PM, COAS, US envoy discuss regional situation

 

RAWALPINDI: The US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Dobbins, called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif respectively on Friday.
Besides matters of mutual interest, they discussed the regional security situation, the US drawdown and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. They also discussed the post-Afghan election scenario and situation on the Pak-Afghan border.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and US Ambassador Richard Olson attended the meeting.US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins also called on the Chief of the Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, in Rawalpindi.

Besides matters of mutual interest, they discussed the Pak-US defence cooperation, security situation of the region, the US drawdown and situation on the Pak-Afghan border.According to the ISPR, during the meeting, issues of mutual interest were discussed. While the success of Afghan presidential elections was noted with satisfaction, the importance of stable and democratic Afghanistan was emphasized for regional security.

Pakistan will engage with any govt in New Delhi, says envoy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says peace is in the mutual interest of both Islamabad and New Delhi but there should be no preconditions and while it is for the people of India to elect anyone they want, Pakistan will not hesitate to engage with any government which emerges to promote bilateral cooperation.

These remarks were made by High Commissioner for Pakistan to India Abdul Basit while talking on “Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Opportunities” at Jamia Millia Islamia, (Central University) in Delhi.

Both sides, he reiterated, have to make a fundamental decision whether they want to have a normal relationship or a perpetual paradigm of mutual mistrust and animosity.Later, the high commissioner told The News that he told the gathering that the dialogue process was in the interest of both countries and “This is not a favour by one country to the other”.

After the terror attacks on Mumbai, New Delhi has been reluctant to resume the Composite Dialogue rather picking and choosing when and on which topic it wants to engage.

Just as there is great interest in Pakistan to see which party and consequently which candidate grabs the Delhi Sarkar, in India too there is curiosity about what official Pakistan thinks.

Basit was asked several questions regarding terrorism, Afghanistan, Pak-US relations, China and how Islamabad would engage with the new Indian government if Narendra Modi emerged as the prime minister.

“I was clear that we cannot cherry pick issues for discussion. All issues are important and need to be addressed. It is nevertheless understandable that some issues could be resolved earlier than others,” he told The News.

The participants were told that there was no need to reinvent every time they met because over the decades both countries had made some significant progress such as the Indus Waters Treaty and the Composite Dialogue framework. “It is necessary we build on past accomplishments and move forward by fully abiding by bilateral agreements and commitments, but it is very important that we cannot have a dialogue process with preconditions. Preconditions are inherently antithetical to a sustained dialogue process”, he pointed out.

“Pakistan has always been keen to have normal relations with India on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest and in this regard we want to resolve all our issues including Jammu and Kashmir and achieve peace through a peaceful peace process”, he added.

To several queries about the present environment in Pakistan, Basit underlined that the people of Pakistan were progressive and democratic minded who take great pride in their Islamic ethos and heritage.“There is no conflict between Islam and modernity. Our society has come a long way and stereotypes and narratives on Pakistan are misplaced and passé”, he explained.

 

White House to Iran: No visa for UN envoy pick

WASHINGTON: The United States, in a rare diplomatic rebuke, will not grant a visa to Tehran's pick for envoy to the United Nations, the Obama administration said Friday.

The move could complicate efforts to thaw the decades-long diplomatic freeze between the US and Iran, as the two countries negotiate a deal to curb Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

President Barack Obama's administration had previously said only that it opposed the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi, who was a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran as a revolution erupted in Iran. US officials had hoped the issue could be resolved by Tehran simply withdrawing the nomination.

That did not happen, so the US made the unusual, if not unprecedented, move to not grant a visa to a U.N. ambassadorial nominee.

"We've communicated with the Iranians at a number of levels and made clear our position on this - and that includes our position that the selection was not viable," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "Our position is that we will not be issuing him a visa."

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the takeover. His nomination has outraged members of Congress, who passed a bill barring entry to the US to an individual found to be engaged in espionage, terrorism or a threat to national security.

Carney would not say whether Obama would sign the bill but said the president shares its sentiments.

United Nations officials had no immediate comment on the US decision.

US blocks Iran's envoy to UN in rare rebuke

WASHINGTON: The United States has blocked Iran's pick for envoy to the United Nations, a rare diplomatic rebuke that could stir fresh animosity at a time when Washington and Tehran have been seeking a thaw in relations.

The Obama administration said on Friday that the US had informed Iran it would not grant a visa to Hamid Aboutalebi, a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran. While U.S. officials had been trying to persuade Iran to simply withdraw Aboutalebi's name, the announcement amounted to an acknowledgement that those efforts had not been successful.

''We've communicated with the Iranians at a number of levels and made clear our position on this and that includes our position that the selection was not viable,'' White House spokesman Jay Carney said. ''Our position is that we will not be issuing him a visa.''

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover. He has insisted his involvement in the group Muslim Students.

Hamid Babaei, a spokesman for the Iranian US mission, said the decision was not only regrettable but ''in contravention of international law, the obligation of the host country and the inherent right of sovereign member-states to designate their representatives to the United Nations.''

As host country for the United Nations, the US must provide rights to persons invited to the New York headquarters. However, exceptions can be made when a visa applicant is found to have engaged in spying against the U.S. or poses a threat to American national security.

Denying visas to UN ambassadorial nominees or to foreign heads of state who want to attend United Nations events in the US is extremely rare, though there appears to be precedent. According to a paper published by the Yale Law School, the United States rejected several Iranians appointed to the UN in the 1980s who had played roles in the embassy hostage crisis or other acts against American citizens.

Iran's choice of Aboutalebi had pinned President Barack Obama between congressional pressure to deny the envoy entry into the US and the White House's delicate diplomatic dealings with Tehran. After more than three decades of discord, US and Iranian officials have started having occasional direct contact, including a phone call last fall between Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

The US and its international partners also have reached an interim agreement with Iran to halt progress on Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Officials are in the midst of negotiating a long-term agreement to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

Officials said under secretary of state Wendy Sherman, the chief US negotiator in the nuclear talks, informed Iranian officials involved in discussions in Vienna this week about the visa decision. The White House said it did not expect the negotiations, which are due to resume next month, to be affected by the matter.

Despite some signs of progress in relations, many US lawmakers continue to eye Iran skeptically, and Tehran's choice of Aboutalebi sparked outrage from both Democrats and Republicans. The House and Senate unanimously passed legislation expanding the grounds for barring entry into the US to include individuals engaged in terrorism.

Carney would not say Friday whether Obama would sign that bill, but he said the president did share its sentiments.

The administration's decision to block Aboutalebi's nomination drew praise from both parties, including Republican senator Ted Cruz, the chief sponsor of the congressional legislation. In an interview with Fox News, Cruz said he appreciated the president ''doing the right thing and barring this acknowledged terrorist from coming into the country.''

Democratic senator Chuck Schumer said allowing Aboutalebi into the US ''would have been a slap at all American victims of terrorism, not just those taken hostage in 1979. We're glad the Obama Administration made this choice, and Iran should stop playing these games. ''

UN officials had no immediate comment on the US decision.

Iran had previously called US rejection of Aboutalebi ''not acceptable,'' with Iranian state television quoting Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying he is one of the best US diplomats and arguing that he previously received a US visa.

American officials said Iran still has time to withdraw the nomination and application, suggesting the US has simply chosen to not act on the visa instead of outright rejecting it.

Without a US visa, Aboutalebi would not be allowed to enter the United States. Iran could nominate a different ambassador or have Aboutalebi occupy the post from overseas.

Despite the decades-long tensions between the US and Iran, the Islamic republic maintains a robust diplomatic mission at UN headquarters in New York. The US frequently allows visas for representatives from countries it disfavors, including Syria and North Korea, but restricts their diplomats' movements and activities to a 25-mile (40-kilometer) radius of New York City.

There have been previous instances where officials accused of terrorism or deemed to pose a threat to the US have sought visas to appear at the UN, including with a previous Iranian nominee in the early 1990s and more recently with Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir. In most cases, the US has either signaled opposition to the applicant and the request has been withdrawn, or the state department has simply declined to process the application.

Early progress on devolution crucial to Sri Lanka: Indian envoy

The Hindu High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha. File photo: V. Sudershan

“India considers early progress on devolution and a political settlement as being crucial to Sri Lanka to tackle mounting international pressure,” High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha, said, a week after India abstained from voting on the U.S.-backed resolution in Geneva.

Early resumption of dialogue between the government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – which runs the Northern Provincial Council – is the key, and the Sri Lankan government should create conditions conducive to resumption of dialogue, he said, addressing the Foreign Correspondents’ Association here on Friday.

“Sri Lanka needs to address issues in a meaningful manner to prove to the international community that it “has taken very concrete, very visible steps” to deal with the concerns.

On India’s position on the progress in implementation of the 13th Amendment – made to the Sri Lankan Constitution following the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 – that devolves certain powers to the provincial councils, he said India was engaged with Sri Lanka at the highest level on the question of devolution. Observing that India had been consistent in calling for an early political solution, Mr. Sinha said even Sri Lanka’s own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) spoke of the need for Sri Lanka to take the lead in manifesting its political will and sincerity of purpose. “This will help with dealing [with] international pressure building up against Sri Lanka,” Mr. Sinha said.

India, in a spirit of partnership and cooperation, would continue to engage with Sri Lanka towards implementation of the 13th Amendment and build upon it, as was promised to India by the island nation.

On whether the abstention at the Human Rights Council gave more leverage to India to push for meaningful devolution and resolve the ongoing fisheries issue, Mr. Sinha said: “I don’t think it’ll be fair to say that we want to exercise pressure or leverage on either side, but what we would like to do is so try and restart that political process.”

“Polls, a good sign”

Describing the September elections to Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council an ‘encouraging sign,’ he said India would like both sides (Sri Lankan government and the TNA) to work together and find a solution which is in the best interest of all communities in Sri Lanka, including the Tamils.

On the fisheries conflict, Mr. Sinha — observing that he was grateful to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for releasing all Indian fishermen soon after the Geneva proceedings — said he hoped the talks between fishermen’s association from both sides were held in the near future.

Asked of India saw scope for any progress of the long-pending Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which the Sri Lankan government has virtually shelved, he said the two countries had a robust trade engagement and pointed to a ten-fold increase in bilateral trade, as a result of the “successful implementation” of the Free Trade Agreement between the neighbours.

“We need to move to next level … I know there are certain reservations in Sri Lanka on CEPA,” he said, adding that it was more important to move to the next level, rather than be bogged down by nomenclature.

Both sides, he said, were discussing intensively a special economic partnership between the two countries, the contours of which were being defined currently. “It is important we concentrate on the larger picture. Sri Lanka is a partner and we will be happy to move at whatever pace Sri Lanka would like to move,” he said.

T.N. impact on Delhi

Responding to a question on Tamil Nadu’s influence on New Delhi in regard to its diplomacy with Sri Lanka, Mr. Sinha said India’s foreign policy certainly reflected the aspirations of all its people — which includes all its provinces. While Delhi definitely took into consideration concerns and positions of all its people, decisions were taken in national interest, he added.

Pak envoy summoned by Iranian foreign ministry

TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan Ambassador Nour Mohammad Jadmani on Wednesday over the issue of reported killing of its border guard.

Pakistan assured Iran that it would take action against the perpetrators of the heinous crime if the Iranian government provided credible evidence in this regard.Tehran issued a warning to Islamabad after reports emerged that an Iranian soldier abducted and taken across the border into Pakistan by extremists had been executed.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed “grave concern” about the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, who was kidnapped along with four other border guards on February 6 by rebel group Jaish-ul Adl.

“We did all we could to secure their release,” Zarif told the state television after a cabinet meeting. “But it is disappointing that the Pakistani government has failed to secure its borders, and allows terrorists to operate on its soil.”

Zarif’s remarks came after his ministry summoned Pakistani Ambassador Nour Mohammad Jadmani, demanding “swift and serious action” to secure the release of the soldiers, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi also emphasised that the Government of Pakistan was responsible for the safety of the Iranian border guards kidnapped and taken to Pakistan.

Talking to IRNA, he noted that Iranian officials had been constantly in contact with Pakistan’s interior and foreign ministries over the issue.“According to the international law and neighborly relations, it is the responsibility of the Pakistani government to guarantee the safety of Iranian border guards who were recently abducted into Pakistan by terrorist groups,” Boroujerdi added.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli warned — without elaborating — that Iran “reserves the right to utilise all its ability in its border areas.” Jaish-ul Adl said on its website on Sunday that Danayifar had been killed, warning of further executions should Tehran refuse to release prisoners.

Iran’s interior ministry says it is awaiting Islamabad’s official position amid media reports that local Pakistani authorities have confirmed the group’s claim. The rebel group is active in the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the reported killing as an “appalling act” and urged that the perpetrators should be brought to justice.The Secretary-General “expresses his solidarity with the government and people of Iran, who are confronted with this appalling act amid the annual Nauroz celebrations held to commemorate in peace the start of a New Year,” the statement said, referring to the Persian New Year.

APP adds: Pakistan on Wednesday expressed sorrow and grief over the reported killing of one of the five Iranian border guards, who were abducted from the Sistan-Baluchistan border last month.Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement issued here on Wednesday said, “We condemn this terrorist act, and share the grief and agony of the families of the martyr and the other border guards.”

The spokesperson said in the wake of the border incident, the Government of Pakistan has extended all possible support in tracking the whereabouts of the missing Iranian border guards.

She said during the last meeting of the Joint Border Commission held in Quetta on February 19-20, a Border Coordination Committee was also established to assist the efforts.The spokesperson said, “The Government of Pakistan stands ready to act on any credible and actionable intelligence made available to it.”

She said, “However, our investigations have neither corroborated nor established the entry into or presence within Pakistani territory of the Iranian border guards.”The spokesperson said Pakistan deeply values its brotherly relations with Iran.

UN envoy cuts short Crimea mission

SIMFEROPOL: UN special envoy to Crimea Robert Serry cut short his mission to the region Wednesday after unidentified gunmen threatened him and ordered him to leave, an assistant travelling with him told AFP.
Serry, who had been sent to assess the situation in the disputed Black Sea peninsula for UN chief Ban Ki-moon, was confronted by gunmen outside the Ukrainian naval headquarters in Crimea's capital Simferopol.
After he was prevented from returning to his vehicle, he dropped into a cafe to use a telephone to alert the mission of the incident, and an angry group of pro-Russian activists briefly blocked his exit, the aide said.
Serry then left on foot for his hotel after his safety was assured, and he was driven to the airport where he was in a lounge waiting for a flight. "He's fine. The self-defence militias in Simferopol have guaranteed his security," Serry's assistant told AFP by phone from the car.
"He wants to fly to Kiev but there is no ticket for him yet. He is hoping that he can leave Crimea without further incident," she said. Serry himself would not speak on the phone. UN deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson said: "He is in good shape physically but he feels threatened."
Serry, a former Dutch ambassador to Kiev who was travelling with a UN colleague, was accosted by gunmen outside the naval headquarters on Wednesday and warned "he should leave Crimea," according to the United Nations.
Serry had arrived only Tuesday in the tense Crimean peninsula, which has come under de facto control by Russian forces. He had already aborted a trip to Crimea last week, saying tensions made it impossible to visit the peninsula.

Strategic convergence? New US envoy talks about Afghanistan, India even ISI

ISLAMABAD: ‘Same page’. ‘Convergence’. ‘Understanding’. Hours after the F-8 Court attacks - and just around the time the “third power” narrative was being floated around in Islamabad as the TTP denied involvement, these were the buzz words that were being pushed at a roundtable chaired by Ambassador Beth Jones.

She is the newly appointed Principal Secretary for the Special Representative to Afghanistan-Pakistan (effectively making her the number two in the broadly empowered US-SRAP establishment that oversees the region for the State Department), who had some indications for a select group of journalists where US-Pak bilateralism is headed:

About the Pak-US relationship at large: Jones said that she appreciated “How much understanding there is, despite difficulty. How the overarching goals we have remain strong. And even when we have a difficult situation we nevertheless keep talking...and reaching what Sartaj Aziz calls these ‘areas of convergence...[Regarding the Strategic Dialogue] the five working groups, each with individual goals, is indicative of where the strategic relationship is going...economic issues, energy issues, trade issues.”

About the Pakistani government’s attempts to reconcile with the Pakistani Taliban: “We are supportive of Government of Pakistan’s stance to counter terrorism. The talks themselves we consider an internal matter.”

About whether Pakistan’s reconciliation plans fit into the US’s agenda for 2014 in Afghanistan: “Yes. We’ve been grateful for Pakistan’s support of the reconciliation process [In Afghanistan]. I’m sorry that it’s not proceeding....[But Pakistan has helped] promote, advocate for Taliban joining negotiations with the Higher Peace Council. We hope that happens.”

About the ‘Zero Option’ across the border: “As it became clear that President Karzai didn’t want to sign the BSA [Bilateral Strategic Agreement] that allows for US troop presence in Afghanistan after 2014]...we made an assessment that we actually had sufficient time to have prudent planning.

The Loya Jirga was fully supportive [about the BSA]. And every one of the [presidential] candidates had said that he would sign the BSA. So we made the judgement that we should be open to that possibility...If the BSA is signed, we will take a different route of planning...[Regarding other Nato alliance members] As for the Nato defence ministers, they took [Karzai’s moves] into account and decided that they understood that zero troops was a possibility but would also plan for other contingencies.”

About a preferred/optimal solution to the Afghan war:“Reconciliation is the way to go...We believe very firmly that the future of Afghanistan will only be decided by Afghanistan, not outsiders.”

About possible convergence with the Pakistani military as it prepares for the potential of a last ‘wrap up’ operation: “There is an extremely strong view in support of the Pakistani government, the Afghan government, or any government working against terrorism...None of us want these groups to be able to continue to kill Pakistanis, to run into courts and do what they’ve done [on Monday].”

About Coalition Support Funds coming through smoothly for the Pakistani military: “We’d like to continue that, as much as possible, to continue counterterrorism work. It’s in the US’s national interest, and also in Pakistan’s.”

On the chances of a civil-nuclear deal between Washington and Islamabad: “Nuclear energy discussion is underway [in the Strategic Dialogue], and a welcome initiative. I don’t know what the end result will be.”About sanctions being placed if the Iran-Pakistan Pipeline went underway: “All sanctions would remain in place, and it would apply to this [Iran-Pakistan pipeline] as well.”

About the Indian role in the region: First, we are very much in support of Pakistani government’s efforts and hard work to find convergence with India, particularly on trade, investment and economic issues. There have been a series of meetings that have been very productive. And a connection with Afghanistan’s [economic future]. No one here has said India shouldn’t have a role in Afghanistan. It should have an economic role in Afghanistan, absolutely.”

About being on the same page with the Pakistani military’s version of fighting terrorism despite serious differences highlighted in 2011: “What we keep hold of is how important it is to know how much we want to fight terrorism. No one in Pakistan wants terrorism to be permitted to be operated from anywhere.”

About Admiral (now retired) Mike Mullen’s infamous allegation that the Haqqani Network was a ‘veritable arm of the ISI’: “He wasn’t speaking for the US government. He was speaking personally.”