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Dawn: Nawaz to visit Turkey for Afghanistan summit

Source:  http://www.dawn.com/news/1086341/nawaz-to-visit-turkey-for-afghanistan-summit

Nawaz to visit Turkey for Afghanistan summit

APP

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will also meet President Gul and PM Erdogan to review bilateral relations with focus on economic cooperation. – File Photo

Published 2014-02-11 20:31:10

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will leave for a three-day visit to Turkey from February 12 to 14 to attend the 8th trilateral summit being held in Ankara over issues related to Afghanistan.

A Foreign Office spokesperson, giving the details, said the trilateral summit will be attended by the leaders of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Prime Minister would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, he added.
The Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral process was launched in 2007 and the last summit was also held in Ankara in December 2012.
It is an important platform for high-level dialogue, security cooperation, and economic development partnership on the issue of Afghanistan.
The theme of the 8th Trilateral Summit is “Sustainable Peace in the Heart of Asia”.
The summit is taking place in the backdrop of important political and security transitions in Afghanistan, including presidential and provincial council elections being held on April 5 this year and the draw-down of Nato forces by the end of 2014.
Prime Minister Sharif has articulated a forward-looking vision of a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood, defined by close, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Afghanistan, said the FO spokesperson.
“His participation in the Ankara Summit is part of the efforts to help strengthen the process of stabilisation in Afghanistan in concert with international partners.”
Pakistan has extended consistent support for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and remains committed to working with Afghanistan as well as the international community for sustainable peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, he said.
The Ankara trilateral summit would carry forward the process of constructive engagement and leadership exchanges on the evolving situation as well as matters of common interest.
During the summit, the Pakistani premier is set to have extensive interaction with Turkey's President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai.
Senior members of the prime minister's delegation will also have meetings with their respective counterparts in trilateral formats.
Separately, PM Nawaz Sharif will meet President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan to review the wide spectrum of bilateral relations with focus on economic cooperation.
The prime minister will also meet with the heads of major Turkish companies in Istanbul, said the FO spokesperson.

Al Jazeera: Pakistani government and Taliban hold talks

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/02/pakistani-government-taliban-begin-talks-201426115523340140.html

Pakistani government and Taliban hold talks

The first formal meeting between the Pakistani government and a Taliban-nominated team is described as "cordial". Last updated: 06 Feb 2014 18:42

A long-awaited first round of peace talks between the Pakistani Taliban and the government has been held in Islamabad after numerous delays and growing doubt over the chance of their success. The two sides met on Thursday for a preliminary meeting likely to chart a "road map" for future discussions, amid deep scepticism over whether dialogue can yield a lasting peace deal. The talks will resume on Friday. Pakistani Taliban fighters have been battling for years to topple the central government and establish Islamic rule, but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif believes the movement is now ready to find a negotiated settlement and stop the fighting. In a statement after the meeting, which lasted over three hours, the two sides stressed their commitment to dialogue. "Both committees concluded that all sides should refrain from any act that could damage the talks," it said. "Both condemn recent acts of violence in Pakistan, saying such efforts should not sabotage the talks." Irfan Siddiqui, a government negotiator picked by Sharif, sent a text message from the meeting to the Reuters news agency, describing the atmosphere as "cordial and friendly". The peace initiative, which Sharif announced just as many were anticipating a major military offensive on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) strongholds in the North Waziristan tribal area, got off to a chaotic start earlier this week. The government delegation missed the planned opening meeting on Tuesday saying they were unsure of who was representing the TTP at the talks and what powers they had been given. Fragile security Underlining the fragile security situation, a suicide bomber on Tuesday killed eight people in a sectarian attack against minority Shia Muslims in the northwestern city of Peshawar, just hours after the abortive start to the talks. The main TTP spokesman denied they were behind the blast but a commander for the group in Peshawar told the AFP news agency his men were responsible, saying no ceasefire had been announced. Stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan is seen as important to neighbouring Afghanistan, where US-led NATO troops are pulling out after more than a decade of war. Washington has said it is watching the talks closely. It has long been pushing Pakistan to take action against armed groups using the tribal areas as a base to attack NATO forces across the border. One of the TTP's negotiating team, Maulana Abdul Aziz, said on Wednesday that there was no chance of peace unless the government agreed to the armed group's demand for Islamic law to be imposed throughout Pakistan. The government has insisted that Pakistan's constitution must remain paramount. 422

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

BBC: Who's who in the Pakistan-Taliban peace talks?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26072034



6 February 2014 Last updated at 11:01 ET

 

Who's who in the Pakistan-Taliban peace talks?

Government negotiator Irfan Siddiqui (L) and Taliban representative Maulana Sami ul-Haq

The men charting the "roadmap" for peace talks are well-known figures in Pakistani politics, media and religious life.

Government-nominated team

Chief negotiator Irfan Siddiqui is the special assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national affairs. A renowned journalist and columnist for the top-selling Urdu newspaper Daily Jang, Mr Siddiqui is well-known for his conservative views and is a strong critic of the US-led war in Afghanistan. On a number of occasions he has voiced support for the Taliban insurgency against US forces in Afghanistan.

Rahimullah Yusufzai is a political and security analyst and an expert on the Taliban, Afghanistan and Pakistan's north-west tribal region. Based in the city of Peshawar close to the Afghan border, he has been has been covering the Afghan conflict since the Soviet invasion in 1979 and interviewed Osama Bin Laden and the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He is the editor of The News daily in Peshawar, and has also been a correspondent for Time magazine and the BBC.

Rustam Shah Mohmand used to be Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan and is a senior member of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf party led by former cricketer Imran Khan. Mr Mohmand is a specialist on Afghan affairs and a renowned security analyst. He was Pakistan's chief commissioner for refugees for about 10 years.

Major Mohammad Amir is a former official of the ISI intelligence service who once gave training and logistics to the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Maj Shah belongs to a religious family. His father founded a seminary which preaches the hardline Deobandi and Wahhabi strain of Sunni Islam. The Pakistan Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah received his religious education at the school.

Taliban-nominated team

Taliban team (L-R): Professor Ibrahim Khan, Maulana Sami ul-Haq and Maulana Abdul Aziz

Maulana Sami ul-Haq, dubbed the "father of the Taliban" by the media, is an influential Pakistani cleric and politician whose teaching are thought to have influenced the Taliban movement. Maulana Haq is the director of one of the biggest Pakistani madrassas, Darul Uloom Haqqania, which has been seen as the incubator for radical fighters during the early 1990s. Maulana Haq once described the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar as one of his best students and an "angel-like human being". He leads a faction of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (Party of Islamic clergy) and was twice elected to Pakistan's senate.

Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz is a staunch advocate of enforcing Sharia (Islamic law) in Pakistan. He was the prayer leader of the controversial Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, which was the site of a military siege in 2007 during former President Pervez Musharraf's rule. Maulana Aziz was captured during the operation when he tried to flee the mosque disguised in a burka. He was released in 2009 after 21 months in detention. He has issued numerous edicts declaring music, films and photographs of women to be moral evils.

Ibrahim Khan is a former senator from the tribal region of Bannu. He is the head of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial chapter of the Islamist political party Jamaat-i-Islami, which is a vocal supporter of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The party recently caused controversy when it called the Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike, a martyr.

International Crisis Group: Policing Urban Violence in Pakistan - 23 January 2014

Source: mass emailing

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT Policing Urban Violence in Pakistan Islamabad/Brussels, 23 January 2014: Jihadi and criminal violence is wreaking havoc in Pakistan's provincial capitals, eroding stability and public confidence in the government's ability to restore law and order and enforce the writ of the state, while exposing Pakistan's religious minorities to ever intensifying confessionally-driven violence. In its latest report, Policing Urban Violence in Pakistan, the International Crisis Group looks at the drivers of deadly violence in the four provincial capitals – Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar – and identifies ways to confront it. While political, ethnic, religious and socio-economic tensions play into the hostilities, the escalating violence is largely a product of poor governance, inappropriate security policies and neglected police reform. Extremist groups and criminal gangs exploit the state's failure to provide basic services, economic opportunities and the rule of law to establish recruitment and patronage networks. To restore stability, there is an urgent need for – along with a mix of political and economic measures – thorough reform of the urban policing system. The report's major findings and recommendations are: The federal and provincial governments should develop a coherent policy framework, rooted in providing good governance and strengthening civilian law enforcement, to tackle the jihadi threat and criminality. Countering jihadi networks also requires coordination and collaboration between the governments' law enforcement institutions. Instead of relying on the military or paramilitary forces to restore order, the provincial governments should modernise and reform the police, guaranteeing that officers confronting terrorist and criminal gangs have adequate security and operational autonomy. Islamabad and the provincial governments must prevent any militant jihadi organisation from fundraising, recruiting and otherwise operating freely in all four provinces and the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). They must disband all state-supported militias and take action against political party members, paramilitary personnel and others providing logistical, financial or other support to militant groups or criminal gangs. The federal government should not negotiate with tribal militants that do not first renounce violence and commit to abiding by the constitution. "Police are demoralised and paralysed by political interference and lack of adequate resources and political support, but they could become effective if properly authorised and given institutional and operational autonomy", says Samina Ahmed, Crisis Group's South Asia Project Director and Senior Asia Adviser. "Negotiations with tribal militias without preconditions or a clear roadmap are unwise and can only expand the space for jihadi networks countrywide", says Jonathan Prentice, Crisis Group's Chief Policy Officer. "Instead, the state must adopt a policy of zero tolerance toward all forms of militancy". Executive Summary | Full PDF Report More Information Executive Summary Full PDF Report Media Contacts Samer Ibrahim Abu Rass (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635 Kimberly Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1602 media@crisisgroup.org Follow Crisis Group

Dawn: Police and Anti Terrorist Force (ATF) conducted a raid at the private jail of former provincial minister education and member of Balochistan Assembly, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran on Sunday.

Source:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1080047/women-and-children-rescued-from-private-jail-of-balochistan-mpa

BARKHAN: Police and Anti Terrorist Force (ATF) conducted a raid at the private jail of former provincial minister education and member of Balochistan Assembly, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran on Sunday.

Police said seven people including two women, three children were recovered from the private jail of the former provincial minister.

Six proclaimed absconders were also picked up by ATF and police. Police recovered arms and ammunition from their possession.

Earlier on Sunday, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran surrendered to police in the aftermath of the registration of the kidnapping case against him in Barkhan Police Station.

Police had registered cases against Khetran, his son and eight others for kidnapping three policemen and snatching weapons from them.

A senior police official who declined to be named told Dawn.com that a team of police comprising personnel of ATF was already dispatched to Barkhan to arrest the Sardar. "Before the arrival of ATF party, Sardar Khetran surrendered before police", he added.

Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran is the member of Balochistan Assembly and he belongs to Jamiat Ulema Islam (F).

He remained provincial minister for education in the past and several times elected as member of Balochistan Assembly.

The police officer said that Sardar Khetran had subjected the police personnel to torture after kidnapping and snatched weapons from their possession. "We will not spare anyone targeting the police", he said.

However, Sardar Khetran contradicted police allegations and termed the registration of case as politically motivated.

"I am in opposition therefore I am being targeted," he said.

There has been no reaction from his religious party since registration of case against him.

Dawn Internet News Alert: DINA for the issue of January 14, 2014

Source: mass emailing

	January 14, 2014 | Rabi-ul-Awwal 12, 1435
The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news service from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the Daily DAWN.
Defiant official sent on forced leave By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: After 'sorting out' two top bureaucrats, the government sent Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) Tahir Mahmood on forced leave and replaced him with Ghuzanfar Ali Jilani, a grade-20 officer, on Monday.	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995
SC allows poll delay in Sindh, Punjab By Nasir Iqbal and Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has allowed the Election Commission of Pakistan to withdraw the local government elections schedules for Punjab and Sindh and announce new dates after completing prerequisites. A three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani accepted the ECP's request to be allowed to change the dates of LG polls after listening to Additional Attorney General Shah Khawar who had been asked by the court to assist it in the hearing of an application of the commission. The application had been filed by Advocate Akram Sheikh.
Security beefed up By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD: Extraordinary security measures have been taken for Eid-i-Miladun Nabi to be celebrated across the country on Tuesday. There is a ban on pillion riding and cellphone service is likely to remain suspended in major cities and towns from morning till evening. Sources in cellular phone companies said they had been instructed to suspend the service for eight to 10 hours.
Polio cases on rise in Pakistan By Asif Chaudhry LAHORE: In its first global analysis for 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that Pakistan is the only polio-endemic country which reported more polio cases last year than in 2012. The analysis cited 'non-uniform routine immunisation coverage' with several areas having abysmally low routine immunisation coverage as major challenges which needed focus on fighting the crippling disease.
India marks three polio-free years NEW DELHI: India marked three years since its last reported polio case on Monday, meaning it will soon be certified as having defeated the ancient scourge in a huge advance for global eradication efforts. India's polio programme is one of the country's biggest public health success stories, achieving something once thought impossible thanks to a massive and sustained vaccination programme.
Justice, TV style By Maleeha Hamid Siddiqui THE episode's title sequence opens with a view of Gotham City-like place with shadowy skyscrapers looming in the background and ambulances racing by with sirens wailing. The camera then pans to a burly host clad in a military combat vest, with stubble and sunglasses, hands on his hips, standing next to a large bullseye. This is not the trailer of a Batman movie nor of the Anil Kapoor-helmed TV show 24 but one of several non-fictional crime shows currently running on Pakistani news channels. The hosts of these shows identify so-called social evil in any city, carry out their own investigation and inform the police, who are happy to carry out a raid.
'Indian army chief making inflammatory statements' By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army accused Indian army chief on Monday of making inflammatory statements that could damage efforts for lowering tensions between the two neighbouring countries. "Accusations and provocative statements are regrettable and counter-productive," military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said.
IHC order about CNG creates confusion By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD: Two divergent decisions on gas supply to CNG stations by the Lahore and Islamabad high courts have put the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) and its domestic consumers in a tight spot. The Lahore High Court disallowed last week a petition seeking restoration of supply to CNG stations and held that the government's gas load management policy was on the right track.
Malik's appointment as Nadra chief declared legal By Malik Asad ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court declared on Monday that the appointment of Tariq Malik as chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority was legal. In a short order, Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi set aside notifications issued by the federal government about removal of Mr Malik and appointment of retired Brig Zahid Hussain as acting chairman.
US explains nuclear deal with Iran By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON: Iran will receive $4.2 billion from blocked overseas funds and about $7 billion of benefits from sanctions relief for concluding an interim nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries, US officials said on Monday. The first instalment of $550 million will be released on Feb 1 and the rest will in six instalments. The entire fund, blocked in the West due to a nuclear dispute with the West, will be transferred to Iran by July this year.
Indian gang 'raped 59 women in two years' By Our Correspondent NEW DELHI: A gang of nine men arrested earlier this month have told the Chittoor police in Andhra Pradesh that they raped 59 women in the last two years, NDTV news channel reported on Monday. It said that according to Y. Harinath Reddy, a senior policeman investigating the rapes, 16 of these cases were on record. In the other alleged cases, the victims appeared not to have filed complaints, NDTV quoted him as saying.
Protesters launch Bangkok 'shutdown' BANGKOK: Huge crowds of Thai opposition protesters occupied major streets in central Bangkok on Monday in an attempted "shutdown" of the capital, escalating a campaign to unseat the embattled premier. The demonstrators want Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign to make way for an unelected "people's council" that would oversee reforms to curb the political dominance of her billionaire family and tackle a wider culture of money politics.
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