All stand united for national defence

ISLAMABAD-

Mounting threat of US attack on Pakistani soil after Islamabad’s blunt refusal to blindly implement Washington’s orders against the Haqqanis has generated a national fervour for country’s defence, swinging Prime Minister Gilani into action.

The premiere Sunday contacted leaders of all shades of opinion to take them on board and inform that he was going to call an all-party conference in the days ahead to hammer out with consensus a strategy to deal with the situation. The mainstream political parties across the national spectrum vowed to go to any extent to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, vowing to stand by the government and the army in this noble cause.

Gilani, who met President Asif Ali Zardari later the same day, also asked Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to immediately return from New York after her address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. A PM House spokesperson said the premiere Sunday spoke to the foreign minister twice and asked her to forcefully project Pakistan’s point of view on that important platform.

The prime minister’s initiative of direct contacts with all the political leaders was appreciated by all political quarters who are concerned over the gravity of the situation because of the widening divergences between Pakistan and the United States.

PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, JUI-F amir Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami amir Syed Munawwar Hasan, Awami Muslim League President Sheik Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan, PML-Q Likeminded President Salim Saifullah Khan, PPP-S Chairman Aftab Sherpao, JUP President Maulana Anas Noorani and Fata leader Munir Orakzai are among the leaders the prime minister talked to.

The prime minister told the political leaders that they would be given a briefing on the situation and then in the light of their suggestions a strategy would be framed. No date has been set, though various political leaders said the APC would be held during the next few days.

Although there have been ups and downs in the past in the relations between the two allies in war on terror, the ties plummeted to the lowest ebb when the United States alleged that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supported the Haqqani group, an accusation Pakistan strongly denies, and a number of its officials issued threats that the US could launch ground attack in Waziristan to get the Haqqanis.

A session of the National Assembly has already been called for October 3 to discuss the situation arising out of the US allegations of “exporting terrorism” to Afghanistan. It is believed the APC would be held much before the NA session.

Political leaders have different assessments about the likely course the US could take in the changed situation. However, all leaders are of the view that the US has lost the battle in Afghanistan despite spending billions of dollars over the past 10 years and was now trying to make Pakistan a scapegoat.

Some leaders said that they told the premier that he has taken the initiative very late. Still, they said, it was a step in the right direction.

Following the contacts by PM Gilani with mainstream political parties, PTI Chairman Imran Khan contacted JI amir Syed Munawar Hasan on telephone and discussed with him the situation, suggesting him to formulate a joint strategy for participation in the APC.

PTI chief Imran Khan said that if US attacked Pakistan, the nation would stand against the US. He said that he would attend all parties’ conference as it is for the national cause.

Senator Zahid Khan of ANP said that Pakistan is a sovereign state and cannot be run on the foreign dictation. He said that any foreign interference in Pakistan would not be tolerable.

PML-Q Senior Vice President Sheikh Waqqas Akram said that the Core Commanders Conference in this situation was a need of the hour. He said that the nation has full confidence on his military and political leadership and would welcome every decision being made by them. He further said that the people of Pakistan stand united with Pakistan army and ISI. He said that the international community should recognise our sacrifices in the war against terror and the US doesn’t try to blame Pakistan for its failures.

When contacted, Senior MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that every nation in the world has its own interest, which they serve with their full efforts. Sometimes situation requires some specific measures. In case of internal and external pressure, Rizvi said, “We should always serve our national interest.” To a question, he said that this is very serious situation and needs to be dealt with wisdom. The government and other forces are united for the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan.

CIA created Haqqani network, says Malik

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that Haqqani network was created and trained by Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.

Talking to reporters at a ceremony held by Islamabad police in connection with the seizure of a large cache of weapons, the minister said: “The Haqqanis have no links with Pakistan and they are operating from Afghanistan. Those claiming otherwise should give a credible evidence of its presence in Pakistan.”

The interior minister’s statement came in response to the US allegations that the Pakistan government and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had close links with the network and were complicit in the attacks on US interests inside Afghanistan.
Mr Malik said Pakistan never blamed the CIA or Afghanistan directly over various attacks in Mohmand Agency or other areas in Pakistan. The government, he said, was determined to eliminate terrorism and the future of Pakistan was safe because of the unity of the nation against this menace.
“Any aggression from the outside or mischievous activity from the inside will not be tolerated. Pakistan’s sovereignty will never be compromised and everyone will stand with the Pakistan army and law-enforcement agencies to counter any challenge,” he said.

He said that no compromise would be made on Pakistan’s sovereignty because the country suffered a loss of $68 billion in the fight against terrorism.

Mr Malik called for a strong immigration system on the Pakistan-Afghan border and urged the international community not to forget Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. “No one will be allowed to enter into Pakistan without immigration,” he said.

Answering a question about the cross-border infiltration of terrorists, the minister said: “We have been asking the Afghan government for last three years for installation of biometric system on the border to stop movement of terrorists but the neighbouring country does not respond.”

He said the government was fully cooperating with the US but even then it was being blamed for patronising the militants.

Mr Malik said that Pakistan was promised for capacity building of security forces but only a meagre support was extended in that regard.

“I appreciate President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for providing Rs5 billion to enhance the efficiency of law-enforcement agencies in Sindh,” he said.

He said that several areas, including cooperation in the fight against terrorism, capacity building, drug smuggling and other issues would be discussed with the Chinese deputy prime minister and other officials at high level.

The minister said that some terrorists wanted to disrupt peace in Islamabad by attacking important buildings and information regarding them would be shared with the media after their arrest.

He said that Islamabad Police had foiled a bid to smuggle a large cache of arms, including six mini machine guns, 14 Kalashnikovs, four 12 bore pump action, one 12 bore double barrel, one sniper rifle and over 30,000 rounds from a vehicle near Motorway interchange.

Gun attack at Kabul ‘CIA compound’: officials

KABUL:
                A compound in Kabul used by the US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) came under attack Sunday, officials said, the latest in a series of assaults in the Afghan capital.
Afghan interior ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqui said police had heard “a couple of minutes” of gunfire from inside the Ariana Hotel compound at around 9.15pm.
“Our police heard there were some shots from inside the Ariana compound,” he said. But he added that Afghan forces could not go inside as the site “belongs to coalition forces” and was “not within the reach of police”.
An Afghan government source speaking anonymously to AFP said the Ariana compound was used by the CIA.
A US official in Washington confirmed an attack against a facility used by US officials in Kabul, telling AFP “the situation is fluid, and the investigation is ongoing” over the incident.
The CIA declined to comment.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Kabul, Gavin Sundwall, also said he could not comment on the incident.
Major Jason Waggoner, spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Kabul, confirmed that “there were shots fired” near the hotel but did not have further details.
The attack came amid escalating violence in the capital which earlier this month saw a 19-hour siege which targeted the US embassy and also the assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Washington has accused elements of the Pakistani state of supporting the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network which it blames for the September 13 embassy attack, and tensions between the US and Pakistan have reached an unprecedented level.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the weekend the US allegations would only benefit the militants, and that they “betray a confusion and policy disarray within the US establishment on the way forward in Afghanistan”.
His comments came after top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen on Thursday directly accused Pakistan’s intelligence service of supporting the network’s attack on the embassy and a truck bombing on a Nato outpost.
The Haqqani network, which has a fighting force of at least 2,000 men, operates independently of the Taliban leadership but remains politically subservient and would fall behind any peace deal the insurgents negotiated.

Pakistan ‘will not launch’ Haqqani offensive

ISLAMABAD:

                           Pakistan will not launch an offensive against Haqqani militants despite Washington ramping up the pressure after a series of attacks on US targets in Afghanistan, an official said Monday.

Pakistan’s army chief of staff gathered together his top generals in an extraordinary meeting at the weekend after a series of stinging rebukes from the Americans blaming the Haqqanis and Pakistani intelligence over attacks.

General James Mattis, commander of the US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, became the most senior US commander to hold talks with Pakistani generals in Islamabad since the pressure mounted.

“I don’t think the indicators are as such,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP when asked if the army was going to launch an operation in North Waziristan, where the Haqqani leadership is allegedly based.

Instead, he said, the military needs to “consolidate gains” made against local militants who pose a security threat elsewhere in Pakistan’s tribal belt that Washington has branded an Al-Qaeda headquarters.

Pakistan army chief Kayani visits UK

LONDON: Britain’s Ministry of Defense says Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is visiting Britain amid growing US outrage over allegations Pakistan’s military spy agency helped militants attack US targets in Afghanistan.

The ministry says Kayani is expected to meet privately with the UK’s Defense Minister Liam Fox on Monday. It declined to comment further.
The top US military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, last week accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency of supporting an Afghan insurgent group suspected of involvement in an assault on the US Embassy in Afghanistan on Sept. 13 as well as a truck bomb that wounded 77 American soldiers days earlier.
Kayani, widely considered the most powerful man in Pakistan, has dismissed the allegations as baseless.

Haqqani group was once CIA’s “blue-eyed boy”, says Khar

NEW YORK:-

                        Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the Haqqani group that the US holds responsible for last week’s attack against the American embassy in Kabul was
CIA’s “blue-eyed boy” for many years.

Responding to questions during an interview with Al Jazeera television, Khar, who is in New York leading Pakistan’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, rejected US accusations against Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), saying it has no links to the Haqqani network.
“If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links,” she said.
“And this particular network, which [the United States] continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years.”
When asked about Admiral Mike Mullen’s statement that the Haqqani group “acts as a veritable arm” of ISI, the foreign minister said: “It is something that goes very, very unappreciated on our side. This is unsubstantiated. No evidence has been shared with us.”
Partners and allies, she said, do not talk to each other through public statements.
Pakistan had taken up the matter with the United States, but the spate of hostile statements coming from senior US officials meant that Washington had taken policy decision. If that was the case then “we have the right to make our own decision”, she said.
Ms Khar said that scapegoating and blame games would not help and that Pakistan wanted to be a partner of the US.
“I just hope that we’ll be given a chance to co-operate with each other and the doors will remain open — because statements like this are pretty much close to shutting those doors,” she added.
Replying to a question, Ms Khar said drone attacks not only violated Pakistan’s sovereignty, they were also counterproductive, and greatly angered the people of Pakistan.
“I think we must not be tested more than we have the ability to bear,” she added.

US, Pakistan need to improve ties: Blake

ISLAMABAD:-

                             US Deputy Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake said that there was a need to enhance ties with Pakistan and help the people of Pakistan who were facing political, economic and security problems.

Talking to VOA on Monday, he said that it was important for all of us to move forward and work together.

“We need to help the people and the government of Pakistan in resolving their political, economic and security problems and in fact it is the time to focus on these issues,” he said.

He said that Pakistan’s role in the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan was important and the United States wanted Pakistan on its side in the future strategy as it was a valuable ally.