<b>India praises Zardari for policy shift on Kashmir 'terrorists'
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By James Lamont in New Delhi and Farhan Bokhari in,Islamabad
Published: October 7 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 7 2008 03:00
India yesterday hailed the branding of militants in Kashmir as "terrorists" by Pakistan's president as a breakthrough for the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Asif Ali Zardari's remarks are a shift from a long standing Pakistani policy of extending "moral and diplomatic support" to insurgents in the disputed, Muslim majority territory. They were made shortly before India locked down Kashmir under a curfew to prevent separatists staging a pro-independence rally this week.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars and a number of skirmishes involving thousands of troops on both sides of Kashmir's border, known as the Line of Control.
Anand Sharma, India's minister for external affairs, said yesterday that, after years of differences, Pakistan had finally swung in line with India's view of the security challenges in the region.
"India had always raised the matter of cross-border terrorism in international fora and Zardari's statement confirms this [view]", Mr Sharma said.
India's main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said Mr Zardari's statement marked a new chapter in relations with Pakistan.
Mr Zardari made his overture to India in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, in which he also said India posed no threat to Pakistan and that the two countries had to develop better economic links.
The shift follows expressions of support for the newly elected Pakistani leader by George W. Bush, US president, and Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, at the United Nations General Assembly last month.
Kashmiri politicians have seen a tempering of hostility between India and Pakistan, as New Delhi attempts to support its neighbour's -fragile democracy.
Mr Zardari, however, faced a barrage of criticism yesterday in Pakistan.
"With whose authority has President Zardari made this obnoxious comment about those we consider as freedom fighters in Kashmir?" asked Attiya Inayataullah, a leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid e Azam (PML-Q).
"President Zardari has not consulted anyone before making this statement. He is behaving like a one-man show. This is simply out-rageous."
Liaquat Baloch, of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), the coalition of Islamic political groups, urged Mr Zardari "to withdraw his statement in the national interest. How can he single-handedly reverse what is indeed our established policy?"
Talaat Masood, a retired Pakistani army general, said Mr Zardari's comments would be "poorly received" by the defence and strategy communities in Islamabad.
Anti-India activists had planned a protest in Lal Chowk, or Red Square, in Srinigar yesterday. Over the past few months, growing unrest in Kashmir has given rise to some of the biggest demonstrations since an insurgency erupted against Indian rule in 1989.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->LAHORE : A sharp fall of the rupee has played havoc with the economy, with foreign debt rising from Rs2,759 billion to Rs3,493 billion, <b>size of the economy dropping below $150 billion and per capita income slipping to $780.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>ISLAMABAD : Federal Defence Secretary, Kamran Rasool has said that allied forces have been allowed to use Pakistanâs airspace.</b>
Rasool said that allied forces did ask permission to hit specific targets in tribal areas several times. He said war on terror could not be won without US cooperation.
<b>He cautioned that Pakistan could face severe economic crisis, adding sanctions would aggravate the problems.</b>
LAHORE : The Pakistan Cricket Board's efforts to arrange a home series have been dealt a blow as West Indies have opted not to tour next month because of security concerns.
Senior players had already expressed concerns about visiting Pakistan and the decision comes a week after the West Indies women's team called off the Pakistan leg of their Asian tour.
Donald Peters, the chief executive of the West Indies board, said negotiations are on to reschedule the tour. 'We are in talks with the PCB at present with the hope of getting the tour deferred to another date, but at this time we are not going to tour the country,â Peters told Caribbean Media Corporation Sport.
'At the end of the last (WICB) board meeting, the directors wanted a security report on the situation in Pakistan and I contacted the PCB. I had requested a security plan from them that was okayed by their police and military.
'They got this plan and sent it to me and we were then looking further at getting an independent security firm but this was not done because we had decided that at this point it was not really safe for the players to go to Pakistan.'
Pakistan have already had two high-profile postponements this year : Australia's tour was put off, as was the Champions Trophy. They have not played a home Test since October 2007 and the only tournaments they have hosted this year are the Asia Cup and ODI series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Zardari's dumb charade </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>If only New Delhi had been more clever!</span>
It is amazing how easily India's commentariat and the chattering classes are persuaded by bogus statements that emanate from Pakistan. As soon as Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's interview to the Wall Street Journal was published, there were near celebrations in New Delhi. Here was a Pakistani leader, elected to office at that, who had described the killers of Kashmir Valley as "terrorists". What more could India ask for? Such is the naivete that prevails even in the corridors of power that there was official applause for Mr Zardari's comments - it was pointed out that they underscore his country's 'resolve' to fight terrorism. It was also pointed out that Mr Zardari's comments followed his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly. The sub-text of such assertions cannot be missed: Such is the Prime Minister's persuasive powers that he has been able to convince Mr Zardari into toeing India's line! After all, Mr Singh is believed to have discussed the issue of terrorism during his meeting with Mr Zardari - we don't know whether he expressed concern over jihadi violence in Pakistan or Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism in India. In the past, most famously at Havana, Mr Singh has not hesitated to describe the perpetrator of terrorism in India as the victim of terrorism - never mind the absence of logic in such description - and under American pressure has set up a joint terror combating mechanism which has distinguished itself by achieving nothing.
Within days of the euphoric response to Mr Zardari's comments, the Pakistani President has thought it wise to retract them and revert to the established Pakistani position that terrorists in the Kashmir Valley are "freedom fighters" deserving of Islamabad's "moral support" - the unstated position is that Islamabad feels obliged to provide arms, ammunition and training, apart from all other assistance, to those who militate against India and indulge in the slaughter of innocent people. Had Mr Zardari been truthful while speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he would have resisted all pressure on him to disown his own words and stood by them. Obviously, he neither meant what he said nor is he interested in reversing Pakistan's insidious policy of promoting cross-border terrorism in India. It is entirely possible that he was pilloried by his American interlocutors while in the US and had a tough time explaining why Pakistan is blowing up bit by bit with every passing day as the so-called elected 'popular' Government is seen whimpering in a corner, unable to so much as lift a finger in admonishment. To demonstrate that he is no less 'loyal' to Washington, DC, than his disgraced predecessor, Mr Zardari chose to use words that he knew he could withdraw later, citing domestic compulsions. And yet we failed to see through this charade!
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<b>Suicide bombing kills 23 in Pakistan</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured on Friday in a suicide bombing during a gathering in Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border, officials said.
<b>The jirga, a meeting of some 500 of members of the Alikhel tribe was being held in Khadezai village of Orakzai district to raise a traditional army, or lashkar, against Taliban militants operating in the area.
"A young man sneaked into the gathering and blew himself up at around 04.30 pm (1030 GMT)," </b>said a security official. "Twenty-three people have so far been confirmed dead and around 100 wounded."
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->KOHAT : A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle at a tribal jirga in the upper Orakzai tribal region, killing more than 50 tribesmen and injuring over 100 others on Friday, the injured brought to Kohat and hospital sources said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
WASHINGTON : Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has said that in view of the changing situation in Afghanistan, particularly increased violence along the Pak-Afghan border, there was a need of full review of the US strategy on Afghanistan to broaden its scope to include India in it.
In an interview with an American TV, Admiral Mullen said the Pak-Afghan boarder region has become a safe haven for insurgents "Things have changed enough to warrant a review of our overall strategy there, and in fact, part of the effort is to try to ensure better coordination on both sides of that border," the admiral said.
The strategy review will address better ways to coordinate these efforts, he said, while broadening the focus on Afghanistan to include Pakistan as well as India. Mullen noted that both countries have long historic links to Afghanistan and an important role to play there.
Though the idea of giving Indians a bigger role in Afghan strategy or including them in any joint force to control the Pak-Afghan border has not been discussed formally between US and Pakistani authorities as yet, Pak security officials have always given very cautious response to it even in private conversations. <b>And it was very unlikely that any foreign troops will ever be allowed to put their boats on Pakistani soil,</b> a diplomat told this correspondent on condition of anonymity.
Admiral Mullen expressed the hope that progress in Iraq will continue, freeing up forces to meet additional requirements in Afghanistan. But he emphasised that the challenges in Afghanistan demand more than military might--a point US Defence Secretary Gates reiterated on Thursday to his Nato counterparts.
Admiral Mullen said : "It is not just about boots on the ground.""It is really three pieces. There is the security piece, the development... (and) economic piece as well as the political and diplomatic piece, and all of those things have to come together."
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->And it was very unlikely that any foreign troops will ever be allowed to put their boats on Pakistani soil, a diplomat told this correspondent on condition of anonymity.
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But, but haven't foreign troops already been putting their boots, scratching their ball$ etc on paki soil?
What a blow to paki dignity if Indian troops were manning the Afghan-pak border <!--emo&:devil--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devilsmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='devilsmiley.gif' /><!--endemo-->
So all this talk of giving India a bigger role in Afghanistan a result of the Indo-US nuke deal?
Either way, India is being cultivated as a US ally in the region and we may be required to step in the future if the US decides to reduce its presence in the region. But any Indian troops in Afghanistan should be under Indian command and not part of some NATO/US command structure.
ISLAMABAD : The opposition on Wednesday moved the Senate seeking an in-house debate on the sale of national land to the United States for building a military base near Tarbela.
Leader of the nine-senator Independent Group in the Upper House Prof Khurshid Ahmad submitted an adjournment motion to the Senate Secretariat in this connection. Senator Khurshid, who also heads Jamaat-e-Islamiâs legislators in the Senate, strongly condemned the sale of the land to the US army and termed it an act of treason.
In the motion, he expressed his resentment on the claim of Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen that the US had purchased the piece of land only 20 kilometres away from the federal capital.
The US Admirals statement should be taken a general statement of intention. If we go into micro details, it will not be advisable to have Indian troops stationed along the Western borders of Pakistan. Such an action will weaken the stability of the Government in Islamabad and will just add to further tension in the region. Well inside the borders of Afghanistan, perhaps India can play a major role in speeding up the economic development of that country. The Eastern borders of Afghanistan need to be manned by the forces of those countries that gave birth to Taliban for fighting the Soviets. They should be ready to take on the casualties as they are responsible to a great extent for the present situation.
1. I fully agree that India must not send even One Soldier to Afghanistan - whether it is with the US led NATO Alliance or under any other guise.
2. India should be careful of its commitments to Afghanistan as in due course of time Afghanistanâs Attitude to and Relationship with India will be what the Bangladeshi Attitude and Relationship with India.
As such let the USA Stew in the the Morning Evacuation of its Own Making!
Suddenly it is headline news : Severe water shortages feared in Pakistan. Our policy makers are acting as if this is sudden and shocking news, but this was hardly unexpected. Experts have been saying for years that when it comes to food production in the subcontinent, the biggest problem will be shortage of water.
Indeed, the United Nations has been saying for a while now that by 2025, two thirds of the people on earth, particularly in Asia and Africa will be facing serious water shortages. According to Unesco, âOf all the social and natural crisis we humans face, the water crisis is the one that lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet earth.â
Hence the global call for a âBlue Revolutionâ in which farmers can ensure more crops for each drop of precious fresh water. Even at a household level, we can help conserve water by using it more judiciously (turning off the tap when brushing teeth, fixing all leaking pipes, cutting down on shower time, using only a bucket to clean the car, mop the floors or water the lawn). In India, they have successfully experimented with harvesting rainwater from rooftops to use in homes.
The causes of water shortage in Pakistan are complex (with climate change certainly a contributing factor) and require sensitive handling ââ already there is considerable strife between the four provinces over the sharing of water from the major rivers and their tributaries. Since the days of British colonial rule in the 19th century, there has been a large-scale construction of canals on the major rivers, especially the River Indus, to provide water for more crops to feed people. With the building of a series of dams and barrages, the country now boasts one of the worldâs largest irrigation canal systems, which sustains millions of people. <b>But it now appears that with an increasing population (we are the worldâs seventh most heavily populated country with one of the highest birth rates!) and more large dams planned on the River Indus, there is less and less water to share.</b>
Already the Indus has stopped meeting the Arabian Sea and there has been considerable sea intrusion in the south of the country. Experts say that the sea has intruded 54km upstream along the main course of the River Indus, destroying thousands of hectares of fertile land and contaminating underground water channels.
These problems are bound to increase in the coming years, since not enough freshwater is being released below the Kotri Barrage (the last barrage on the Indus). Indeed, many engineers in the country still feel that any freshwater that runs into the sea is being wasted, while those poor communities who live in the south say that their lives are being destroyed by the lack of freshwater and feel powerless to do anything about it.
In this climate of suspicion and acrimony, there is an urgent need for a dispassionate analysis of this complex situation. The government needs to start a campaign to ensure sustainable (and equitable) practices both at the local and national level to prevent severe water shortages in the future.
In addition, the waters of the River Indus are currently being shared with India and the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 is often held up as a model case of two hostile countries coming to an agreement over the sharing of rivers. But as increasing pressure is placed on precious water resources by both governments, will the 48-year-old treaty need to be revised?
<b>Many people in Pakistan are not even aware of basic facts such as that water availability in the country has declined from 5,300 cubic metres per capita in 1951 to 1,200 cubic metres per capita today, which is barely above the indicator of water scarcity of 1,000 cubic metres per capita.</b>
In addition, 90 per cent of Pakistanâs freshwater is consumed by the agriculture sector and demand is increasing daily. <b>However, 38 per cent of irrigated land is waterlogged and 14 per cent saline because of poor drainage and irrigation practices.</b> These practices need to be urgently improved with better technology.
According to WWF-Pakistanâs report, Pakistanâs Waters at Risk, which was published last year, âFrom 2010 onwards, we will have only 1,000 cubic meters (per person) to use; the water table is rapidly dropping every year. It has dropped more than 50 feet in Islamabad since 1986 and more than 20 feet since 1993 in Lahore⦠the water shortage in the agricultural sector will be 29 per cent by 2010 and 33 per cent by 2025.â
In the years to come, the countryâs growing population will need more water and more food, which means even more water for agriculture. Instead of debating these issues sensibly and objectively, water sharing has become a politicised issue for the government of Pakistan, and as a result many people in the country do not seem to realise that without close cooperation and sustainable practices at every level, we are headed for a major crisis.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->KARACHI- Despite the support of the State Bank of Pakistan <b>the rupee hit all-time low against the US dollar by falling to 81.50 in the open market on Tuesday.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->KARACHI : <b>Dollar was selling at Rs 84</b> in the open currency market on Wednesday evening after it touched Rs 80.80 level in the interbank market.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
