Naming..Shaming..and Taming pakistan-Full Version

[sorcerer]

Terror funding case against Hurriyat brass solid, brace for more arrests - NIA

The National Investigation Agency may have finally got a "watertight" case against the Hurriyat brass in the J&K terror funding case, with five accused and witnesses recording statements under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code -which is admissible as evidence in court -detailing the transfer of funds sourced from Pakistan to top leaders of the separatist outfit.

Added to this is documentary proof seized during NIA raids on the premises of one of the arrested persons, recording payments made by the Kashmiri conduit to the who's who of Hurriyat, from funds received from Pakis tan-based sources via the hawala route.

TOI has learnt that NIA has got one of the arrested persons, a close aide of a top Hurriyat leader, as well as four others to record statements before a magistrate disclosing the role of Hurri yat leaders in passing on terror funds received from Pakistan, including through conduits based at its high commission in Delhi, to trouble-makers in the Valley.

Sources indicated that the arrested person who has made the confessional statement under Section 164 of CrPC may be made 'approver'.

A source said the statements recorded under Section 164 as well as documentary evidence collected by the NIA during the course of the investigation could nail the role of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq as well as JKLF boss Yasin Malik in funding violent protests in J&K at the behest of Pakistan-based masterminds.

With "enough" evidence in hand on the terror funding role of Hurriyat leaders, the NIA hopes to question top separatists, including Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik. This, incidentally , is being planned even as there is a view in a section of the government that it may be a good time to get the cornered Hurriyat to blunt their anti-government rhetoric and fall in sync with the government's line on J&K.

Incidentally , other arrested accused in the case too have signalled their willingness to record statements before a magistrate. However, NIA is not in favour of their request to be made approver witnesses, and wants to retain them as accused in the case.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...rass-solid-feels-nia/articleshow/60909093.cms

 

[Kshatriya87]

Work on mega hydel project on Chenab river that flows into Pakistan to start in 2 months

Work on the Rs 4,640.88-crore Kiru hydroelectric project on the Chenab river, which flows into Pakistan, would start within two months, a senior government official said.

District Development Commissioner (Kishtwar) Angrez Singh Rana and General Manager of Kiru project, Varinder Salman, visited the 624-megawatt Kiru and 540-MW Kwar hydroelectric project sites yesterday.

"Various bottlenecks causing hindrances in the execution of the projects were discussed at length and immediate directions were issued for its resolution at the earliest," Rana told PTI.

He said the major work of the "run-of-the-river" Kiru project, near Patharnakki village in Kishtwar district, will start within a period of two months.

A run-of-the-river project is a type of hydroelectric plant, where a river's water is not held back in a reservoir, but flows back into the river after generating electricity.

The project proposed on the Chenab river, a tributary of the Indus, envisages construction of a 123-metre high dam with an underground powerhouse consisting four units of 156-MW each.

Rana said the affected families said they had not received compensation for their land, structures and fruit trees which were acquired for the projects.

Salman said non-payment of compensation was one of the reasons behind the delay in the execution of infrastructure work.

He directed revenue officials to identify a chunk of state land for the rehabilitation of affected families, who were assured by him of timely compensation.

Rana said the families would get proper training,so that they get jobs when the work on the project starts.

The Union environment ministry had given its nod to the Kiru and Kwar hydroelectric projects in July last year and April this year respectively. Both the projects are expected to be completed in 54 months each.

The projects would be developed by the Chenab Valley Power Projects (CVPP)--a joint venture among National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), state power body JKSPDC and Power Trading Corporation (India).


http://www.business-standard.com/ar...tart-in-2-months-official-117100100240_1.html

It's not going to block water. Water will still flow into Pakistan.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sorcerer]

It's not going to block water. Water will still flow into Pakistan.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

But with reduction in speed and volume.

 

[Kshatriya87]

If Pakistan builds a dam downstream, volume wouldn't matter after a few months. They'll have enough reserves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sorcerer]

Pakistan's ISI has clear links with terror, runs its own policy: US

Highlights

• US defense secretary James Mattis said if Pakistan doesn't rein in terror " "sure it will be" an option to take away its 'major ally' status
• The US defense secretary said he'd "like to think we will be successful," in putting pressure on Pakistan
• "There's an awful lot of advantage to Pakistan coming on line with the international community," said Mattis

NEW DELHI: Pakistan's intelligence agency clearly has links with terrorist groups+ , said the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Joseph Dunford on Tuesday, according to Washington publication The Hill.

US defense secretary James Mattis went a step further and said that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence+ even "appears to run its own policy".

Both officials were testifying at the US Senate Armed Services Committee on the US's strategy in Afghanistan+ . On the same day, they also testified at the House Armed Services Committee on the same subject.

"We've seen the government of Pakistan come down on terrorists, when the ISI appears to run its own policy," said Mattis, according to Russia Today.

When asked if taking away Pakistan's status as a major non-Nato ally is an option on the table if it doesn't act to immediately to rein in terror, Mattis's response was, "sure it will be."

Pakistan, of course, continues to deny there is state or institutional support for terrorists, but the US isn't buying that falsehood, said Dunford.

"It is clear to me that the Inter-Services Intelligence has connections with terrorist groups," said Dunford, in his testimony at the Senate hearing.

Still, both Dunford and Mattis said they're willing to work with Pakistan "one more time" before taking punitive measures against the country.

"We need to try one more time to make this strategy work with them, by, with and through the Pakistanis, and if our best efforts fail, President (Donald) Trump is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary," said Mattis said at the House hearing, reported The Hill.
The US defense secretary said he'd "like to think we will be successful," in putting pressure on Pakistan, especially with upcoming visits to Islamabad by US assistant secretaries and national security staff to discuss a clampdown on terror.

If nothing else, Mattis believes the fact that Pakistan is getting increasingly isolated diplomatically, which will then affect it economically, should act as some sort of catalyst for action.

"I think that right now with the growing consensus against terrorism, they'll find themselves diplomatically isolated, they'll find themselves economically in increasing trouble as countries that are damaged by this terrorism coming out of there say enough is enough and take steps," he said.

"There's an awful lot of advantage to Pakistan coming on line with the international community."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...olicy-top-us-general/articleshow/60934697.cms

 

[SanjeevM]

Pakistan's ISI has clear links with terror, runs its own policy: US

Highlights

• US defense secretary James Mattis said if Pakistan doesn't rein in terror " "sure it will be" an option to take away its 'major ally' status
• The US defense secretary said he'd "like to think we will be successful," in putting pressure on Pakistan
• "There's an awful lot of advantage to Pakistan coming on line with the international community," said Mattis

NEW DELHI: Pakistan's intelligence agency clearly has links with terrorist groups+ , said the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Joseph Dunford on Tuesday, according to Washington publication The Hill.

US defense secretary James Mattis went a step further and said that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence+ even "appears to run its own policy".

Both officials were testifying at the US Senate Armed Services Committee on the US's strategy in Afghanistan+ . On the same day, they also testified at the House Armed Services Committee on the same subject.

"We've seen the government of Pakistan come down on terrorists, when the ISI appears to run its own policy," said Mattis, according to Russia Today.

When asked if taking away Pakistan's status as a major non-Nato ally is an option on the table if it doesn't act to immediately to rein in terror, Mattis's response was, "sure it will be."

Pakistan, of course, continues to deny there is state or institutional support for terrorists, but the US isn't buying that falsehood, said Dunford.

"It is clear to me that the Inter-Services Intelligence has connections with terrorist groups," said Dunford, in his testimony at the Senate hearing.

Still, both Dunford and Mattis said they're willing to work with Pakistan "one more time" before taking punitive measures against the country.

"We need to try one more time to make this strategy work with them, by, with and through the Pakistanis, and if our best efforts fail, President (Donald) Trump is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary," said Mattis said at the House hearing, reported The Hill.
The US defense secretary said he'd "like to think we will be successful," in putting pressure on Pakistan, especially with upcoming visits to Islamabad by US assistant secretaries and national security staff to discuss a clampdown on terror.

If nothing else, Mattis believes the fact that Pakistan is getting increasingly isolated diplomatically, which will then affect it economically, should act as some sort of catalyst for action.

"I think that right now with the growing consensus against terrorism, they'll find themselves diplomatically isolated, they'll find themselves economically in increasing trouble as countries that are damaged by this terrorism coming out of there say enough is enough and take steps," he said.

"There's an awful lot of advantage to Pakistan coming on line with the international community."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...olicy-top-us-general/articleshow/60934697.cms

Nothing is going to change Pakistan. They doesn't think with their heads. They are guided by mullahs who interpret Quran to spread hate. They want Islam to rule the world. US and Europe are Kafirs as per their interpretation. They have only one dream. Meet 72 hoors.

It's time US and international community deal with terrorism in all forms with iron fist. All terrorists should be burnt after they are killed to deny them 72 hoors.

 

[sorcerer]

Nothing is going to change Pakistan. They doesn't think with their heads. They are guided by mullahs who interpret Quran to spread hate. They want Islam to rule the world. US and Europe are Kafirs as per their interpretation. They have only one dream. Meet 72 hoors.

It's time US and international community deal with terrorism in all forms with iron fist. All terrorists should be burnt after they are killed to deny them 72 hoors.

Its not about if pakistan changes or not.
its all about how the rest of the world deal with pakistan.
India is making pakistan UNTOUCHABLE..one step at a time.

 

[sorcerer]

Pakistani Media on India Latest News : पाकिस्तान का नया ला de न ! Pakistan exposed in us TODAY 2017


pakistans new terror head.
Hamza Bin Laden

 

[sorcerer]

Big win for India, EU pledges to join fight against Lashkar, Jaish

After the summit, India and the EU also inked three pacts which included one on an international solar alliance. "We have adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism in which we agreed to counter violent extremism and radicalisation, particularly online, and to deal effectively with the threat by foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist financing and arms supply," PTI quoted European Council President Donald Franciszek Tusk as saying.


http://zeenews.india.com/india/big-...join-fight-against-lashkar-jaish-2048305.html

 

[sorcerer]

Afghanistan cancels trade meet with Pak, wants to include India

The Afghanistan government has called off a meeting with a Pakistan delegation which deals with the implementation of a transit treaty on trade as the Kabul government wants India to be included in the deal, a report said.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority(APTTCA) is a crucial trade body whose responsibility is to ensure smooth implementation of the trade treaty between the two countries.

The agreement was signed in 1950 to allow Afghanistan to import duty-free goods through Karachi and allow it access to Lahore and Karachi harbour.

The intention of the pact was to deny Afghanistan land or sea route to India to export goods.

A report in Pakistan's Dawn said Afghan officials want India to be "part of the bilateral and trilateral transit trade pact".

The Afghan government has begun to realise limitless opportunities in trade potential with India and is now looking to find ways open a space for New Delhi in its future dealings with Pakistan.

However, Pakistan does not want India to be directly included in the deal even though its trade with Afghanistan has fallen significantly in the past two years.

Pakistan officials cite the frequent closing of the Afghan-Pakistan border as the major reason behind the decline in trade, Dawn reported.

However, Reuters yesterday quoted a Pakistan border commander saying that the government intended to create a "Berlin wall-style" border wall to deny militants from entering the country.

"(A border wall) was there in Germany, it is in Mexico. It is all over the world – why not in Afghanistan and Pakistan?" said Col. Muhammad Usman, commander of Pakistan's Frontier Corps paramilitary force in Chaman.

The move is attributed to the Trump effect - creating border walls to safeguard domestic interests.

Pakistan on its part has been trying hard to get Afganistan on its side, a report in Dawn said on Tuesday that foreign minister Khawaja Asif had told VOA Urdu in Washington that he intends to bring the Taliban and the Afghan government to the negotiating table through the quadrilateral peace process.

The move was once again aimed at isolating India.

The Quadrilateral Cooperation Group comprising of Afghanistan, the United States, China and Pakistan hopes to meet in Muscat, Oman next week to take steps to end the Afghan war.

http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/a...de-meet-with-pak-wants-to-include-india-21274

 

[sorcerer]

India calls for action on Pakistan-N Korea nuclear-missile links


India has called attention to the Pakistan-North Korea nuclear-missile nexus and said the international community should act against those involved in such deals.

"The international community should take a united stand against those who indulge in or benefit from clandestine (nuclear) proliferation linkages," Amandeep Singh Gill, India's principal disarmament affairs diplomat, told the General Assembly's Committee on Disarmament on Thursday.

"India also remains concerned about proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies, which has adversely impacted India's national security," he said while expressing concern over North Korea's nuclear activities.

Although he did not name Pakistan, the implications of the remark were clear in the context of Pyongyang's nuclear tests.

The two countries have traded missile technology for nuclear know-how with Islamabad's top atomic scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan playing a key role.

Pakistan's nuclear-for-missile technologies cooperation going back to at least the 1990s has been confirmed by United States officials and documented by US and international media.

Gill's statement follows India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's call last month for an investigation into the nuclear-for-missile ties between those two countries when she participated in a tri-lateral meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

She did not name Pakistan either, but hinting at it she said that North Korea's proliferation linkages must be explored and those involved be held accountable.

Gill, who is India's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, said: "It is a matter of deep concern that DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) has acted in violation of its international commitments.

"We call upon DPRK to refrain from such actions which adversely impact peace and stability in the region and beyond," he said.

Gill also denounced an effort by Mexico and five other countries that call themselves the "New Agenda Coalition" to move a resolution demanding that India give up its nuclear weapons and sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"The question of India joining the NPT as NNWS (non-nuclear weapon states) does not arise," Gill said. "At the same time, we support upholding and strengthening global non-proliferation objectives."

Speaking on behalf of the group, Mexico's Alternate Permanent Representative Juan Sandoval Mendiolea said on Wednesday that their resolution would urge "India, Israel and Pakistan to accede to the (Non-Proliferation) Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon states promptly and without conditions, and to place all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards."

The group that includes Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico did not make a similar demand on the other nuclear powers, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - or even North Korea.

"We have updated our agenda and we hope our friends will renew theirs and focus on the real implementation deficits on non-proliferation and disarmament," Gill said.

Although it was not a party to the NPT, he said that "India abides by the principles and objectives of the NPT, including its nuclear disarmament aspirations. India is committed to making its contribution to strengthening non-proliferation."

Gill reiterated India's commitment "as a responsible nuclear power" to "a policy of credible minimum deterrence based on a No First Use posture and non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states".

"We remain committed to maintaining a unilateral voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing," he added.


http://www.defencenews.in/article/I...Pakistan-N-Korea-nuclear-missile-links-404077

 

[sorcerer]

How US and India can join hands to tame Pakistan

After US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Pakistan a "reliable partner" and Defence Secretary Gen James Mattis talked of trying “one more time” to work with Pakistan to stabilise Afghanistan, it appeared for a moment as though the US could once again be slipping back into the "abused wife syndrome" in its dealings with Pakistan.


Impression

This impression got further strengthened after the top US military official Gen Joseph Dunford said that the ISI had connections with terror groups and later Gen Mattis added that Pakistan had done a lot in the border areas to come down on the terrorists — the strategic equivalent of an abused wife saying "he batters me, but is basically not a bad guy".

Most abused wives often harbour fond hopes that their husbands will reform and are forever ready to give another "last chance". But sometimes there comes a point of inflection when abused wives decide it is just not worth persisting with the relationship unless the husband cleans up his act.

At that stage, the wife walks out and does the relationship equivalent of what strategists call the Samson Option. Increasingly, it appears that notwithstanding the talk of giving Pakistan one last chance, the US has reached that point of inflection where it is preparing to "separate" from Pakistan and perhaps even exercise the divorce option.

It isn’t as though until recently the Americans were clueless about the double-game and double-cross being done by the Pakistanis. But they persisted with the relationship with Pakistan, sometimes cajoling, other times imploring the Pakistanis to kick their fatal addiction to jihad.

The reason was in part strategic. The losses in men and material being suffered by US forces in Afghanistan were seen as being far less than the strategic cost of breaking off with Pakistan and seeing it become a concubine state of the Chinese.

Plus, there was the whole issue of supply lines that depended on Pakistan. But in part the reason for not taking on Pakistan was also psychological — the Americans had a long relationship with the Pakistanis and jeopardising it, much less breaking it, wasn’t seen as an option.

In recent months, however, a lot has changed. Pakistan is already a virtual Chinese colony and nothing that the Americans say, do or give to them is going to pry Pakistan loose from the Chinese embrace.

Second, the conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated alarmingly. The US could remain nonchalant over Pakistani involvement in the Taliban-led insurgency only if it was ready to lose Afghanistan to the jihadists. This could deal a body blow to the entire US-led war on terror.

But the most important change was the Trump presidency. For all the disparaging comments made about him, Donald Trump has displayed a far higher degree of realism and hard-headedness in dealing with the beast called Pakistan than all his more "intellectually" inclined, diplomatically refined and politically correct predecessors.

In a way, Trump has upended the way the US dealt with the AfPak issue and has declared that his administration is ready to do what needs to be done to fix the Taliban threat in Afghanistan, even if this means fixing Pakistan first.


Game of chicken

For the moment, however, both the US and Pakistan are playing the game of chicken to see who will back down. The statements, interviews and calculated media leaks from senior officials of both countries are a mix of some sweet talk and lots of tough talk.

The Americans, for example, have been letting Tillerson play good cop to National Security Advisor Gen HR McMaster’s bad cop — the latter’s meeting with the Pakistani foreign minister lasted only about 10 minutes in which, according to the grapevine, the Pakistanis were given a list of things to do and metrics by which they would be judged.

For their part, the Pakistanis are resorting to the usual bluff and bluster, only they aren’t really impressing anyone in Washington. Essentially, the two sides are laying out their red lines, signalling their negotiating positions and indicating their wish-list. The idea is to build pressure on the other side and tilt the forthcoming dialogue in their own favour.


Candid

The deck is however hugely loaded in favour of the US. Gen Mattis was candid when he said that the US had “an enormously powerful number of options” — economic, financial, diplomatic, military – to use against Pakistan.

Not only is the US indicating it will bring in all elements of national power to force compellence on Pakistan, it will do so in conjunction and collaboration with its other allies. While the US has plenty of punitive options to arm-twist Pakistan, the most potent leverage it has is the India card.

Nothing riles or scares Pakistan more than India getting political, diplomatic, military, strategic and economic advantage over them. When Trump announced his South Asia policy, it wasn’t so much what he said about Pakistan as the role he gave India that really shook the Pakistanis.

Similarly, Gen Mattis’ questioning of the Chinese "One Belt, One Road" project and his reference to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passing through the disputed territory, has left the Pakistanis badly rattled.

Even if both these statements were trial balloons, the Pakistani reaction to them bears out the utility of the India card. Imagine for a moment the Pakistani reaction if the US was to hold out the threat of changing its currently neutral position on Kashmir in India’s favour?

Given that both the US and India have a strategic convergence on Afghanistan and Pakistan, there is an opportunity for the two countries to cooperate and coordinate imaginatively and effectively in using the India card to force Pakistan to do what both countries want it to do — eliminate the jihadist terror groups and dismantle the Islamist terror infrastructure inside Pakistan. The only question is whether India is ready to play this game

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/naren...-united-states-afghanistan/story/1/20052.html

India is already playing the game..
The only question is how its played next

 

[sorcerer]

US should support independent Balochistan: American lawmaker


Highlights

• Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said Pakistan needs to remember what happened in 1971, referring to developments in then East Pakistan which later on became Bangladesh.
• "The Baloch are also persecuted, mainly persecuted by the Pakistanis who have them under their thumb, and they murder people constantly," he alleged.

The US should support the Baloch people and other oppressed groups in Pakistan, who are being subject to grave human rights violations for demanding the right to self-determination, a senior American lawmaker has said.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said Pakistan needs to remember what happened in 1971, referring to developments in then East Pakistan which later on became Bangladesh after years of Pakistani human rights abuses and persecution of the local population.

Resource-rich Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populated province, has been wracked by a long-running separatist insurgency which has seen brutal repression by Pakistani security forces and enforced disappearances.

"When the people of Bangladesh wanted to be a little independent of the Pakistani government, have some way to control their own lives and control their own government, they were brutally repressed by the Pakistani government, and that is what led to, basically, the uprising of the people in Bangladesh when they freed themselves," Rohrabacher said yesterday in the US House of Representatives.

That same type of oppression is continuing not only against the Baloch, but also against the Muhajirs who came over from India after Partition, he said.

Rohrabacher said the Muhajirs do not want to be subjugated by "this corrupt, militaristic, pro-terrorist" government of Pakistan.

"We should be siding with people like that who want their independence and believe in these same values that we believe in," he said, adding, the US needs to be supporting the Baloch.

"The Baloch are also persecuted, mainly persecuted by the Pakistanis who have them under their thumb, and they murder people constantly," he alleged.

"This is the history of Pakistan. Right now they are doing it to the Baloch, to the Sindhis, you name it. You have got just a group of people, except for the Punjabis and then others, the Pashtuns, who control that government in Pakistan," Rohrabacher said.


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...an-american-lawmaker/articleshow/61071098.cms

"This is the history of Pakistan. Right now they are doing it to the Baloch, to the Sindhis, you name it. You have got just a group of people, except for the Punjabis and then others, the Pashtuns, who control that government in Pakistan," Rohrabacher said.

So Even US wants pakistan split into Baloch, Singh,Punjab, Pushtun

Interests are converging and pakistan is not shaping up.

 

[sorcerer]

Doval in Kabul as talks begin in Muscat for Afghan-Taliban settlement

Ajit Doval, national security adviser, rushed to Kabul on Monday to confer with Afghan leadership even as the quadrilateral coordination group (QCG) met in Muscat to reopen the question of a political settlement between theTalibanand the Afghan government.

In a statement, MEA said, Doval and his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar "emphasised that bilateral and sincere regional cooperation is important for peace, security and stability in the region. Both sides welcomed the opportunities created by the new US strategy for bringing peace and security to Afghanistan. It was agreed to further strengthen strategic dialogue and consultations for achieving the shared objectives."

India is not a part of the QCG but is closely following the Afghan talks. India has involved itself much more in Afghan politics and security in recent years, but a more overt Indian role would be a red rag to Pakistan, a fact they are not shy about expressing. Afghanistan, Pakistan, US and China sent senior officials to the talks in Muscat, which was chosen as the venue after Turkmenistan refused to host the talks.

India's "role" will be as before — increased economic assistance and supporting Afghan government politically and in international forums. Since India is not prepared to put boots on the ground in Afghanistan, there is a limit to what India can do there. Pakistan believes it has clawed its way back into US' good books after the Canadian-US rescue and has refused to help if India was given any role in Afghanistan.

The sixth round of QCG talks, restarting after over a year, is expected to assess whether Pakistan has "done enough" in the past year, said senior Afghan sources to TOI. The QCG collapsed in 2016 after Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was struck down by a US drone in Pakistan. Sources said the current round of talks was only meant for the four countries to pick up the threads. Afghan officials have openly laid the blame for the stalled talks on Pakistan's refusal to act against the Taliban.

The Taliban have so far not agreed to join the current round of talks, but Pakistan is under a lot of pressure to "deliver" them to the table.


The talks were preceded by the first senior officials' talks between US and Pakistan in Islamabad. This week, though, Trump has been all sweetness and light after Pakistan army "rescued" five US-Canadian nationals from the Haqqani network.


The resumption of QCG comes after a Moscow meeting of the SCO contact group on Afghanistan, where India was represented by secretary in MEA, Ruchi Ghanshyam. Indian officials are looking forward to a meeting of the 6+1 grouping also on Afghanistan.


The Trump strategy, said sources, can only succeed if the diplomatic outreach is matched by a robust military strategy on the ground. The latter includes the lifting of some of the restrictions of military engagement for western soldiers, that had been imposed by the Trump administration. An official explained that this means ground forces can call in air support for a larger number of reasons.


In addition, the ANSF received their first Black Hawk helicopters from the US last week, signalling an important shift away from sourcing their defence equipment from Russia. Afghan ambassador, Shaida Abdali had said they expected the ANSF to get about 200 aircraft by 2020, which, he believes, will make a big difference in the war against terror groups in Afghanistan


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...roup-meets-in-muscat/articleshow/61105048.cms


The sixth round of QCG talks, restarting after over a year, is expected to assess whether Pakistan has "done enough" in the past year, said senior Afghan sources to TOI.

pakistan has "DONE ENOUGH" Damage in the region last year keeping their credibility high as a terror sponsor

 

[sorcerer]

Afghan President Ghani to visit India ahead of Pakistan trip


President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani is expected to visit India in two weeks before his trip to Pakistan, a reliable source said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Pakistan chief of army staff Javed Qamar Bajwa invited President Ghani to visit Islamabad. Afghan ambassador to Islamabad Hazrat Omar Zakhelwal said the president accepted the invitation.

However, he said, the details and time of the visit would be ascertained and determined after both countries held joint consultations.

On the other hand, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with President Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah on Monday in Kabul.

Doval reportedly extended an invitation on behalf of Prime Minister Narenda Modi to Ghani to visit India and the invitation was accepted.

A reliable source, who did not want to be named, told Pajhwok Afghan News that Ghani would travel to India before Pakistan in two weeks time.'''

https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/10/17/ghani-visit-india-ahead-pakistan-trip

 

[sorcerer]

Nirmala Sitharaman takes aim at China, Pakistan in Asean meeting

In her first foreign trip as defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman fired shots across the bows of both China and Pakistan on Tuesday, without naming the two countries.

Addressing the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Manila, Sitharaman called for safeguarding freedom of navigation, over flight and commerce in regional waters – a key concern of East Asian states that must live with an increasingly powerful and assertive China.

Taking aim at China’s growing penchant for unilateralism, Sitharaman stated: “Nations should resolve maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. We support a rules based order for oceans and sea that is critical for the continued growth and development of the Indo-Pacific region.”


Deploring the recent nuclear and missile tests conducted by North Korea – or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – India pointed the finger at China and Pakistan for their widely suspected proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies to that country.

“It is important that DPRKs’ proliferation linkages are investigated and those who have supported its nuclear and missile programme are held accountable”, said Sitharaman.

On terrorism, Sitharaman stated: “The transnational activism of terrorist groups, the spectre of returning foreign fighters and the conduct of irresponsible states that provide safe havens, funding and even encouragement to terrorist groups all need to be addressed together and comprehensively. Terrorism anywhere is a threat everywhere.”

Maintaining pressure on Pakistan, Sitharaman cited last month’s BRICS Summit Declaration calling for action against several Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including the Laskhar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

ADMM-Plus, which was inaugurated in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010, is an annual meeting that brings together the defence ministers of ten Asean countries, with those of eight “dialogue partners”. These include India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.

Placing controversial military issues on the side-lines, the ADMM-Plus focuses on seven areas of cooperation: namely maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian mine action and cyber security.

India, like the other dialogue partners, talks up Asean as the framework for the Asia-Pacific security architecture. However, within Asean, there is little unified will for confronting Beijing. While Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore regard China as the premier regional security threat, others like Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines believe their interests lie in accommodating China.


http://www.business-standard.com/ar...pakistan-in-asean-meeting-117102401007_1.html

 

[sorcerer]

Yousuf admits receiving funds to stoke trouble in Kashmir: NIA

The NIA said he also "revealed the names of his associates abroad who were linked with the Mujahideen and involved in raising, collecting and transferring funds from other countries to India".


NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today claimed Syed Shahid Yousuf, son of globally-wanted terrorist and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, had admitted he received funds for subversive activities in the Kashmir Valley.

Yousuf, who was sent to seven days of custody to the agency for further questioning, had also given the names of overseas Hizbul Mujahideen members involved in fund-raising for the terror outfit, an NIA spokesman said.

The 42-year-old Yousuf, who works in the agricultural department of the Jammu and Kashmir government, was arrested here yesterday.

The NIA claimed during questioning he "admitted to having received funds from cadres of the Hizbul Mujahideen on the direction of his father, Mohammed Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, for fomenting terrorist activities in the Valley".

The NIA said he also "revealed the names of his associates abroad who were linked with the Mujahideen and involved in raising, collecting and transferring funds from other countries to India".


This was being verified and investigated, the NIA said.

It alleged Yousuf used to receive funds through a US- based international wire transfer company from Aijaz Ahmed Bhat, another accused in the case who is absconding and is based in Saudi Arabia.

The agency alleged Yousuf was "one of several Indian contacts of Bhat" who had been in telephonic contact with him for receiving money transfer codes.

The NIA claimed so far he had received a total of nearly Rs 4.5 lakh through eight international wire transfers.


The case, registered by the NIA in April 2011, relates to the transfer of money from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir through hawala channels via Delhi, which the agency believed was used in funding terrorism and secessionist activities.

The NIA has so far filed two charge sheets against six people including G M Bhat, a close aide of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammed Siddiq Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga. All four are in judicial custody.

Two others -- Mohammed Maqbool Pandit and Bhat -- were also charge sheeted by the NIA but are absconding. An Interpol Red Corner notice has been issued against them.

Yousuf's father Salahuddin, based in Pakistan, was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of State in June this year.

Besides heading terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, he is the chairman of the United Jehad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of terrorist outfits operating in the Kashmir Valley.

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/61227769.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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Cross posting

 

[sorcerer]

After successful Air and Sea Link, India rejects Pak's offer on Afghan trade transit talks


India has rejected an offer from Pakistan for talks on transit trade to Afghanistan, diplomats and officials in New Delhi and Kabul have confirmed to The Hindu.

According to sources, the offer was made by the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed when he met President Ashraf Ghani on October 1 in Kabul. During discussions on the renewal of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), that lapsed in 2015, President Ghani repeated concerns that trade with India over the Wagah border had been blocked by Pakistan, despite being agreed to in the APTTA.

“At this, the Pakistani Army Chief offered to talk about the transit trade issues with Indian officials,” said a diplomat privy to the talks, adding that General Bajwa reportedly said, “Ask the Indian side to speak to us and we will try and sort it out.”

President Ghani is understood to have conveyed the conversation to New Delhi through the Indian Embassy in Kabul. However, days later, Indian officials at the SCO Afghanistan-Contact group meeting in Moscow, told the Afghan delegation that it would not take up the offer for talks.

“It wasn’t a real offer, as far as India sees it,” an MEA official, who asked not to be named, told The Hindu, confirming the government decision.

“The APTTA is a bilateral agreement. It is not working because of unilateral decisions by Pakistan not to honour it. So how can India-Pakistan talks fix that?” he said.

Pakistan has consistently refused to allow any Indian goods to travel over land Afghanistan, insisting that India use the sea-route via Karachi. Exasperated by Pakistan’s refusal to allow the truck trade, President Ghani has said repeatedly that he would cut off Pakistan’s access to Central Asia and issued a decree last week cancelling permission for Pakistani trucks to transit through Afghanistan.The Pakistani gambit on APTTA made little headway as a result, especially as

India and Afghanistan are now working on strengthening alternative routes, including the air cargo corridor launched in June this year, and the Chabahar sea route. While the development of Chabahar will take at least another year, India’s first major shipment of 1,30,000 tonnes of wheat via Chabahar will be dispatched on Sunday. Officials The Hindu spoke to said although General Bajwa’s offer was only made orally, and not followed up with a direct offer to India, it was considered significant for a number reasons. To begin with, the offer was made by the Pakistan Army Chief, considered to have a stronger mandate to implement such an offer than his civilian counterparts.


U.S. nudge

In addition, the conversation was held in the backdrop of the U.S.’s newly announced South Asia Policy for Afghanistan, where the Trump administration has committed to ensuring greater Indian involvement in development projects in Afghanistan, while also pushing to “ease tensions” along the India-Pakistan border. It also had come just as preparations had begun for U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to visit Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, a visit he concluded this week.

“Frankly, we hoped that the offer by General Bajwa would be taken up by the Indian side, or would open a small window for talks, but obviously, it was India’s decision to accept or not,” a U.S. official involved in the planning of the Tillerson visit said.

:bs:Speaking to journalists in Geneva on Thursday, Mr. Tillerson said he had told the Pakistani Prime Minister Abbasi and General Bajwa, that his trip was also to “talk about how can we lower the tensions on the border with India,” in an indication that the U.S. still hopes to nudge New Delhi and Islamabad to talks.:bs:


http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...nsit-trade-to-afghanistan/article19941006.ece

 

[sorcerer]

Modi makes Pakistan look like a fool by sending first wheat shipment to Afghanistan

Highlights

• Six more wheat shipments will be sent to Afghanistan over the next few months.

Iran's key strategic port of Chabahar became operational with the maiden shipment of wheat from India to Afghanistan flagged off on Sunday by the foreign ministers of the three countries through video-conferencing.

This is a major push for India's Afghan outreach bypassing Pakistan -- for the first time under the 2016 Indo-Afghan-Iran trilateral pact.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, through a joint video conference on Sunday, flagged off the shipment from India to Afghanistan that would be transhipped through the Chabahar port in Iran. The operationalisation of Chabahar will also boost India's efforts to conenct with resource-rich Central Asia and Russia.

The shipment is a part of commitment made by India to supply 1.1 million tonnes of wheat for the people of Afghanistan on grant basis, according to a MEA statement.

"The three foreign ministers welcomed the fact that this is the first shipment that would be going to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port after a trilateral agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor was signed during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Iran in May 2016," the statement pointed out.

Six more wheat shipments will be sent to Afghanistan over the next few months.

Sunday's development will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port which is being expanded by India as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan following Pakistan's refusal to allow India access via its territory to Afghanistan. It will open up new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between the three countries and the wider region, the MEA statement said.

India, according to officials, plans to set up a panel of secretaries on development of Chabahar. The panel will look into issues related to easing of financial terms and other contractual issues in order to make the project more lucrative for private investors.

In this context, India is eyeing to gain foothold in the thriving free trade zone in Chabahar. The formation of the panel comes at a time when US is hardening its position over Iran and has decertified the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. Russia and Europe, however, have decided to continue engagement with Iran.

India has announced an investment of $500 million in the Chabahar port complex and is hopeful that the strategic port will be operational by the end of 2018. India's Shipping, Road Transport, Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari visited Tehran in August to attend the inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani's second term in office.

Earlier this year Tehran offered New Delhi a proposal to manage phase one of the Chabahar port built by Iran. Tehran had offered New Delhi management rights for two years for phase one of the port and such rights could be renewed by another decade.

India's allotment of 235 million USD for Chabahar port expansion is divided into two parts -$150 million Line of Credit (LoC) from the EXIM Bank for development of port complex and $85 million - for supply of equipment to develop two berths in the port.

A Special Purpose Vehicle has been created by the Indian Shipping Ministry for development of phase two of the Iranian port. On the Iranian side, Ports and Management Organisation is the nodal authority for implementing the project. India has been given the rights to operate two berths and few terminals in the phase two of the port.

India is also constructing a railway line between Chabahar and Zahedan to connect the port to rest of the Iranian railway network. The port, through this railway network, could also be linked with the International North South Transport Corridor connecting India with Russia.

Chabhar is planned to be linked with Delaram-Zaranj road, built by India in Afghanistan that connects at Afghan-Iran border via rail through Zahedan. A road already connects the Iran-Afghan border point to Chabahar.


https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...har-port-flagged-off/articleshow/61320722.cms

 

[sorcerer]

Around 19,000 UP Madrassas to get NCERT books; Maths, Science to be mandatory

Very soon, NCERT books will be introduced in approximately 19,000 madrasas across Uttar Pradesh that fall under the UP Madrasa Board.



The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to introduce NCERT books in madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, apart from making mathematics and science compulsory at intermediate level in the Islamic schools.

The steps are intended to make madrassa students more competitive by providing them contemporary and quality education, according to Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma.



"The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to introduce National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books in the madrassas in order to make students studying there to come on a par with children of other schools," Sharma tweeted.

NCERT is the apex academic organisation for school education. In January, the state government had made NCERT books mandatory for all schools affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) from academic session 2018-19.

In August, the state government had launched a portal of UP Madrassa Board for online registration of all such Islamic institutions where they were asked to upload all relevant information pertaining to their managing committee, teachers, students etc.

As many as 2,500 madrassas had uploaded all their information by September 17, Minority Welfare Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary had said.

The aim behind the move was to stop irregularities in the madrassas and improve transparency, he had said.

Sharma today said mathematics and science will be made compulsory at Aliya (intermediate) level to make madrassa students more competitive.

The Madrassa Board is making preparations for introducing NCERT books in the institutions run by it after getting an approval from the state government, he said.

Registrar of Madrassa Board Rahul Gupta said there was a move to review the curriculum, although it was in the primary stages and changes were likely in the books of all classes.

The education related to the religious curriculum will remain as before, but a change is likely in other sections relating to academics in keeping with the demand of the times.

Modern subjects will be included in the curriculam, he said.

Meanwhile, Teachers' Association Madaris-Arbia Uttar Pradesh welcomed the decision of the state government and said that the change in the curriculum other than religious education in keeping with the present requirement was good.

Before the online registration, there were 19,000 recognised madrassas in the state. As many as 4,600 partially-funded madrassas were there in the state, while the number of 100 per cent funded madrassas in the state stood at 560.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had asked all madrassas to hold celebrations on Independence Day and videograph the event.

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...ve-ncert-books-state-govt-117103000895_1.html