Washington: The United States supports a constructive dialogue and meaningful conversation between India and Pakistan, the Biden administration said Thursday reiterating that it’s for New Delhi and Islamabad to decide on the nature of that dialogue.
The US is ready to play its role if they agree, it added.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, in response to a question, refused any meditating role for the US for talks between India and Pakistan.
“Because these are decisions for the countries themselves. If they agree on a particular role for the United States, the United States is prepared to, as a partner to both countries, support that process in any way that we responsibly can,” Price told reporters at a news conference.
“Analysts believe that the United States has the power and authority to mediate between the two partners. Pakistan and India are partners of yours, so why don’t you just mediate?” he was asked.
“Ultimately, it is not for the United States to determine the modalities or the way in which India and Pakistan engage one another. What we support is constructive dialogue, meaningful diplomacy between India and Pakistan, in the first instance to resolve longstanding conflicts,” Price said.
The United States, he said, supports constructive dialogue. “We support diplomacy between India and Pakistan to resolve, again, another set of longstanding disputes. We are a partner. We are willing to support that process in any way that they deem appropriate. But ultimately, these are decisions that India and Pakistan themselves are going to have to make,” he said.
Washington: The United States Thursday urged Pakistan to improve its business environment which would make the South Asian country more attractive and competitive around the world.
Pakistan is under a severe economic crisis and is in an advanced stage of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a news conference here that Pakistan has encountered economic headwinds of late.
“The Pakistani people are facing record levels of inflation. Of course, this comes on the back of the extensive flooding through parts of the country. And it has only put a spotlight on our need to continue to work together to help the Pakistani people to help put themselves on a sustainable economic path and a durable path to the prosperity that we seek for the Pakistani people,” he said.
There’s a reform agenda that the Pakistani government is in the midst of. “We encourage Pakistan to continue working with the IMF, especially on reforms that will improve Pakistan’s business environment. And we know that doing so will ultimately make Pakistani businesses more attractive and competitive around the world,” Price said.
Pakistan, he said, is a country with tremendous potential, and the US has partnered with Pakistan. “We want to make sure that the resources that Pakistan has itself, the resources that the United States is contributing, that other countries are contributing and the resources that have and will continue to come from international financial institutions, they’re managed responsibly as part of responsible and responsive governance,” Price said.
SRINAGAR: Enforcement directorate (ED) officials on Thursday conducted raids at nine places in Kashmir in connection with the MBBS seats allotment racket to locals in different colleges of Pakistan.
ED raids were going on at nine places in Kashmir on Thursday and houses of Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir and Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement chairman Zaffar Bhat were raided in this regard.
Quoting officals, news agency KNO reported that the central probe agency along with local police on Thursday morning raided the house of Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat, who is the chairman of JK Salvation Movement, in Bagh-e-Mehtab area of Srinagar.
They said another team of the central probe agency also raided the house of Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir in Qazi Mohalla area of Anantnag today morning.
“A team also is carrying out raid at the house of Syed Khalid Geelani in Baghat area of Srinagar,” he said.
Local police and the CRPF are assisting the ED officials in carrying out these raids.
*Allotment of MBBS Seats In Pakistan: ED raids 3 locations in Kashmir*
KNO Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 09 (KNO): The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided three places including houses of Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir and Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement chairman Zaffar Bhat in a case linked to allotment of MBBS seats in Pakistan, sources said here.
Sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the central probe agency along with local police today morning raided the house of Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat, who is the chairman of J&K Salvation Movement, in Bagh-e-Mehtab area of Srinagar.
They said another team of the central probe agency also raided the house of Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir in Qazi Mohalla area of Anantnag today morning.
“A team also is carrying out raids at the house of one Syed Khalid Geelani in Baghat area of Srinagar,” he said.
He said the raids at both places were going on and further details will be shared accordingly.
The official said raids are being conducted in connection with the case of allotting MBBS seats to J&K residents in different colleges in Pakistan—(KNO)
Islamabad: At least 15 Hindu students were injured after being allegedly attacked by the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists on Monday in Punjab University’s new campus when they were celebrating Holi, Dawn reported.
A number of videos surfaced on the social networking platform which showed that Hindu communities were being attacked by the IJT even after the students got permission from the administration for the celebration of Holi.
An application had been filed with the police for the registration of a case against the attacker.
Some other videos also showed that the security guards were carrying batons and beating the students and they were running from the scene, reported Dawn.
Talking about the incident, Sindh Council General Secretary Kashif Brohi said that the members of the Hindu community and the council had organised a Holi celebration after getting permission from the university administration.
He said the IJT activists started hurling threats after students had posted invitations for the Holi celebration on their Facebook page.
He said on Monday morning the members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside PU law College to celebrate the Holi when the IJT activists carrying guns and batons attacked them.
Brohi further added that the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor’s office when the security guards came there holding batons and started beating them.
He said the security guards also bundled four to five students into their vans, not allowing them to record their peaceful protest, according to Dawn.
He said an application was submitted to the administration and police for case registration against the IJT activists and security guards for torturing them.
However, IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid told Dawn that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi. He further stated that the attackers might have used their name but the IJT will not. The IJT will ensure equality for minority community members to hold their religious events.
He said the security guards might have attacked the students and IJT had nothing to do with it.He said they were holding Dars-i-Quran on the campus and were not present there. A PU spokesman said action would be taken against the students involved in attacking minority community members, reported Dawn.
Islamabad: Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are discussing a resettlement plan for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a renewed push to address the issue of cross-border terrorist attacks that have threatened to unravel their bilateral relationship, a media outlet reported.
The idea of resettlement came from the Afghan Taliban during the recent visit of a high-powered Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt General Nadeem Anjum was also part of the daylong trip, The Express Tribune reported.
The purpose of the visit was to convey to the Afghan Taliban a clear message that Pakistan would no longer seek talks with the TTP since the group used earlier peace efforts to regroup and target Pakistan, the newspaper reported.
Sensing the Pakistani position, the Afghan Taliban proposed a new plan that envisaged disarming the TTP and relocating their members from the border areas. Unlike the previous plans, the TTP members will be resettled inside Afghanistan.
The Afghan Taliban, however, asked Pakistan to bear the cost of that plan. One official source said that Pakistan will have to bear the cost as certain other countries have done the same, the media outlet reported.
The source said this was probably the best available solution at the moment to deal with the TTP threat. The source, however, admitted that executing and verifying such a plan would be a challenge. Also, Pakistan wants if any such plan is implemented it has to be irreversible, it added.
Currently, there are between eight to 12 thousand TTP militants in Afghanistan. The number goes up to 30,000 if their family members are included.
After the Afghan Taliban takeover in August 2021, the then government of Prime Minister Imran Khan initiated talks with the TTP and allowed hundreds of TTP militants to resettle in Pakistan. The move, however, backfired as returning TTP militants started targeting the security forces and carried out major terrorist attacks.
Karachi: Pakistan’s annual inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), soared to a record high of 31.55 percent in February, compared to 27.6 percent in the previous month, driven by massive increases in food and transport prices, local media reported.
According to Arif Habib Corporation, this is the highest-ever CPI increase based on data available from July 1965, Dawn reported.
In February, 2022, inflation clocked in at 12.2 percent.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), inflation in urban and rural areas increased to 28.82 percent and 35.56 percent year-on-year respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose 4.32 percent.
Consumer prices have risen sharply over the past several months, with annual inflation staying above 20 percent since June last year, Dawn reported.
In February, the increase in inflation was driven by a double-digit rise in all sub-indices except one.
The inflation figure is higher than the Ministry of Finance’s forecast of 30 percent.
The CPI-based inflation on a year-on-year basis will be 28-30pc in coming months, said the ministry in its monthly economic update & outlook for February, adding that the recent political and economic uncertainties were pushing up inflationary expectations.
The ministry expects inflation to remain high due to the uncertain political and economic environment, pass-through of currency depreciation, rise in energy prices and increase in administered prices in February, Dawn reported.
Although the State Bank of Pakistan has been enacting contractionary monetary policy, the inflationary expectation would take some time to settle. The Centre, in liaison with provincial governments, is closely monitoring the demand-supply gap of essential items and taking necessary measures to stabilise their prices, the report added.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s borderland continues to be peaceful and tension free as the ceasefire between the rival armies entered the third year. There is no shelling from either side and life is near normal. Unlike past, people straddling the Line of Control are throwing big feasts on marriages, which are visible and noisy.
A sweets exchange between the two army officers from India and Pakistan on the bridge over Kishanganga in Teetwal. The sweets were exchanged on the the occasion of Eid on July 21, 2021.
The ceasefire is holding despite Islamabad and Delhi not seeing eye to eye and the diplomatic relationship continues to remain at the lowest ebb, ever. The two countries, however, continue to hit at each other in international forums, mostly on and around Kashmir. The security grid continues to maintain a strong counter-infiltration mechanism in place.
In the last two years, there were only three instances of breach of ceasefire and the officials insist they were of minor nature.
While the infiltration is by and large very difficult, the security grid is facing two different challenges. One is the use of drones in supplying arms and ammunition and another is the consistent supply of drugs. While the patches of the International Border falling in the Kathua and Jammu sector is usually in news for drone infiltrations, it is the Karnah (Tangdhar) sector of the LoC that is usually been as major source of drugs entry into Kashmir.
With the guns silent along the Line of Control (LoC), the residents who were earlier demanding bunkers and shelters to save from raining shells are now seeking better road and other basic infrastructure.
“The road stretches at Dardkote in Uri are dotted with potholes which speaks volumes about the tall claims of the government of improving road connectivity,” Faisal Khan, a Sarpanch in Uri, were quoted saying by a local news gatherer, KNO. “The road is dotted with huge potholes and has not been repaired for the last several years and the authorities concerned are least bothered about the sufferings of people. The road acts as an important link which connects several areas and thousands of commuters, transporters pass through potholes every day.”
The residents expressed concern over the condition of government schools. “Four classes are functioning in a single room at Dardkote,” they said, adding that similar conditions are in maximum government-based schools”.
Authorities, however, are not taking the bunker construction far granted. By the end of fiscal 2022-23, almost all the bunkers are expected to be ready. MHA is funding the construction of 14460 bunkers which includes 13029 Individual and 1431 community bunkers.
The bunker construction was not impacted by the February 25, 2021 ceasefire when the Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan announced the ceasefire after discussing it on hotline. The ceasefire was outcome of back-channel diplomacy between the two countries and took many months to happen. AK Doval, India’s National Security Adviser and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed are reported to have held a secret meeting in the United Arab Emirates in 2020, which led to the February 25 joint statement from the rival armies agreeing to strict adherence to the 2003 ceasefire understanding. This actually was revival and renewal of the ceasefire that came into force on November 26, 2003.
Both sides maintained a ceasefire for the first three years. However, in 2006, the breaches started and continued expanded with the hot talks in Delhi and Islamabad.
In 2017, 12 civilians and 19 security personnel were killed in border shelling incidents. 2018 saw 2140 instances of ceasefire violations, which peaked to 3479 in 2019. In 2020, 46 people lost their lives in 5133 incidents of ceasefire violations.
On February 3, 2021, MHA told the parliament that in three years – 2018, 2019 and 2020, 72 security personnel and 70 civilians were killed in 10,752 cases of ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir on LoC and IB. In these incidents, 364 security personnel and 341 civilians survived with injuries.
Islamabad: Pakistan’s dismal economic condition and its struggle to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund (OMF), imposing taxes, increasing rate of inflation and snowballing petroleum prices have not only forced the Shehbaz Sharif-led government to introduce an austerity drive, but have also affected the capability and capacity of the military establishment to launch a counter-terrorism offensive.
The country’s military establishment has been asked by the government to provide a plan on how they can cut their non-combat expenditure, given the nature of the severe economic crisis.
Experts say that while terrorism and groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and others continue to carry out coordinated attacks in different parts of the country, the military establishment is not in a position to launch a counter-terrorism offensive, which can be allocated with enough financial assistance to sustain it.
It would also not be wrong to maintain that terror groups, who are re-organising in different parts of the country, are also aware that they have the leverage, time and space as the military establishment may keep itself limited to IBOs (Intelligence Based Operations) or small scaled offensives, due to its bad financial conditions.
In view of the current situation of the country, experts believe that launching a military offensive may just not be possible for the military establishment.
“Pakistan’s armed forces and its intelligence agencies are well aware of the country’s financial situation. And they would not find themselves in a position to launch operations like ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ and ‘Raddul Fasad’ to root out terrorists from its soil,” said senior analyst Javed Siddique.
“And the fact that Pakistan’s financial problems hinder the way of an all-out counter-terrorism operation by the armed forces, our neighboring Afghanistan and the Taliban regime there, along with the Pakistani Taliban can continue to enjoy each other’s support and try to make full use of this vulnerable financial condition of the country,” he added.
However, other military experts say that the resurgence of terrorism in the country does not need an all-out offensive and can be tackled through small scale operations as the militant groups have not yet been able to establishment themselves inside Pakistan and are using various sleeper cells for coordination and implementation of their terror plans.
“Pakistan armed forces have foiled tons of terror attack attempts, nabbed hundreds of TTP militants through ongoing IBOs (Intelligence Based Operations) and would continue to do so in the coming days as well,” said an official with knowledge of the ongoing military operations.
“We are well aware of our limitations and are also aware that Pakistan’s financial condition is not normal. But we should not forget that these financial gaps should not allow terrorism to prosper, and the armed forces are doing everything to ensure that terrorists do not get a single easy breath on Pakistani soil.”
Mumbai: ‘Saamna’, the official newspaper of Uddhav Thackeray faction on Thursday appreciated Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar for showing the mirror to Pakistan during the ‘Faiz’ festival in Lahore as he slammed the country for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Saamna’s editorial stated, “A Muslim writer-poet did what PM Modi and his blind devotees could not do to Pakistan. Senior poet-lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar was invited to Lahore’s celebration on poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s commemoration day.”
The publication hailed Javed Akhtar’s guts to accuse Pakistan in Lahore and slammed the Modi-led central government for only indulging in narratives and wrote, ” It is not easy to go to Pakistan and utter such strong words’ as Akhtar did. It is easy to threaten Pakistan by sitting here in Delhi and Mumbai. A roar of “Ghuskar Marenge” by doing a ‘surgical strike’ during elections is common but saying the enemy,’ You are the enemy of our country on their face is not easy. Only a true patriot can do this.”
Saamna in its latest editorial further took on Bharatiya Janata Party for having different definitions for nationalism and treason as “for them who do not follow them (the party) or are not ready to be their slaves are termed traitors in their eyes. According to BJP, one who is not a Modi devotee does not belong to be in the country”.
“On the occasion, Akhtar said, “The mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai is still roaming freely in Pakistan. We are Mumbaikars. We have seen the attack on our city. The attackers didn’t come from Norway or Egypt, they came from your country. If Indian people have a complaint about this, then the people of Pakistan should not consider it an insult,” the editorial read further.
“Akhtar also said, ‘I wouldn’t hesitate to say that though we have organised so many grand functions of Nusrat (Fateh Ali Khan) sahab and Mehdi Hassan sahab in our country, you couldn’t organise a single event of Lata (Mangeshkar) ji,” Akhtar said. The audience also gave a loud round of applause to Javed Akhtar. The courage of the audience who supported Akhtar must also be appreciated. Akhtar has set an ‘example’ of patriotism and courage in front of the country,” the letter reads further.
Meanwhile, questioning India’s leaders Saamna said, “The special thing about Pakistani’s audience and their rulers is that they tolerated these statements on their land, but is there so much tolerance and restraint left in our country today?”
Attacking on BJP, Saamna wrote, “BJP’s leaders and ministers openly say ‘we eat beef’, and burn innocent Muslim youths in the name of cow protection. They create Hindu-Muslim, and India-Pakistan tussle to win elections.”
“Pakistan is the enemy of the country, and so is China, but Modi only stands against Pakistan and is afraid of China. Modi government’s courage against China is only limited to the banning of some Chinese ‘apps’. These people create a raging atmosphere against the common Muslims of Pakistan and India for political benefits,” the editorial added.
“There was a time when the Tricolour was unfurled in Lahore as well and now Mr Javed Akhtar hoisted it again on the occasion of the memorial ceremony of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Lahore,” the editorial stated.
“Javed Akhtar showed what a 56-inch chest is. Special congratulations to him!” the letter added.
