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 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.

Testing times for Nawaz as Afghan soil used to sabotage dialogue

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISLAMABAD: The Monday’s Islamabad attack is a test of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s nerves and his capabilities both to secure the future of the peace process and unmask and counter those who are hell-bent to sabotage the talks.
Ironically, it is an Afghanistan based Pakistani militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Islamabad attack which yet again exposed the failure of our intelligence and security agencies as well as the vulnerability of soft targets for terrorists all over Pakistan.

Within 48 hours of the TTP’s unilateral ceasefire announcement and after 14 hours of the government’s reciprocal gesture of halting its air strikes against the Taliban targets, the Islamabad terrorist attack came as a shocker for the whole nation.

It was a “drone” of a different type. Though the government has not yet concluded who did it, the militant group Ahrarul Hind has claimed responsibility. It is a splinter group of the TTP based in Kunar, Afghanistan. This militant organisation used to operate from the Mohmand Agency first.

On Feb 13, 2014, The News, Rawalpindi, had published the statement of Ahrarul Hind’s spokesman in which he had announced to dissociate itself from negotiations between the government and the TTP and had warned that it would continue with its terrorist attacks inside cities and settled areas.

The report had identified the group as “hitherto unknown splinter group of the Taliban”, which announced that it would not abide by any ceasefire agreed to between the TTP and the government of Pakistan unless the Islamic Shariah was enforced throughout Pakistan.

Quoting a statement issued by Asad Mansoor of the group, the report said that the TTP mujahideen were their brethren but the group was not bound to follow a ceasefire of any kind with the government if they agreed to it.

According to the statement, the Ahrarul Hind has been assembled under Amir Maulana Umar Qasmi, who will lead the group independently if the talks between the govt and the TTP succeed.

The News report of Feb 13th clearly said this militant organisation was earlier active in Mohmand Agency but now its centre had moved to Kunar, Afghanistan.

“We will now continue our activities (previously conducted with other Jihadi organisations including TTP) on our own by the grace of God,” the last month statement as published in The News said, adding, “We belong to the urban areas of Pakistan and so will restrict our activities to the urban areas.” The Ahrarul Hind statement was dated February 9 and written in Urdu.

This statement of Ahrarul Hind was issued in the backdrop of the setting up of committees by the government and the TTP to find a negotiated solution to terrorism. However, the talks process was suspended last month after the FC men’s killing was owned by Umar Khalid Khurasani led Taliban group of Mohmand Agency.

Now the ceasefire has already been announced, but an Afghanistan based militant group has claimed responsibility for the Islamabad incident. The reported last month execution of FC men was also done in Afghanistan. Last year’s peace effort got derailed following the killing of Hakeemullah Mahsud by a US drone.

At the very initiation of the dialogue process, it was feared that the process would face serious challenges, particularly from those forces internal and international elements who did not want the talk process to succeed.

This is what seems to be happening and from across the border. It has become a diplomatic and international challenge for the Nawaz government though Sartaj Aziz had asked Kabul not to allow its soil as a launching pad against Pakistan.