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China, Pakistan, Russia to Meet on Afghanistan, Angering Kabul Leaders
Top Foreign Ministry officials from China, Pakistan and Russia will meet in Moscow on Tuesday to review what they perceive as a "gradually growing" threat to their frontiers posed by Islamic State extremists in Afghanistan. "This is an existing forum for undertaking informal discussions on issues of regional peace and stability, including the situation in Afghanistan," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria told VOA. Pakistan's foreign secretary, Aizaz Chaudhry, will lead Islamabad's delegation, he added. Officials say future meetings could include Iran. Chinese, Pakistani and Russian officials say they were driven to joint action by the efforts of IS affiliates to establish a foothold in Afghanistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's national unity government has reportedly questioned the motives of the trilateral dialogue, which will take place without Kabul being represented. Russian officials maintain the "working group on Afghanistan" is one of several initiatives Moscow has undertaken with regional countries, including Afghanistan, to develop a "wider partnership" for containing IS influence. Beijing, Islamabad and Moscow say the three-way talks will also explore ways to bring the Taliban to the table for peace talks with the Afghan government. All three governments maintain overt contacts with the insurgent group. Russia and officials in Pakistan argue that military operations by the U.S.-led international forces and their Afghan partners have not weakened the Taliban but instead created ungoverned areas where terrorist groups like IS, also known as Daesh, can establish a foothold. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, told the U.N. Security Council last week that the deteriorating security situation has encouraged IS militants fleeing Syria and Iraq to look at Afghanistan for shelter. He said they will eventually pose a threat to Russia through neighboring central Asian states. Using another acronym for IS, he said, "There...
How Peace Between Afghanistan and the Taliban Foundered
At a corner table of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital, an emissary from the Taliban’s supreme leader arrived with a message of peace. It was 2007, as the Afghan Taliban insurgency was growing bolder. The United States-led international coalition was fixated on defeating the Taliban militarily, and that mission would only intensify when President Obama sent in tens of thousands more troops starting in 2009. But that evening at the Marriott in Islamabad, the talk was about diplomacy, and there were no Americans in the room. Alf Arne Ramslien, a senior Norwegian diplomat who had cultivated relationships and trust within the Taliban for years, was meeting with a confidant of Mullah Muhammad Omar, the movement’s reclusive founder, who was directing the insurgency from exile in Pakistan. The Taliban emissary gave Mr. Ramslien a list of five names that Mullah Omar had tasked with exploring the possibility of peace talks. They needed the help of a facilitator, he said, and Mr. Ramslien was it. Continue reading the main story That exchange would initiate an intense, secretive process that over three years involved two or three meetings a month between Norwegian diplomats and fugitive Taliban representatives across cities in Asia and Europe, including Karachi, Bangkok and Oslo. Astoundingly, the diplomats said they even had one direct, late-night audience with Mullah Omar himself — years after even senior Taliban leaders said they had last been in a room with him. The Norwegian peace track overlapped with efforts by other countries to bring the Taliban to the table, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, and for years seemed to be making the most progress toward bringing the Taliban and Afghan officials together. But it all eventually fell apart under the weight of military and intelligence maneuvering and of distrust among a host of countries that were taking a hand in Afghan affairs. Mr. Ramslien maintains that Pakistan, in particular, has been a central...
Taliban: Peace Talks Not Possible Until Foreign ‘Occupation’ of Afghanistan Ends
The Taliban has rejected latest United Nations calls for engaging in peace talks with the Afghan government, and instead demanded the world body pressure U.S.-led foreign troops to end their “occupation” of Afghanistan if the U.N. truly wants an end to the 15-year war. “Our fight is for independence, and as long as foreign occupation forces are present here (in Afghanistan) any talk about peace and reconciliation is meaningless,” Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told VOA Friday. He was responding to a renewed call for Afghan peace talks earlier this week by Tadamichi Yamamoto, who heads the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA. In his quarterly briefing to the Security Council in New York on Monday, Yamamoto urged the Taliban to enter into direct talks with the Kabul government, without preconditions, to prevent further bloodshed in the country. “We all know that the conflict in Afghanistan has no military solution. The Taliban leadership must reconsider the notion that their objectives can only be achieved on the battlefield,” noted the UNAMA chief. However, the Taliban spokesman insisted that all parties interested in resolving Afghanistan's problems should pressure on foreign forces to leave Afghanistan and let its people decide the kind of governing system they need for their country. "Afghans neither like a foreign-imposed regime nor do they accept presence of foreign forces in their country," he said, citing presence of American and NATO in Afghanistan as the main cause of the conflict. The Taliban maintains President Ashraf Ghani’s national unity government is not a “sovereign administration,” alleging it works under U.S. direction. The Islamist insurgency has recently called for direct talks with the U.S. administration to find a solution to the Afghan war. But Washington rejected the offer and reiterated its support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process. “We believe that’s the right approach. We’ve always believed that that’s the...
Taliban: Peace Talks Not Possible Until Foreign 'Occupation' of Afghanistan Ends
The Taliban has rejected latest United Nations calls for engaging in peace talks with the Afghan government, and instead demanded the world body pressure U.S.-led foreign troops to end their “occupation” of Afghanistan if the U.N. truly wants an end to the 15-year war. “Our fight is for independence, and as long as foreign occupation forces are present here (in Afghanistan) any talk about peace and reconciliation is meaningless,” Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told VOA Friday. He was responding to a renewed call for Afghan peace talks earlier this week by Tadamichi Yamamoto, who heads the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA. In his quarterly briefing to the Security Council in New York on Monday, Yamamoto urged the Taliban to enter into direct talks with the Kabul government, without preconditions, to prevent further bloodshed in the country. “We all know that the conflict in Afghanistan has no military solution. The Taliban leadership must reconsider the notion that their objectives can only be achieved on the battlefield,” noted the UNAMA chief. However, the Taliban spokesman insisted that all parties interested in resolving Afghanistan's problems should pressure on foreign forces to leave Afghanistan and let its people decide the kind of governing system they need for their country. "Afghans neither like a foreign-imposed regime nor do they accept presence of foreign forces in their country," he said, citing presence of American and NATO in Afghanistan as the main cause of the conflict. The Taliban maintains President Ashraf Ghani’s national unity government is not a “sovereign administration,” alleging it works under U.S. direction. The Islamist insurgency has recently called for direct talks with the U.S. administration to find a solution to the Afghan war. But Washington rejected the offer and reiterated its support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process. “We believe that’s the right approach. We’ve always believed that that’s the...
Iran, Russia See Opportunity to Encircle The US In Afghanistan
Recent revelations that Iran and Russia have explored further cooperation with the Taliban caught attention in Western capitals. Tehran’s involvement with the insurgent group is old news but Moscow’s carefully orchestrated confession comes at a dangerous juncture for the United States and its war in Afghanistan, Washington’s longest ever. Besides Pakistan, the Taliban’s traditional patron, Washington is in particular concerned about the legitimacy the Taliban are achieving in regional capitals, which will spell disaster for the U.S. presence. Despite the nuclear deal with Tehran, many in Iran believe that Washington cannot be trusted to keep up its part of the deal. This comes on the heels of the election victory by Donald Trump and his hawkish campaign talk vis-à-vis the pact. Trump has frequently said he will scrap the deal on day one. This has raised eyebrows in Tehran and sparked a search for possible contingency plans. With American involvement in Iraq, and now Syria as well, Tehran feels encircled and certainly threatened by the incoming administration. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. The unpredictability of a Trump White House is pushing Tehran to adapt a more conciliatory approach toward the Taliban. When then-Taliban chief Mullah Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike, he was travelling from the southern town of Mashad, Iran to Quetta, Pakistan. The relationship has earned the Taliban’s office in Iran the “Mashad Shura” moniker. However, such ties have largely been ignored due to Tehran’s focus on monetary funding to the group and not so much hosting a physical leadership presence within its boundaries. Iran has now upped the stakes in its relationship with the Taliban. Tehran used to hide visits by the insurgent group but now Iran has openly invited Taliban leaders to an Islamic conference, describing them as “moderate.” Russia, on the other hand, is back to Cold War shenanigans, only the role has been...
Trump’s Nation-Building Pledges To Be Tested In Afghanistan
President-elect Donald Trump’s pledges to end the nation-building missions of the military will be tested in Afghanistan, where President Obama repeatedly came up against the reality of a country unready for U.S. forces to leave. Trump will inherit a military drawing down in Afghanistan to 8,400 troops, well above the 1,000 Obama originally wanted to leave at just the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Obama formally ended the combat mission in 2014, but U.S. troops remain on a dual mission. One is to conduct counterterrorism strikes against groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The other is to train, advise and assist Afghan forces in their fight against the Taliban, a mission critics have called nation-building. Facing a resilient Taliban and recommendations from his military advisors not to withdraw, Obama was twice forced to increase the number of troops he planned to leave in country after this year, first to 5,500 then to 8,400. Trump could likely face the same issue. “Afghanistan is inherently and profoundly mixed as a mission,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “I think in the end, his view, given that it provides a counterterrorism platform, will probably be that it’s worth keeping that level of investment.” In its latest biannual report on the security situation in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said the Taliban is in control of or has influence over 10 percent of the country and is contesting the government for another 20 percent. U.S. officials have said the Taliban holds more ground than at any point since it was ousted from power in 2001. The report, released earlier in December, also said the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) continue to need the help of U.S. and NATO forces. “Although the ANDSF denied the insurgency any strategic successes, the ANDSF have also demonstrated the need for continued U.S. and coalition support to address persistent capability gaps and deficiencies,” the...
CHINA WATCH [DECEMBER 20-26] CALL FOR UNITY
The leading story of this week was the call of the China’s Vice Minister of International Department, Central Committee, Zheng Xiaosong on the Pakistani political parties to come together for the success of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC). Commander, Southern Command, Lt Gen Aamir Riaz has invited India to join CPEC. The central and provincial governments have agreed to jointly attend the upcoming meeting of Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on CPEC. Acting Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Muhammad Zhao Lijian, has rejected the anti-CPEC propaganda. Call for Unity: China’s Vice Minister of International Department, Central Committee, Zheng Xiaosong exhorted the Pakistani political parties to come together for the success of CPEC and attainment of the ‘shared goal of development’. He said that “[P]olitical parties in Pakistan have divergent interests. We hope that the political parties can work together to resolve their differences and make CPEC a success.”[1] He added “[W]e are ready to work with Pakistan for consensus and strive jointly for the way forward.” Though all the political groups in Pakistan have supported and welcomed the corridor, there is a palpable lack of consensus over the question of provincial shares in the projects. Even in the past China has made such pleas to Pakistan for a political unity behind CPEC. But the divisions between Pakistan’s political parties with regard to CPEC are going nowhere and that has perturbed the Chinese government. India Invited to Join CPEC: Commander, Southern Command, Lt Gen Aamir Riaz has invited India to shun subversive activities and join CPEC to share the fruits of future development of the project.[2] It is a remarkable development in the sense that the two neighbors have been engaged in historic rivalry. In connection with Islamabad’s invitation to New Delhi, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Hua Chunying said that China wonders “whether the Indian side takes this offer made by the Pakistani...
Sabawoon Showcase: The Role of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Tourism Department in Women’s Empowerment
December 21, 2016, Peshawar: The latest episode of Sabawoon[1], flagship radio program of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), was about the role of KP’s Tourism department in empowering women. The program overviewed of different activities organized by KP’s Tourism department for women, involvement of women in tourism and sports activities, forums of exposure for women, tours of historical sites for females, and cultural barriers faced by women. The program was aired under the theme of Jwandai Jazbey (living spirits) on Wednesday. Ms. Haseena Shoukat, Marketing Manager Tourism Department Peshawar, and Ms. Zarmina Wahid, In-Charge Creative Wing Tourism Department Peshawar, participated as the studio guests. A radio report highlighted the role of and opportunities for women in tourism and sports industries. It also shed light on the social norms of Pashtun society which have been one of the major hurdles for female participation in these spheres. Ms. Haseena Shoukat said that women should not limit themselves to homes but overcome the challenges and avail themselves of the opportunities waiting for them in every field of life. Sabawoon airs Monday through Thursday on FM-101.5 Peshawar & DI Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. [1] Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Marrakka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important stories across the length and breadth of KP/FATA. On Wednesday, Jwandai Jazbey covers issues most important to youth, students and females. Finally, on Thursday, Ranra covers social issues that have a cultural angle and/or...
After Pakistan General, Chinese Media Suggests India to Join CPEC
China will strongly oppose any attempt to label Pakistan as "supporting terrorism", Chinese official media today said and suggested India to accept the "olive branch" extended by a top Pakistani military General to participate in the USD 46 billion economic corridor. "Surprise aside (over General's call), New Delhi should consider accepting the olive branch Pakistan has extended in a bid to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," said an article in the state-run Global Times. The comments came after Lt Gen Riaz, Commander of the Pakistan's Southern Command which is based in Quetta, this week reportedly said India should "shun enmity" with Pakistan and "join the USD 46-billion CPECBSE -4.45 % along with Iran, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries and enjoy its benefits". "Such an opportunity could be transient. There is a possibility that the open attitude toward India joining the CPEC will quickly be overwhelmed by opposition voices from Pakistan if New Delhi does not respond in a timely manner to the General's overture," the article said. Another article in the same daily said "Riaz's invitation, which came as a surprise to New Delhi, is mainly intended as a gesture. While he hinted at India's intervention in the CPEC, he welcomed India's participation in the project, demonstrating Pakistan does not want to exclude India." At the same time, it said, "if any country wants to label Pakistan as 'supporting terrorism' and discredit the country, then China and other countries who uphold justice will oppose such behaviour strongly". The article said that since President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan in April, 2015, the CPEC has advanced considerably. "However, some international forces, and India in particular, are accustomed to look at the CPEC and the One Belt and One Road initiative from a geopolitical perspective. On one side, this is relevant to the geopolitical competition mindset they insist on, on the other, this is because of their...
Caught Up In Regional Tensions? The Mass Return of Afghan Refugees From Pakistan
More than half a million Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan since July 2016, a huge number, on a scale not seen for a decade. United Nations agencies and human rights organisations have blamed fear of harassment and oppression by the Pakistani authorities, or in the case of undocumented refugees, fear of expulsion for the mass returns. Pakistani hostility towards Afghan refugees had already been growing, but has strengthened markedly as friendship between Afghanistan and Pakistan’s old enemy, India, blossomed this year. The Afghan government, reports AAN’s Jelena Bjelica, has also been encouraging Afghans to come home (with reporting from Jalalabad by AAN’s Fazal Muzhary and input from Thomas Ruttig). The returnee crisis: facts and consequences By mid-December, more than half a million Afghans had crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan – all officially called ‘returnees’ even if they were born in Pakistan. According to the UN’s humanitarian coordination agency, UNOCHA, 370,102 were ‘registered’ , ie registered as refugees with the Pakistani authorities and UNHCR, and 244,309 were ‘undocumented’. The majority (96 per cent of the undocumented and 75 per cent of the registered) had been living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Most – more than 90 per cent – of those 614,411 people moved to Afghanistan after July 2016. Between July and early November 2016, UNOCHA reported, it was not uncommon to see as many as 4,000 people – sometimes more – pass through the border crossings at Torkham and Spin Boldak in a single day. Many returned at short notice, after receiving 48-hour and/or a week’s notice to leave the country. Many had been living in Pakistan since the Soviet invasion when millions of Afghan refugees fled the country. The younger ‘returnees’ include those who have never lived in Afghanistan. Some are even the children of those who have never lived in Afghanistan. Many of the returning Afghans now find themselves in a desperate situation in their...
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I am also a member of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Recently, we held a meeting with the Director General of Radio Pakistan and we told them to initiate such local programs (like Constituency Hour) in regional languages to educate and inform people. Even Indian Radio can be heard in FATA which is being used for propaganda purposes and must be closed. Therefore, we should launch some standard and quality programs like CRSS that will change the taste of the listeners.