Myth that Pakistan gets billions in US aid-fin min
18 Apr 2011 20:51
Source: reuters // Reuters
WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan's finance minister on Monday dismissed as "a myth" in the United States that his country is a major recipient of tens of billions of dollars in U.S. aid.
Finance Minister Hafiz Shaikh told an audience in Washington that the United States had not delivered what it promised under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Law aid package, which is meant to provide $7.5 billion in civilian aid over five years. The law authorized $1.5 billion a year.
"There is a perception that there is a lot of money going to Pakistan," Shaikh told the Woodrow Wilson Center policy think tank.
"It is largely a myth that Pakistan is a beneficiary of tens of billions of dollars. The truth is that in the Kerry-Lugar-Berman arrangement this year we have not even received $300 million," he added.
Pakistan is dependent on foreign aid and plagued by political instability and violence. Massive floods last year, the worst natural disaster the country has ever seen, affected three million people, destroyed crops and swept away roads and bridges, causing over $10 billion in damage and wiping out about 2 percentage points of gross domestic product.
Washington has long pressed Pakistan to take on Islamist militants who have taken refuge in Pakistani border sanctuaries from where they attack Western forces in Afghanistan.
Shaikh, who attended weekend meetings of the World Bank and IMF, said Pakistan wanted trade, not aid.
"We're saying let's open our markets to each other," he said, pointing to successful negotiations with the European Union that have expanded areas of trade.
He said the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Law was an important symbol of the U.S. government and Congress's commitment for a new democratic government in Pakistan.
"If it is disbursed in a proper way and implemented in a proper way, then it can have far-reaching consequences for the people of Pakistan," he said. "It would alter some misperceptions that are there."
Pakistan is a heavily indebted country, with its external debt amounting to about $58 billion and domestic debt at 6 trillion rupee ($70 billion).
The country turned to the International Monetary Fund for an $11 billion emergency loan in 2008 to avoid an economic meltdown. Shaikh said the economy had shown signs of improvement although the government was still trying to broaden its tax base to include untaxed sectors, such as agriculture. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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EDITORIAL: Changing regional scenario
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has led a high powered delegation that included COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI chief General Ahmed Shuja Pasha to Kabul for consultations with the Karzai government regarding the strategy to be followed for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan in the backdrop of the impending withdrawal of foreign troops. The top level discussions yielded agreement on an upgraded joint commission of which the COAS and ISI chief would also be a part from the Pakistani side, along with the prime minister. The significance of this agreement as opposed to previous joint and trilateral commissions (including the US) is that the Pakistani military and intelligence services will have a place at the table, leading to the hope that whatever strategy is agreed upon will have the backing of all the main stakeholders.
In a joint press conference after the consultations, the Pakistani prime minister and the Afghan president were both at pains to stress that the process of national reconciliation, with its centre-piece being bringing the Taliban in out of the cold, would have to be Afghan-led and -owned. This emphasis derives from the appreciation in both Islamabad and Kabul that after the withdrawal of foreign troops, the two neighbouring countries would have prime responsibility for ushering in a political settlement that could lead to peace in Afghanistan, and by extrapolation, to Pakistan, the region, and arguably the world.
The alternative, continuing civil war in Afghanistan, with its implications and spillover effect for neighbouring Pakistan and other regional countries and further abroad, is no longer acceptable. While both Prime Minister Gilani and President Karzai were clear on the US being on board (finally) regarding the reconciliation process, it needs saying that the Americans are latecomers to the peace feast. Not until the December 2010 Afghan policy review did the weight of opinion inside the Obama administration swing decisively in favour of seeking a way out of the impasse of a seemingly never-ending war.
General Petraeus’ strategy of degrading the Taliban and only allowing the reintegration of Taliban foot soldiers in the interim until the Taliban were forced from a position of weakness to come to the negotiating table seems to have been recognised in Washington as not delivering the expected results, despite the troop surge. There is no timeline or verifiable parameters on which to judge the claims of the US military that it is making ‘progress’. The prospect of a war without end finds little favour in the US administration, Congress or the American public by now.
The presence of Generals Kayani and Pasha in the deliberations can be considered a positive sign that all sides are agreed on the essentials: negotiate a share of power for the Taliban to persuade them to give up the insurgency. The compromise strategy on the table is the best option under the circumstances as it would not only lead to a cessation of hostilities, accelerate the foreign withdrawal, restore the whole region to some modicum(A small, moderate, or token amount: ) of normality and stability, but also isolate, arguably, the jihadi forces inside Pakistan, which must then either yield to a farewell to arms, or be ready for the consequences. Endgame in Afghanistan offers hope of peace inside the country and in the region. Freed of that onerous shadow, our military and security forces must gird up their loins (The part of the body of a human or quadruped on either side of the backbone and between the ribs and hips.
)to bring to heel the domestic jihadi menace in short order
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FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, April 17
17 Apr 2011 04:26
Source: reuters // Reuters
April 17(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 0430 GMT on Sunday.
KABUL - Three service members from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in two separate roadside bomb strikes in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, ISAF said in a statement. It gave no other details. (Compiled by Kabul bureau)
3 US-led troops killed in S Afghanistan
Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:57AM
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Three more US-led soldiers have been killed in Blasts in southern Afghanistan, bringing the number of foreign troops killed in the war-torn country to over 130 in 2011.
Earlier on Saturday five US-led forces were also killed in an attack on an Afghan army base in eastern Afghanistan.
In a Saturday statement, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the number of casualties caused by the attack in eastern Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Over 1,400 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the Asian country began in 2001, according to a recent report by the Associated Press.
In 2010, As many as 711 foreign troops lost their lives in Afghanistan -- an average of two a day -- which is by far greater than the previous record annual toll of 521, marked in 2009.
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16 Apr 2011 08:22
Source: reuters // Reuters
(Adds details, background)
By Rafiq Sherzad
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 16 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in an Afghan army uniform killed five foreign and four Afghan soldiers in an attack on a sprawling desert base in the east of the country on Saturday, the highest toll on NATO-led troops in a single attack for several months.
The attack hit a newly built base in a remote area which stretches between Laghman and Nangarhar provinces.
Home to the 201st Corps of the Afghan army, it is one of the biggest military installations in increasingly volatile eastern Afghanistan, said Nehman Atefi, a press officer in the base.
"In a suicide blast, by an attacker using a military uniform at an army base, four soldiers were killed and eight others including four interpreters were wounded," said Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimy.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that five foreign soldiers were killed. A spokesman said initial reports indicated the attack was on Forward Operating Base Gamberi, in Laghman province, but confirmed it was the same attack referred to by Azimy. He gave no further details.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in an email statement, saying 12 foreign troops and 14 Afghan soldiers were killed. The group frequently exaggerates casualty figures.
He said the bomber was from central Daikondi province, had enlisted with the Afghan army a month ago and detonated his explosives at a meeting between Afghan and foreign troops.
The Defence Ministry declined immediate comment on whether the attacker was a real soldier, which would make the killings the latest in series of deadly attacks by "rogue" members of the Afghan security forces on their colleagues and foreign mentors.
The uniform does not prove conclusively the attacker was a soldier because Afghan security force outfits are readily available in markets across the country -- although their sale is technically illegal.
On Friday, a suicide bomber in police uniform evaded tight security in police Headquarters in Kandahar city and killed Khan Mohammad Mujahid provincial police chief of Kandahar. (Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Emma Graham-Harrison)
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Ten Iranian engineers kidnapped in Afghanistan
Apr 18th/2011
KABUL: Ten Iranian engineers and five of their Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by Taliban gunmen on Monday in a remote western region of Afghanistan near the border with Iran, an official said. The men, who were working on a road construction project, were snatched at gunpoint in the Post-i-Road district of Farah province, which borders Iran, provincial government spokesman Naqibullah Farahi said. “The engineers were kidnapped from Post-i-Road district of Farah province by the Taliban,” he added.
Taliban spokesman Yusuf Ahmadi said that the terrorist group had no knowledge of the kidnapping, although the rebels have been responsible for similar abductions in the past. Farah is a remote province, which borders Iran and faces significant Taliban activity. Foreign workers are frequently held by kidnappers in Afghanistan, often for ransom. Criminal groups and terrorists have held several dozen foreigners in the war-torn country since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban. afp
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Blast, fighting heard near west Afghan NATO compound
03 Nov 2011 07:22
Source: Reuters // Reuters
KABUL, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Suspected suicide attackers launched an assault near a base used by NATO-led forces in the western Afghan province of Herat on Thursday, authorities said, and gunfire was still being heard although there was no immediate word on casualties.
Herat government spokesman Mahuddin Noori said suicide bombers and gunmen had entered a separate compound used by a security firm near the NATO base and that fighting was continuing.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the explosion was about one kilometre from their Herat base. Italian troops are mainly based in Herat.
"There has been an explosion outside the compound," the ISAF spokesman said.
He said there were no details about possible casualties.
The Herat attack was the latest in a string of assaults across Afghanistan.
On Saturday, a suicide car bomber killed 13 ISAF troops and civilian employees, as well as four Afghans, in Kabul, the deadliest single ground attack against the coalition since the war began 10 years ago.
Another three Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide attack in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Monday, officials said. (Reporting by Sharafuddin Sharfyar, Jan Harvey and Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Christine Kearney; Editing by Paul Tait)
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Forces may feel fuel pinch even after supply resumes
ISLAMABAD:
As Afghan-bound Nato oil trucks while away, the government is mulling imposing a permanent ban on export of locally-produced petroleum products, except jet fuel.
Export of jet fuel, however, will be allowed if Nato agrees to pay all applicable duties to Pakistan.
The country has been exporting petroleum products to Nato forces in Afghanistan, exempted of all duties including the general sales tax (GST) and petroleum levy, since 2002. The supplies were made through the US Defence Energy Supply Company.
The petroleum ministry has moved a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Friday, seeking a permanent ban on export of locally-produced fuels including petrol and diesel, sources told The Express Tribune.
The ministry has also proposed that export of other locally-produced products be allowed if Nato forces pay complete duties applicable in Pakistan. Sources said that the commerce ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had also supported the ban because petroleum products were being dumped in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Surplus jet fuel
Secretary Petroleum Ijaz Chaudhry confirmed that the summary has been moved, citing the shortage of petroleum products in the country.
“However, we have proposed that there should be no exemption of duties on export of [jet fuel] JP-1 and JP-8,” sources said.
Since Afghan-bound cargo uses Pakistan’s infrastructure, Nato should pay duties, sources said, adding that the country had surplus stock of jet fuel and therefore resumption of its export was being proposed.
Exporting to local Afghans
Meanwhile exporters have approached the petroleum ministry, asking for the ban to be lifted.
Claiming they bring foreign exchange into the country, suppliers say export of locally-produced petroleum products to Afghan consumers, not Nato forces, should be allowed.
“The ministry of petroleum has asked oil exporters to work out the economics of exporting to local consumers in Afghanistan,” sources said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2011.
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Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to return their medals to protest war on terror at Chicago NATO summit this weekend
By Cory Doctorow at 12:38 pm Wednesday, May 16
Iraq Veterans Against the War is bringing veterans to the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20 to ceremonially return the medals they were awarded for serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The group's statement -- which will be reiterated to NATO's representatives -- is:
We were awarded these medals for serving in the Global War on Terror, a war based on lies and failed polices. This endless war has killed hundreds of thousands, stripped the humanity of all involved, and drained our communities of trillions of dollars, diverting funds from schools, clinics, libraries, and other public goods.
They are calling on supporters to rally with them:
Iraq Veterans Against the War calls on fellow service members, veterans, Chicagoans, and everyone who believes in justice, dignity, and respect for all peoples to join us in the streets on May 20th. On this day, we will hold a nonviolent march to the site of the NATO summit where we will ceremoniously return our military service medals. We will demand that NATO immediately end the occupation of Afghanistan and relating economic and social injustices, bring U.S. war dollars home to fund our communities, and acknowledge the rights and humanity of all who are affected by these wars. We wish to begin a process of justice and reconciliation with the people of Afghanistan and other affected nations, fellow service members, veterans, and the American people.
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