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.

UN Council holds first talks on Palestinian bid

The UN Security Council on Monday held its first talks on the historic Palestinian bid for UN membership amidst frenzied lobbying for and against the application. International powers also stepped up demands for Israelis and Palestinians to end the one-year old freeze on direct talks, with China and Germany becoming the latest at the UN summit to call for negotiations. The Palestinian bid at the Security Council faces an uphill struggle however and diplomats held out little hope that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas or Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would allow talks any time soon. Abbas made his application for Palestinian membership to UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Friday and it was sent straight away to the Security Council which must approve any addition to the 193 members. The United States has vowed to veto any resolution in favor of the Palestinians, but a technical committee will examine the application putting back any vote for several weeks.

China supports Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity

China on Tuesday categorically extended full support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and vowed to work with it for progress and peace in the region and the world. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani who met the Deputy Premier of China Meng Jianzhu here at the PM House termed China as its close friend. He said a friend of China is Pakistan’s friend, its enemy Pakistan’s enemy and China’s security Pakistan’s security. He said the two countries together can progress and prosper and bring the dividends of development to their people. The meeting was also attended by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Foreign secretary Salman Bashir and Ambassadors of both the countries. Chinese Deputy Prime Minister said Pakistan was the only country enjoying all-weather friendship with China.