various walks of life in Pakistan.
The High Commissioner thanked all the guests for attending the reception.
Separately Hasan expressed his deep gratitude to Pakistani Diaspora for
extending to him all their support in making his two tenures as High
Commissioner successful.
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