Use of Indian weapons in Karachi attack

 

ISLAMABAD: The Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, on Wednesday asked the government to seek an explanation from the Indian High Commission about the recovery of Indian weapons that the militants used against Pakistani security forces at the Karachi airport attack.
“The Foreign Office should summon the Indian high commissioner and lodge a protest of founding of the Indian weapons from Karachi airport and show him the founded weapons as a evidence and should ask as to how militants got Indian weapons to attack Pakistani airport,” he said while talking to the newsmen at his chamber at the Parliament House.

He questioned that whether the Indian did not have any control on their agencies.The opposition leader said the opposition has given a complete mandate to the government against the terrorism, but it did not get benefit from it. “The government should play on front foot against the terrorism,” he said.

In reply to a question, the opposition leader said the National Assembly speaker should not have given a statement on security of Parliament. “The speaker should have avoided to make a statement on the security of Parliament as this statement is tantamount to invitation to attack on the parliament,” he added.

He was of the view that such things could be raised in internal meetings but not openly to expose the weaknesses,” he added.The opposition leader said it was decided in the opposition parties meeting that keeping of quorum during the budget debate as the maintaining of the quorum is the responsibility of the government.

“We can give them relaxation if 10 to 15 members were short of the quorum but not if the government wants to run the session with 30 to 35 members then we will point out quorum,” he added.In a reply to another question, the opposition leader said the opposition had decided to jointly move the cut motion on the grants.

No one to be allowed to use Pak soil against any country: PM

 

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that Pakistan would not allow its land to be used against any country as British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that Pakistan’s enemies were the enemies of Britain.
The two leaders expressed these views during talks at 10-Downing Street. Both the leaders underlined their commitment to fight terrorism together.

The prime minister was joined in the two-hour-long talks by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the PM on National Security Tariq Fatemi, Pakistan’s acting High Commissioner to the UK Imran Mirza and others.

David Cameron was assisted in the talks by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Foreign Office Minister Sayeeda Warsi.Nawaz Sharif paid a visit to his British counterpart as the British parliamentarians called for a cut in the aid programme to Pakistan and diverting funds to poorer countries unless “clear evidence” is produced that Pakistan is playing its role in reducing extremism.

Increasingly, British MPs believed that the UK fund was not being properly spent in the fight against radicalism. However, it is becoming clear that the threat to the UK from Pakistan has significantly reduced recently whereas it had gone up in the case of the Middle Eastern flashpoint countries.

Nawaz Sharif thanked Prime Minister Cameron for his country’s financial help and told Cameron that it was “something that we value very much”.

David Cameron said thatBritain and Pakistan had a “vitally important” relationship that was based on trade, development and the fight against terrorism.

He added: “The enemies of Pakistan are my enemies too because we want to defeat the extremism, the terrorism that threatens your country and so many others in the region.”Nawaz Sharif said he welcomed the UK’s announcement that the two countries would fight extremism together.

Nawaz Sharif said, “Pakistan has paid a heavy price in its fight against terror and we are determined to eliminate terrorism in Pakistan and will never allow anybody to use its space for launching an attack in Afghanistan, or for that matter, anywhere in the world,” he said. “This is our policy, which we have recently formulated,” he said.

“We believe that we will work together to fight against terror and also to pull Pakistan out of the problems it’s facing,” Nawaz Sharif said.

After holding talks at 10-Downing Street, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a conference where the UK and Pakistani business community was present. Nawaz Sharif told the conference that his government had turned around country’s economy within a year. “Pakistan today offers tremendous investment opportunities. We have brought structural reforms and introduced great policies as the UK and Pakistan remained committed to strengthening economic cooperation.

“I have today met my friend, David Cameron, who was the first to visit Pakistan after the PML-N government assumed power. The UK has offered help in all areas including education and defence. The role of the Department for International Development (DFID) has been brilliant,” said Nawaz Sharif.

He said that the two countries had agreed to work on new roadmaps and the two countries had agreed to enhance cooperation in all areas including trade, economy, education and health sector.

The PM said that his country was keen to increase UK investment in Pakistan as more than 100 UK companies were working in Pakistan and making a lot of profit.

Nawaz Sharif said that his government came into power through free and fair elections. He said that he was aware of the challenges being faced by Pakistan but he was determined to deal with these challenges. He said that since coming to power, his govt had worked on a priority basis vis-a-vis the energy crisis and output of the economy. He said that Pakistan’s economic indicators looked optimistic and almost all areas of the economy were showing signs of progress.

“We inherited an economy in dire straits. There was lack of confidence in state institutions when we took over. We worked beyond the call of duty to turn around the economy and we have succeeded. The Pak rupee has gone up significantly and the capital market outlook is appearing optimistic. The Pakistan economy appears to be back on track,” said the premier.

Nawaz Sharif said, “I am privileged that the people of Pakistan have given me a mandate. I am trying to make Pakistan a tolerant and vibrant country. I count on my friends in Britain to march with us and help us in making Pakistan a liberal society.”

On the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said, “Militancy is a challenge and we consider it very serious and Nawaz Sharif is determined to deal with it.”

He said that it was courageous of PM Sharif that he initiated a dialogue with the Taliban. “It is to Nawaz Sharif’s credit that dialogue process with the Taliban is going on the right direction. We have to exhaust this option first and foremost. If dialogue fails, the whole country will be on one page to fight the TTP. We must eliminate terrorism to make Pakistan move forward,” he said.

Answering questions, Nawaz Sharif repeated that it was in Pakistan’s interest to establish peace through dialogue. “Otherwise Pakistan does have other options including the use of force,” the prime minister said.The premier said that his govt was encouraging militants to put down their weapons and come to the dialogue table.

Pakistan to use polio vaccine checkpoints in Taliban areas

PESHAWAR: Officials said on Monday they would begin administering polio vaccines to children at security checkpoints in the tribal belt to protect against the Taliban attacks.

The announcement was made at a ceremony to mark the launch of a three-day anti-polio campaign in Peshawar, and is aimed at children from North Waziristan and other Taliban strongholds. Farakh Sair Khan, a senior administrative official for the tribal areas, told the gathering the new strategy would “vaccinate children belonging to areas that are not accessible for the polio workers.”

“North Waziristan is affected most by the polio virus and unfortunately we had not been able to vaccinate the children there for security reasons but we are trying to overcome it,” Khan said. As many as 2643 polio teams will be participating in the campaign to vaccinate children under five, he added.

“We will establish over 50 vaccination sites next to the checkpoints of security forces,” said Shahdab Younis, an official of the UNICEF said. “Establishing these sites next to security checkpoints will minimise the risk of attacks,” she added. She said the move would also pressure parents into allowing their children to be vaccinated due to the intimidating presence of armed troops.

“We have received 37 new cases of polio in the first three months of this year, 33 of them are from North Waziristan,” Younis said. “Polio vaccination was banned in North Waziristan since 2012 and the children there have not been vaccinated against polio since,” she added.

Meanwhile, a separate official said talks had begun with the army, whose co-operation would be required. “We are discussing it with the army because most of the security checkpoints belong to (them),” the official said.

Pakistan not to allow use of its soil against Afghanistan: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the government would not allow the use of Pakistani soil against Afghanistan.
Talking to the United Kingdom’s National Security Adviser Kim Darroch, who called on him at the PM House, the prime minister said: “Our soil will not be used against Afghanistan and we support the democratic process in Afghanistan.”

The British Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Simon Gass and British High Commissioner to Pakistan Philip Barton also accompanied the visiting dignitary.

Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz and PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi also attended the meeting.The prime minister said that Pakistan believes in the policy of non-interference.

He said Pakistan was facing huge challenges. “The major issues faced by Pakistan are the economy, energy and terrorism. Our progressive policies have shown positive results on the economy, while we have taken concrete steps to overcome the energy crisis. In order to tackle the issue of terrorism, we have evolved a consensus amongst all the stakeholders for dialogue,” he added.

Nawaz said that Pakistan did not want to fall into an arms race in the region and wanted peace and stability in the region. “There is a need to enhance investment in the social sectors of health and education and we have taken steps towards these ends,” he added.

The prime minister also appreciated the UK’s support for Pakistan in social sector.Kim Darroch said the UK supported the objectives of Pakistan’s internal security. He also expressed his confidence in Pakistan’s economic policies and added that the economy was poised to take off.

The British NSA said that his government was committed to providing more support to Pakistan in all fields, particularly for countering terrorism. He said Pakistan and the UK had similar priorities with regard to Afghanistan.

Supporting the ongoing dialogue process with the Taliban by Pakistan, he expressed the UK government’s best wishes for its success.Sir Nigel Kim Darroch is a senior British diplomat who is holding the office of the NSA since June 2011.

Use of drones should be under global law

 

GENEVA: The United Nations called on all states on Friday to ensure that the use of armed drones complies with international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, backing a proposal from Pakistan.
A resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of co-sponsors, including Yemen and Switzerland, did not single out any state.The United States is the biggest armed drone user in conflicts, including those in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia.

“The purpose of this resolution is not to shame or name anyone, as we are against this approach,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Zamir Akram told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). “It is about supporting a principle.”

The United States prizes drones for their accuracy against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. Pakistan says they kill civilians and infringe its sovereignty.“The United States is committed to ensuring that our actions, including those involving remotely piloted aircraft, are undertaken in accordance with all applicable domestic and international law and with the greatest possible transparency, consistent with our national security needs,” Paula Schriefer, US deputy assistant secretary of state, told the talks.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 27 states in favour to six against, with 14 abstentions at the 47-member Geneva forum. The United States, Britain and France voted against.The resolution urges all states to ensure that any measures employed to counter terrorism, including armed drones, comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of precaution distinction and proportionality.

The text voiced concern at civilian casualties resulting from the use of remotely-piloted aircraft or armed drones, as highlighted by the UN special investigator on counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson in a recent report.It called on UN human rightsexpert discussions on armed drones and report back in September.

The United States, Britain and France said it was not appropriate for the forum to put weapons systems on its agenda. The Obama administration preferred to discuss drones under an initiative of Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which it hoped would provide a “non-politicised forum” where military experts can discuss law of war issues, Schriefer said.

Akram, speaking before the vote, said opposition “can only lead to the conclusion that these States are guilty of violating applicable international law and demonstrate that they are afraid of being exposed in the expert panel”.

A separate UN human rights watchdog called on the Obama administration on Thursday to limit its use of drones and to curb US surveillance activities.The heavy mandate in favour of the resolution came about despite stiff opposition and intensive lobbying against the resolution by the US, the UK and France. As a result several European Union countries which are currently members of the Council were forced to change their votes. However, they refused to vote against the resolution and abstained. The only exception was Ireland which took a principled stance in support of the resolution.

According to the Pakistan’s Mission in Geneva, the adoption of the resolution by heavy majority underscored the success of Pakistan’s diplomacy in garnering international support for its principled position on the use of armed drones in violation of international law. This would further strengthen the country s efforts to address the issue of drones, it added.