US missile strike kills three in South Waziristan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistani intelligence officials say an American missile strike has killed at least three people in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.
The two officials say a pair of missiles struck a house near the town of Wana in South Waziristan on Tuesday.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with reporters.
Washington has fired scores of missiles into northwest Pakistan since 2008 to target Taliban and al-Qaida operatives.
The latest strike comes at a time when tension are already high between Washington and Islamabad following a recent claim by a top US military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, that Pakistan’s main spy agency backed those militants who carried out attacks against American targets in Afghanistan. Pakistan has denied the allegation

Resolution to stop aid moved in US Congress

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers are continuing their assault on Pakistan here and quietly moved a resolution in Congress, asking for cutting all but nuclear-safety assistance to the country.
The move contrasts sharply with recent efforts by US and Pakistani governments aimed at reducing tensions over Islamabad’s alleged links to the Haqqani network of militants.
On Monday evening, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, spoke with Ambassador Husain Haqqani and conveyed Washington’s desire to deescalate tensions.
Mr Grossman is believed to have told the ambassador that “the US considers Pakistan an ally and despite challenges and disagreements will continue to work with the country’s democratic leadership”.
Also on Monday, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh met US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and both agreed to resolve the dispute through “diplomatic means”, official sources said.
“Mr Nides agreed that current adversarial heights and the war of words need to be reduced,” said a diplomatic source.
In another move aimed at de-escalation, Mr Grossman and Ambassador Haqqani plan to address a joint news conference on Wednesday and talk about the efforts both sides have so far made to overcome the crisis.
But temperatures remain high in both chambers of the US Congress where lawmakers continue to attack Pakistan, with some even suggesting that Washington should now encourage India to take a higher profile in Afghanistan.
The current crisis in bilateral relations began last week after scathing remarks by Admiral Mike Mullen, outgoing Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke openly of the links between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and the Haqqani network.
Soon after the admiral’s statement, Congressman Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, tabled H. R. 3013, also known as the Pakistan Accountability Act, a piece of legislation which, if passed by Congress, will freeze all US aid to Pakistan with the exception of funds that are designated to help secure nuclear weapons.
The Pakistan Accountability Act stipulates that:
(a) Prohibition:- Except as provided in subsection (b), assistance may not be provided to Pakistan under any provision of law.
(b) Exception:- Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to assistance to ensure the security of nuclear weapons.
(c) Effective Date:- This Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to amounts
allocated for assistance to Pakistan that are unexpended on or after such date.
“Ever since we found Osama bin Laden living the high life in Abbottabad, we’ve had our suspicions about Pakistan,” Congressman Poe told the House while introducing the resolution.
“Turns out they are disloyal, deceptive, and a danger to the United States. This so-called ally takes billions in US aid, while at the same time supporting the militants who attack us.”

Ties with China hailed: Gilani cautions US on negative messaging

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned the United States on Tuesday to stop accusing it of playing a double game with militants and heaped praise on ‘all-weather friend’ China, promising maximum support to the neighbouring country in fighting separatists.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, speaking to Reuters, said any unilateral military action by the US to hunt down militants of the Haqqani network inside Pakistan would be a violation of his country’s sovereignty.
The outgoing chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, last week described the Haqqani network as a “veritable arm” of the ISI.

“The negative messaging, naturally that is disturbing my people,” the prime minister said. “If there is messaging that is not appropriate to our friendship, then naturally it is extremely difficult to convince my public. Therefore, they should be sending positive messages.”

Asked why the United States had suddenly ratcheted up its criticism of Pakistan, the prime minister implied that it reflected Washington’s frustration with the war in Afghanistan ahead of a withdrawal of US troops from the country in 2014.

“Certainly they expected more results from Afghanistan, which they have not been able to achieve as yet,” he said. “They have not achieved what they visualised.”

Rejecting allegations that Pakistan was behind any violence across its border, he said: “It is in the interest of Pakistan to have a stable Afghanistan.”

Prime Minister Gilani also pointed out that the US did not help itself when it struck a deal on civilian nuclear cooperation with India but not Pakistan.

“There is an acute shortage of electricity in Pakistan. And there are riots. And the opposition is playing to the gallery because there is a shortage of electricity,” he said.

“But they (the US) are doing the civilian nuclear deal not with Pakistan, but with India. Now how can I convince my public that they are your (Pakistan’s) friends and not the friends of India?… the perception matters.”

CHINA: In comments broadcast on television networks after his talks with Chinese Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu, Mr Gilani said Pakistan and China “are true friends and we count on each other”.

“China’s enemy is our enemy, we will extend our full cooperation to China on security,” he said.

“We will cooperate with you to the extent you want us to cooperate,” he said.

“Pakistan-China Friendship is higher than mountains, deeper than oceans, stronger than steel and sweeter than honey,” a statement issued by the prime minister’s office quoted him as saying.

China last month said camps in Pakistan were training “terrorists” from an Uighur group blamed for two attacks in July in the Xinjiang region that left 21 people dead.The Chinese minister also held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and military chiefs.The military said the talks focused on the “emerging geo-strategic situation” in the region and the Chinese leader “appreciated” the role played by Pakistan’s armed forces “in the fight against terror”.

“We will work together to contribute to national security and regional stability,” Mr Meng told reporters.

Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also thanked the visiting leader for China’s “unwavering support”.

During the visit, Pakistan and China signed agreements worth $250 million in Chinese assistance, the president’s office said.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, at the United Nations on Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Beijing to open a dialogue with Washington on Pakistan.

“We have stated this before, but there’s clearly an urgency given recent developments and also given the close relationship that exists between Pakistan and China,” a State Department official said in a briefing to reporters

Six Pakistani suspects charged in UK terrorism plot

Six Pakistani nationals have been charged with planning an act of terrorism in Britain, as part of a plot that included training in Pakistan, preparing for suicide bombings and constructing an explosive device, the police said. The men, aged 25 to 32, are all from Birmingham, Britain’s second-largest city. Four were charged with “preparing for an act of terrorism in the U.K.,” and the other two were charged with failing to disclose information. A seventh man was being questioned, the West Midlands police force said in a statement. The men were arrested last week in a raid led by the counterterrorism unit of Britain’s West Midlands police. The police have given no details of the alleged plot, but a police statement said that the arrests were part of a “major operation” prompted by intelligence work, a formulation that has often been used to describe a lengthy period of surveillance, including phone-tapping, by police undercover units and Britain’s secret intelligence and security agencies, MI5 and MI6.

Chinese Vice Premier leaves for home

Chinese Vice Premier Meng Jianzhu on Tuesday returned after concluding two-day official visit to Islamabad. The Chinese Vice Premier, who is also the State Councillor was seen off by Interior Minister Rehman Malik at the Chaklala Airbase. Pakistan’s ambassador to China Masood Khan and China’s ambassador Liu Jian were also present. Meng Jianzhu held meetings with Pakistani leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. He also met top military brass.

PM Gilani warns US against “negative messaging”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday complained of negative messages from Washington and warned that any US raid across the Afghan border to target Haqqani group insurgents would be a violation of his country’s sovereignty.

“The negative messaging, naturally that is disturbing my people,” Gilani told Reuters in an interview. “If there are messages that are not appropriate to our friendship, then naturally it is extremely difficult to convince my public.”

“We are a sovereign country. How can they come and raid in our country?” he added, when asked how Islamabad would respond if there was a unilateral military operation by the United States inside Pakistan

Pakistan thanks China for its “unwavering support”

ISLAMABAD:

                           Pakistani officials have been heaping praise on China since its public security minister arrived here on Monday for high-level talks as Washington piles pressure on Islamabad to cut ties with a militant group blamed for attacks on US targets.

“We are true friends and we count on each other,” Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said in comments broadcast on television networks after talks with Meng Jianzhu on Tuesday.
“Thank you once again…for (the) supportive statement in favour of Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity.”
Washington accuses Pakistan’s powerful ISI spy agency of directly backing the Afghan Taliban-allied Haqqani network and of providing support for the Sept. 13 attack on the US Kabul mission.
Pakistan furiously rejected the allegations and warned the United States that it risked losing an ally if it kept publicly criticising Pakistan over the militant groups.
Making the point that Pakistan has other friends, President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement: “In these peculiar circumstances when the country was grappling with many challenges simultaneously, Chinese assistance has been most welcome in stabilising the situation.”

The military, Pakistan’s most powerful institution, also said it appreciated its giant Asian neighbour’s support. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani thanked Meng for China’s “unwavering support”.

“They (the Pakistanis) are trying to use their diplomatic options as much as possible to defuse pressure on them. They hope China will help them in this crisis,” said security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.

China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather friends” and their close ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbour, India, and a desire to hedge against US influence across the region.

After the United States killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, China called the event a “progressive development” but also defended the Pakistani government, which has been criticised in the US for failing to find bin Laden, if not harbouring him.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Pakistan has made “important contributions in the international fight against terrorism”.

“China understands and supports Pakistan’s formulating and implementing its counter terrorism strategy based on its national conditions,” said Hong.

The United States seems frustrated at its inability to influence Pakistani policy on militants.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi at the United Nations on Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Beijing to open a dialogue with Washington on Pakistan.

“We have stated this before, but there’s clearly an urgency given recent developments and also given the close relationship that exists between Pakistan and China,” a State Department official said in a briefing to reporters.

During Meng’s visit, the two sides signed $250 million in economic and technical agreements, Zardari’s office said.

China is a major supplier of military hardware to Pakistan and also a major investor in areas such as telecommunications, ports and infrastructure.