Afghan Taliban free US soldier after five years

PESHAWAR: The Afghan Taliban on Saturday confirmed to have freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, they had abducted in June 2009 from Afghanistan, in exchange of their top Taliban commanders.

“Yes our talks finally proved successful for prisoners’ swap. We returned our valued guest to his countrymen and they released our people, including the top five commanders held in Guantanamo Bay since 2002,” a senior Taliban commander told The News on phone from somewhere in Afghanistan.

Pleading anonymity, he said talks for prisoners’ swap had been going on for the past several weeks. He didn’t mention the name of the country but said a brotherly Muslim country, having sympathies with the Taliban, played an important role in bringing together the Taliban and US officials to help exchange each others’ prisoners.

The Taliban commander said Bowe Bergdahl had mostly been held in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan after what he termed his ‘dramatic’ kidnapping from Afghanistan’s Paktika province in June 2009.

“After the deal was finalised, Bowe was taken to Ali Sher town of Afghanistan’s eastern Khost province by the third party and delivered to Americans. We don’t know further what happened to him,” the Taliban commander said.

According to the Taliban, they had informed Bergdahl a few days ago about his likely release but he didn’t believe as before this he was once handed over to members of the Quetta Shura or council, the decision-making body of the militants, for his scheduled release in exchange for the five commanders two years ago when they started peace talks with US in Qatar.

“The talks at that time failed and he was again handed over to his captors and that’s why he didn’t trust when was told about his likely release,” he recalled.

He claimed Bergdahl has made several friends among the Taliban but his suffering began when his close friend and senior Taliban commander, Maulvi Sangeen Zadran was killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan tribal region last year.

“He was actually kidnapped by the militants of Maulvi Sangeen and that’s why the late commander would love him and take care of him,” the Taliban commander said.

Before his release, the Taliban claimed he was given a traditional Afghan turban as a gift.

“It is war in which they kill us and we kill them but we did whatever we could to make him happy and return with good memories,” the Taliban commander said.

The Taliban commander claimed they finally got back their five prisoners including Mulla Fazal Akhund, Noorullah Noori, Abdul Haq Waseeq, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Mohammad Nabi in exchange for the US soldier.

“We initially demanded the release of these people. They arrived in Qatar and joined their families,” he said.

According to Taliban sources, Mulla Fazal Akhund, who belongs to the Kakar tribe and is from Derawad in the central Urozgan province, was the Taliban army chief at the time of his capture.

Mulla Fazal was reportedly leading his fighters in northern Afghanistan where he surrendered to Uzbek warlord General Abdur Rasheed Dostum on condition that he won’t be handed over to the US.

Gen Dostum later handed over him and several hundred other Taliban prisoners to the US reportedly after taking money from the Americans. Noorullah Noori, who hails from Ghazni province, was the governor of Balkh province, while Khairullah Khairkhwa served as Afghanistan’s interior minister during the Taliban rule and also remained the governor of Herat province.

He belongs to Spin Boldak village in Kandahar province sited near the Pakistani border town of Chaman. Abdul Haq Waseeq was the deputy Taliban intelligence chief when he was captured. He belongs to Paktia province. Similarly, Mohammad Nabi was an important military commander when the Taliban were in power. He belongs to the Haqqani network.

Time to rein in horrors crippling free speech: CJA

 

ISLAMABAD: The attempted assassination of one of Pakistan’s best-known journalists demands purposeful action at all levels of government, law, police and community - and revived Commonwealth and international action, said Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) in a statement released Thursday.
It said: “It’s time for all authority to say “Stop. We’re sick of this. And we won’t take it any more.”This weekend Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir was shot and seriously injured when his car was ambushed in Karachi. That alone deserves decisive action.

Hospital doctors said major surgery has made his condition stable. That, at least is one blessing. But Mir is just the latest in a wave of attacks against the profession - in Pakistan and far beyond.

Pakistani journalists have paraded in protest, but sincere as their passions are, it’s not enough. A special judicial commission is being assembled to bring the attackers to justice - and finally, it is hoped, to address the impunity associated with these repeated brutal, fear-building, society-wrecking crimes.

The impunity enjoyed by the criminals and killers is a Commonwealth-wide issue, varying only in degree of horror and disgrace. There should be attention to that in every country where this news is heard.

In the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed its alarm at the pattern of brutality directed at those in the media. In Britain and Canada the Commonwealth Journalists Associations have echoed their horror. But civic voices are not enough. It’s time for hard meaningful action to stop this festering of civilization. It needs top down treatment.

The brutal, threatening and too often deadly treatment of journalists, compounded by intemperate religious rifts, is intensifying with devastating dangers to democracy and more specifically, to innocent citizens. It is time to stop it.

Many Commonwealth journalists - too many of our own in nations claiming to be democracies - are forced to do their vital work in savage circumstances. Disappearances, assassinations, crippling injuries, arbitrary arrests, anonymous thuggery and indefinite imprisonment occur too often without rebuff.

Subtler media silencers focus on “action” against journalists’ family members, or applied destitution. In any of its many forms this must be challenged with vigour by enlightened politicians in government, their civil servants, police systems and legal communities. All must be held accountable, be they perpetrators, promoters or excusers turning a blind eye.

Failure to address this grievous shortcoming of civilization demands exposure, censure and punishment of individual perpetrators and those empowering them in government. Continued perpetuation by venal elements at higher levels in Commonwealth governments should draw censure from the Commonwealth Secretariat and invite serious consequences. After fair examination, corrective action should range through severance of aid at corporate and/or national levels, suspension of Commonwealth membership or, in extremis, national expulsion, in the absence of verifiable remedy. The world should be ashamed in the face of this injustice and impunity.

Pakistan offers free trade accord to S Korea

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday offered South Korea a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and strategic business partnership for the next three years and expressed the resolve that the South Korean investors would be provided with all the facilities in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif extended these commitments during a meeting with the Republic of Korea Prime Minister Chung Hongwon, who called on him along with a high-level delegation at the PM House.

Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan was happy to witness the progress and development of the Republic of Korea and they were interested to learn from the Korean experience.

“Moreover, the two governments must promote interaction and cooperation between their private sectors and regular interaction between the respective Boards of Investment and chambers of commerce and industry,” he added.

While discussing the economic prospects, he said that it was heartening to note that the trade between the two countries had reached $1.6 billion in 2012. “Pakistan has proposed a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that covers trade, investment and services so that trade between the two countries could be further enhanced,” he added.

Nawaz Sharif appreciated the ‘Joint Business Forum’ organised by KOTRA (Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency) and Board of Investment, Pakistan, on the sidelines of this visit and expressed the hope that as an outcome of the Business Forum, the Korean companies would be engaged in energy, infrastructure development, railways and telecommunication sectors. He stressed for preparing a Country Partnership Strategy between the two countries for the next three years (2013-15). “The Lahore- Islamabad Motorway bears testimony to the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries and we want to replicate and enhance such cooperation in other fields,” he added.

Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan offered huge opportunities to the Korean business companies in energy generation, including hydel, wind, solar, biomass and coal generation and Pakistan would appreciate if the Korean companies participated in initiatives such as the Gadani Power Park and Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park. He said that construction of offshore and onshore LNG terminals also offered investment opportunities to Korean companies and Pakistan would welcome and facilitate Korean capital and technology in these sectors.

He said that the Free Economic Zone, along with the Pak-China Economic Corridor, also offered investment opportunities to Korean investors. “In this Economic Zone, Korean SMEs can establish JVs in manufacturing sector to cater for a large and growing domestic market as well as Korean and regional markets,” he added.

He invited Korean financial institutions to start their operations in Pakistan adding that opening of a branch of a Korean bank in Pakistan would boost business between the two countries.

Cooperation in science and technology, bio-engineering, information technology and exchange of human resources and other areas of common interest with Korea were also discussed. The PM thanked the Korean government for looking after 900 Pakistani students and expressed the hope for increasing scholarships being offered to Pakistani students.

The Korean prime minister thanked PM Nawaz Sharif, the government and the people of Pakistan for extending a warm welcome during his visit. Chung Hongwon said that Pakistan and Korea should expand their trade, economy and energy sectors and enhance the bilateral relations by increasing personnel exchanges in the private sector. Views were also exchanged on regional and international issues.

Earlier, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of three MOUs between Pakistan and Korea on trade, industry and energy. The MOUs were signed by Muhammad Shahzad Arbab, Secretary Commerce from Pakistani side, and Han Jinhun, Vice Minister for Trade and Energy from the Korean side.

Before the delegation-level talks, the two premiers held one-on-one meeting. While welcoming the Korean PM, Nawaz Sharif said, “We are very happy to host you as the first-ever Korean prime minister to visit Pakistan since the establishment of our diplomatic relations 31 years ago. It is my government’s resolve to strengthen and expand the relations with the Republic of Korea in all fields,” he added. He said that the traditional cordial relationship between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea needed to be transformed into a substantive partnership in trade, investment, energy and infrastructure.

Later, the PM hosted a lunch in the honour of the visiting delegation. Dr Song Jong-hwan, Korean Ambassador to Pakistan, Cho Taeyul, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Han Jinhyun, Vice Minister for Trade and Energy from the Chinese side, and Engineer Khurram Dastagir, Minister for Commerce, Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Syed Tariq Fatmi, Special Assistant to PM from the Pakistani side, attended the meeting.

Taliban should have free zone facility: Rustam Shah

PESHAWAR: Government negotiation committee member Rustam Shah Mohmand Sunday claimed the Taliban made no formal demand for the release of prisoners and said it was merely their wish, Geo News reported.

Talking to British media, Rustam Shah Mohmand said that the government was mulling over the issue of release of prisoners and added if some one has been arrested without any evidence, then his release would definitely be considered.

He said Taliban has already been told that the government would continue ceasefire ever after the expiry of deadline.

Rustam Shah Mohmand denied any deadlock in the negotiation and said it was a phase-wise process, which would be completed gradually.

The government committee member said that Taliban should have free zone facility, where they could move about without fear.