Pakistan News
Pakistan Army cancels US trip amid search dispute
Thursday, September 02, 2010, Islamabad: Pakistan's military cancelled a trip by officers to an annual meeting at US Central Command after they were taken off a plane and subjected to "unwarranted security checks" in Washington, an Army spokesman said.
The incident could complicate already sensitive military relations between the US and Pakistan, which are in an uneasy alliance in the fight against Taliban and al Qaeda militants. And it could fall to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen to try to smooth over the issue when he meets on Thursday with Pakistani Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and others.
However, Capt John Kirby, a spokesman for Mullen, said on Wednesday that the chairman "believes this is an issue better addressed by the airlines and has no intention of raising it with Pakistani officials."
During Mullen's daylong visit to Pakistan, he hopes to get an update on Pakistan-US cooperation in bringing relief to victims of the country's devastating floods.
The nine-member Pakistani delegation, headed by a two-star Navy rear admiral, was already aboard United Airlines Flight 727 at Dulles International Airport awaiting take-off to Tampa, Fla — where Central Command is based — when the incident took place on Monday, said Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas.
The delegation was taken off the plane and subjected to "unwarranted security checks" that resulted in their missing their flight, Abbas said. They then called military authorities in Pakistan who instructed them to return home, he said.
One of the officers reportedly had told a flight attendant that he hoped the flight was his last, in reference to their long day's travel from Islamabad. The comment prompted concern and security officials were notified, and the delegation was taken off the plane.
After the matter was straightened out and a decision was made that the passengers could continue their trip, the airline offered to rebook their flight for the next day, said United spokesman Mike Trevino in Chicago.
Increased checks at US airports in response to the threat from Islamist militants after the September 11 attacks are sensitive for many Pakistanis, who complain they are being unfairly singled out.
A group of Pakistani lawmakers on a State Department-sponsored visit to the United States in March returned home early after complaining of excessive security checks and were hailed as heroes by sections of the media on their return.
The United States has given the Pakistani Army billions of dollars over the last 10 years to help it better fight militancy, but the country is very unpopular among many ordinary Pakistanis.
The delegation was the Pakistani contingent of this year's US-Pakistan Military Consultative Committee meeting, an annual session where the two nation's outline military-to-military programs for the following year, said Marine Maj David Nevers, a Centcom spokesman in Tampa.
US officials are trying to reschedule the meeting with Pakistanis, he said.
'China has major presence in PoK’
Thursday, September 02, 2010, Washington: China has massive presence in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said a US-based activist from Gilgit who added that massive investments were made by Beijing in that frontier region to expand the Karakoram Corridor as a strategic pathway.
Washingon-based political activist Senge H Sering, who was in India for over a year until March 2010 as Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), warned the Indian government about the Chinese presence over the years in Pakistani Kashmir.
Sering has spoken about massive investments made by China in the frontier region to expand the Karakoram Corridor as a strategic pathway to the sea lanes linking to West Asia.
Highlighting the multifaceted character of Chinese presence in the Gilgit-Baltistan province, Sering said China-Pakistan cooperation in the corridor includes expansion of the Karakoram Highway (KH), construction of a parallel railway line as well as oil and gas pipelines, which will give China rapid connectivity to Pakistani ports lying in the gateway to the Strait of Hormuz and Suez Canal.
The region's close proximity to Afghanistan, Tajikistan and India, in addition to Tibet and Xinjiang, gives China diplomatic, strategic, logistical and political gains, he said.
He added that by linking the KH to Pakistani ports like Gwadar and Ormara, China will not just gain a strategic footprint and access to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf but also could significantly influence the geopolitics and trade in the Indian Ocean Region as well as Central Asia.
Sering stated that the Gwadar-Karakoram Corridor combination endows China with a massive logistical advantage by significantly reducing the original distance of 16,000 km to a mere 2,500 km for the Chinese industrial areas to the Persian Gulf.
"Similarly, Kashgar, which is 3,500 km away from Chinese eastern shores, finds itself at less than 1,500 km from Pakistani ports near the Strait of Hormuz," he claimed.
The activist warned that when linked to the upcoming Urumqi-Beijing rail link, the commute time from central and eastern China to the Pakistani ports will come to a "mere few hours".
By using the corridor as an alternative supply route, China will be able to embark of huge stockpiling of oil reserves.
The KH expansion project, originally conceived by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, entails the conversion of the highway to a 90-foot-wide expressway. Costing over USD 6 billion, the corridor will also provide a direct link for China and Pakistan to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran.
He observed that Chinese dominance in this strategic Himalayan gateway will be a serious setback to India's strategic interests in this region, including on the Kashmir dispute.
Sering expressed concern that China may use its presence in Gilgit-Baltistan as leverage in its border dispute with India by potentially demanding India's guarantees of non-aggression or claim on the region for similar quid-pro-quos in the western and eastern sectors.
"These interventions are strategic investments in the guise of economic support," he said.
He stated that through the Chinese presence and investments, Pakistan was attempting to offset local disgruntlement over lack of development in this backward region.
More importantly, Pakistan aims to permanently mitigate India's claims of the province, which Senger says is "constitutionally part of J&K, and under Pakistan's illegal occupation since 1947".
World Bank to provide USD 1 billion to Pakistan
Thursday 02 September, 2010: The World Bank will increase its flood-related support to Pakistan to USD 1 billion from the previously announced USD 900 million.
World Bank Group President Robert B Zoellick informed Pakistan's Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh about his decision and emphasised the Bank Group's commitment to help Pakistan recover from the worst floods in its history.
"As the surging Indus River devastates Pakistan, the country needs the world's support to meet urgent humanitarian needs: food, clean water, sanitation facilities, medical and nutritional supplies, and vaccines," Zoellick said after meeting Shaikh.
"At the same time, Pakistan's reconstruction and recovery also require long-term support. The World Bank is committed to help the people of Pakistan during this time of need and has made USD 1 billion available to finance immediate recovery needs and longer-term reconstruction," he said.
The money will come from the Bank's fund for the poorest countries, the International Development Association (IDA), which means that the loans are concessional and carry no interest payments.
This funding is already programmed money for Pakistan that is being diverted to meet immediate needs, the Bank said in a statement.
Zoellick and Shaikh also discussed the government's economic reform programme, institutional and governance arrangements, and the need to mobilize additional resources for flood reconstruction.
"We need to respond strongly to the crisis at hand, but we need to do it without losing sight of important economic reforms," said Zoellick.
100 Indian fishermen released from Pak jail
Thursday 02 September, 2010: A group of 100 Indian fishermen was released from a jail in the southern port city of Karachi today as part of a move by Pakistani authorities to free 442 fishermen who have completed their prison terms.
The fishermen were released from Malir Jail Thursday morning and set off for Lahore to be repatriated to India, prison officials said.
The fishermen are scheduled to cross over to India at the Wagah land border on Friday.
Pakistani authorities freed the first batch of 100 fishermen on 30th August.
The third and fourth batches will be released on 4th September and 6.
All the fishermen were arrested for violating Pakistan's maritime boundary.
A majority of them were held in prison for periods of up to three years even after completing prison terms ranging from six months to a year. Most of them hail from the coastal state of Gujarat.
The government ordered the release of 442 fishermen who had completed their prison terms after the NGOs Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum filed a case in the Supreme Court.
Former law minister Syed Iqbal Haider represented the petitioners in the Supreme Court.
At the last hearing of the case on 26th August, the apex court asked the federal Interior Ministry to explain why 456 Indian fishermen were being held in jails in Sindh province even after they had completed their prison terms.
Pakistani NGOs and rights activists like Ansar Burney have asked the Indian government to reciprocate the release of the prisoners by freeing over 100 Pakistani fishermen currently being held in Indian jails.
Pak commission's refurbished US frigate
Thursday 02 September, 2010: Pakistan has commissioned into its navy a refurbished US frigate that is being supplied under an American foreign military aid programme.
The Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS McInerney was renamed PNS Alamgir following its commissioning into the Pakistan Navy at Mayport, Florida, on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old warship is being refurbished by the US as part of a programme worth nearly USD 70 million. The US Congress approved the sale of the frigate to Pakistan, a "major non-NATO ally", in 2008.
Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, who was the chief guest at the commissioning ceremony, said the induction of the frigate will go a long way in enhancing the country’s capability to provide maritime security in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa.
This ship transfer symbolizes the "strong bond of friendship" between the governments of the US and Pakistan, he said. Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates are operated by US allies and are suited for conducting maritime security operations.
The USS McInerney, which has a displacement of 4,100 tonnes, is equipped for anti-submarine warfare and can carry two helicopters for multiple tasks. After necessary maintenance work and training of a Pakistani crew, the frigate will sail for Pakistan in January 2011.
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