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Afghanistan Fires 7 from Cabinet In Intensifying Political Crisis
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s Parliament has dismissed seven government ministers over the past four days, adding to the woes of a fragile coalition that for months had bickered over filling the cabinet positions in the first place. The suddenly vacated cabinet positions, adding to two ministries already vacant because of resignations, will further bog down the work of a government that has struggled to get its house in order while also facing emboldened Taliban offensives and decreasing support across the country. The Afghan Parliament began hearings last week over what lawmakers said was the ministers’ inability to spend the national development budget. The dismissal of one minister on Tuesday brought the total to seven ministers dismissed out of 12 who had been called for hearings, including the ministers of foreign affairs, public works, information technology, labor and social work, education, higher education and transportation. Publicly, President Ashraf Ghani has challenged the legality of the hearings and asked the dismissed ministers to continue with their jobs until the country’s Supreme Court makes a final ruling. He also told ministers not to show up for the hearings, more of which are scheduled in the coming days. Parliament, which itself has been in a legal limbo since its term officially expired more than a year ago with no date set for elections, has refused the government’s pleas to stop the hearings. And Hajji Zahir Qadir, the deputy speaker of the Parliament, said on Tuesday that despite President Ghani’s claims, the ministers’ dismissal could not be reversed by the Supreme Court. “If the government is just fooling itself, that’s a separate issue,” Mr. Qadir said. But that is far from the only issue. Some analysts believe that a byzantine political intrigue may be underway: that the cabinet purge might have some degree of support from Mr. Ghani, despite his public protestations. Supporting that argument is that some of the dismissed...
Sharbat Case: From Across Border
For most Afghans Sharbat Gula symbolises the sufferings and hardships that this nation has gone through ever since the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. The CIA-ISI-led insurgency then made global headlines then, with the Afghan mujahideen happily rubbing shoulders with the American-Pakistani trainers and mentors. They even went as far as the White House. But that is history. Now, both the Afghans and the Pakistanis are dealing with the consequences of that insurgency – commonly known as jihad. The popular narrative on Sharbat Gula is premised on victimhood and innocence. The common Afghan looks at this issue through the moral prism. All they know is that the lady was deported from Pakistan disgracefully to the disregard for her over three decades of residence there. Also, the commoners don’t know that Pakistan’s provincial and central governments did offer to prevent Gula’s deportation through an appeal to the court. They are also unaware that Gula had herself first challenged her deportation orders and withdrawn her petition as Pakistani authorities offered to help her stay on. Also, most Afghans appear to be in a state of denial over internal and domestic political motivations behind the high-profile treatment of cases such as that of Sharbat Gula. The dominant majority of Afghans possess Pakistani IDs, why are they not being arrested and deported, they ask? Smelling rat so to say. This particular case consumed quite a bit of time during a Track 11 Beyond Boundaries at Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. When parliamentarians, journalists and foreign policy /security experts from both Pakistan and Afghanistan went into a huddle to discuss common challenges, Sharba Gula’s case topped the initial proceedings with regard to the treatment she got — 15 day detention for possession of a fake ID Card and the harassment of Afghans in Pakistan at the hands of the police and intelligence officials. Afghan delegates looked at the issue more from an...
NSG Still a Far Cry For India As China Insists On NPT Linkage
China on Monday obliquely criticised the India-Japan agreement on nuclear energy by pointing out that all countries are entitled to peaceful use of atomic energy, so long as they abide by “the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.” “With regard to nuclear agreement signed between India and Japan and on the use nuclear energy we believe that under the promise of absorbing international obligation of nuclear non- proliferation, all countries are entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang observed during his regular briefing. “At the same time, the relevant cooperation should be conducive to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” he said. ‘NPT is the cornerstone’ China maintains that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India has not signed, is the cornerstone of preventing the spread of atomic weapons. In a separate statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on the November 11 meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna, which discussed the, “Two-Step Intergovernmental Process to Address the Issue of Non-NPT States’ Participation.” The meeting follows India’s bid to become a full member of the 48-nation NSG. China has so far opposed India’s membership, citing the need for evolving a common criteria for all non-members of the NPT, which includes Pakistan. The Foreign Ministry statement said the Vienna meeting was held to discuss, “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of Non-NPT States’ Participation in the NSG,” in accordance with the mandate adopted in June during the grouping’s meeting in Seoul. It added that the meeting held in the Austrian capital was a maiden attempt since the NSG’s inception in 1975, by the Group to formally take up non-NPT states’ participation “in an open and transparent manner.” India still out of consideration However, the statement reiterated China’s insistence on linking NSG membership...
Putin Envoy: There Is No Quick Solution in Afghanistan
Russia’s presidential envoy to Afghanistan has said there is no cheap and quick solution in Afghanistan, blaming foreign forces that have been deployed in the country for 15 years. Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Afghanistan and the Foreign Ministry's director of the Second Asian Department, spoke to Anadolu Agency in Moscow about the situation in Afghanistan, developments in the region, and Russian foreign policy. Kabulov said that the situation in Afghanistan has aroused deep concern. "Today in Afghanistan there are not three important elements such as the economy, good governance, and strong armed forces. The absence of these three elements creates anxiety and pessimism. It is very difficult to offer a solution in these conditions. There is no cheap and quick solution in Afghanistan right now.” Kabulov said the situation in Central Asia originating from Afghanistan could pose a threat to Russia's national security, adding that the worsening of the situation in Afghanistan would negatively affect the region. "As countries in the region, we are in favor of Afghanistan's stability, because this is our common area and what happens there directly affects us," Kabulov said. Kabulov stated that Russia supports the Kabul administration, but stressed that it does not mean that they are ignoring administrative failures, adding, "In today's conditions, the future of Afghanistan is quite bleak. But it does not mean it will be bad in the future because everything is bad. We will work to prevent Afghanistan from sliding into chaos. " On Russia's support for Afghanistan, Kabulov also said, "This year we gave 10,000 Kalashnikovs to Afghan police. We have already given similar assistance. Every year we train Afghan police and soldiers. We have humanitarian aid directly and through the UN.” Kabulov said Russian businessmen had not invested in Afghanistan due to various reasons, and are not considering investing large sums there. ‘The Taliban is a real...
Ghani Wants Taliban Chief to be Included In UN Security Council Sanctions List
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani wants the United Nations Security Council to include the supreme leader of the Taliban group Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada to be included in the sanctions list. During a meeting with the UNSC delegation in Kabul, President Ghani urged the delegation to include the names of the terrorists together with Taliban chief in the sanctions list. President Ghani also insisted on international talks to help curb the financial resources of the militants which he believes are mainly guaranteed through criminal economic issues, specifically with the smuggling of drugs. He said the second major contributor to the militants’ financial resources is the illegal extraction of mines in the country and the government of national unity has terminated several contracts in the past two years in a bid to create capacity for the better management of mining. In regards to the ongoing insurgency in the country, President Ghani said the violence in Afghanistan has regional roots and more than 30 insurgent groups are contributing to the complex Afghan war. President Ghani also discussed regarding the provision of sanctuaries to the terrorists by certain countries, emphasizing for the declaration of clear stance against those supporting the terrorist groups as well as jointly working on various issues including the transactions of black money which reach to the terrorist groups. The UNSC sanctions committee delegation in their turn promised full support to help dry the financial resources of the terrorist groups as well as other criminal activities that fuel insurgency, including opium cultivation and smuggling and money laundering. This article originally appeared on www.khaama.com, 14 November, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
900,000 Afghan Refugees Return from Pakistan And Iran
About 900,000 Afghan refugees have returned this year from Pakistan and Iran surpassing all previous years, said Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) on Tuesday. More than 600,000 refugees have returned from Pakistanwhereas 300,000 from Iran, according to the MoRR. "Government has announced the allocation of $100 million USD for the returnees, some financial cooperation has been considered for each returnee," the Tolo News quoted media advisor to MoRR, Hafiz Ahmad Miakhail as saying. Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has said that among those return-refugees there are about 23,000 children of which many are suffering from malnutrition. Spokesman to WFP, Wahidullah Miakhail said, "There are about 23,000 children among the families repatriated and these children either suffer from malnutrition or are threatened with malnutrition and we are trying to help these children." An Afghan returnee Rozi Khan said, "Government has failed to deliver on its promises regarding the refugees; the refugees are living in very bad conditions." "We left Pakistan five days ago, now there is no shelter for us to live in and no food to eat, we have a lot of problems," said another refugee Mohammad Jan. This article originally appeared on www.business-standard.com , 15 November, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
All Roads Lead to Gwadar
On 10th April 2016, talking to the Washington Post, Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company said that his company could spend a total of $4.5 billion on roads, power, hotels and other infrastructure for the industrial zone, which he said would be open to non-Chinese companies. The company also plans to build an international airport and power plant for Gwadar. This would be the first time where a country deliberately and unequivocally has given a direct incentive for growth to the manufacturing and production sectors in another country. This is just one of the features that are coming to light with the development of Gwadar. Economists and analysts around the world are of the view, that if Gwadar develops as per plans between the Chinese and Pakistan government, it will be one of the most booming port cities in Asia. It is the apex point of the $50 Billion plus investment by China in Pakistan under the umbrella of CPEC, One Belt One Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Projects. It seems that the strategic position of Pakistan which has been a curse from a historical perspective is finally transforming into a promising treasure holding immense rewards for the nation. The Gwadar port is among the initial construction works to be completed. The port is being built in two phases after being inaugurated in 2007. Now, that the Gwadar port management and completion on time has been sublet to the Government of China. Gwadar port is all set to have more trade volume capacity than Karachi and Port Qasim combined. Gwadar is without a doubt a unique entity in its own. It is a city in the southwestern coast of Balochistan, just 600 Kms away from Karachi. Included in the overseas possessions of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman since 1783, it was purchased the Government of Pakistan in 1958. This was, not a coincidence of any sort but rather a deliberated strategy that came after the authentic “Deep Water Report” issued by the United States...
Afghans Return Deadline May Be Extended
The deadline for the repatriation of Afghan nationals will probably be extended till 2018, as political parties on both sides of the ideological spectrum have increased pressure on the government in this regard. The decision was taken on Monday at an in-camera conference of parliamentary parties, chaired by Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch. The participants in the meeting, however, decided that a new date for the deadline would not be announced to the public. Speaking to reporters after the conference, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said they had arrived at the decision to repatriate 1.5 million Afghan nationals by the end of 2017. Other participants at the conference, however, explained that the date could be extended up till 2018. Mr Qureshi said it was strange that even political parties in the government were not on the same page regarding repatriation. “We noted that there was no national law regarding refugees in the country...we must do something about this,” he said. Yet even senior members of the PTI appeared to have differing opinions on the subject, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak opposing the extension of the deadline. “There has to be a deadline — the issue of repatriation cannot be left open-ended,” he told the media. One of the participants at the conference told Dawn that Mr Khattak had vehemently opposed an extension of the earlier deadline set for March 31, 2017. “He said that his own shops had been rented out to some Afghan nationals but that did not mean that it added to the province’s economy.” Mr Khattak had gone on to say that his province had suffered because of the presence of many undocumented people and demanded a plan to deal with the situation. The participant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had decided to ‘unofficially’ extend the deadline to 2018 but would not announce it publicly as it could negatively impact...
7 Soldiers Martyred In India’s Deadliest Provocation
Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on Monday when Indian troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Bhimber Sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the latest and deadliest provocation that Islamabad warned might lead to ‘strategic miscalculation.’ Monday’s incident compelled Pakistani government and strategists to analyse the current situation with an aim to find out what the Narendra Modi administration wanted to achieve by ratcheting up tensions along the LoC. Although the two nuclear-armed rivals have frequently exchanged fire at the LoC and Working Boundary in recent months, this is the first time since 2003 that the Pakistan Army has suffered causalities in such a large number in a single day. That was the reason the reaction from Pakistan’s political and military leadership was swift, condemning the Indian aggression with a vow to hit back befittingly. Those who lost their lives while on duty include Havaldar Zafar Hussain, Havaldar Ibrar Ahmed Awan, Lance Naik Muhammad Shoukat, Lance Naik Muhammad Haleem, Sepoy Pervez, Sepoy Muhammad Ilyas and Sepoy Muhammad Tanveer. Their funeral prayers, held in Jhelum, were attended by army chief General Raheel Sharif and other senior army officials. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the army chief was briefed on the current situation along the LoC after the funeral. According to the military’s media wing, the army chief said Pakistan would continue to give an effective response to Indian provocation and pledged to leave ‘no stone unturned to defend the motherland’. On the diplomatic front, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry summoned Indian High Commissioner Gutam Bumbanwalay and condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Indian occupation forces on the LoC, resulting in the Shahadat of seven Pakistani soldiers in Bhimber area.” According to an official handout, the foreign secretary deplored increasing Indian ceasefire violations at the LoC and Working...
Dream Debut: Gwadar Port Ships Off First CPEC Cargo
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday launched from Gwadar port the first shipment of trade goods to arrive from China via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), officially kicking off trade activity at the harbour and across the multibillion-dollar road network. “Today we have gathered to witness the dream of CPEC turning into a reality, further strengthening bilateral ties between China and Pakistan which have stood the test of time, he said while addressing the launch ceremony of the first mega pilot trade cargo, attended by the three services chiefs, joint chiefs of staff committee chairman, Balochistan chief minister, members of the federal cabinet, Chinese dignitaries, a number of envoys and others. Terming the arrival of the trade convoy from Kashghar to Gwadar a ‘watershed event’, the premier said “CPEC, conceived by the leadership of China and Pakistan, has materialised, bringing a dawn of immense trade and commerce opportunities for the whole region.” Premier Nawaz said Pakistan is a proud partner of China and assured that his government would leave no stone unturned to complete all development projects under the aegis of CPEC on time. He lauded the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “vision of shared regional prosperity which coincides with Pakistan’s vision of development of 2020” and called it “the need of the hour in a conflict-ridden and increasing polarised world.” “CPEC is the fusion of President Xi’s concept of ‘one belt and one road’ project which integrates trade activities of various regional countries through enhanced connectivity, thus transforming Pakistan into a major hub of commerce,” he added. Premier Nawaz said Pakistan enjoys a unique geostrategic location at the crossroads of three major engines of growth – South Asia, China and Central Asia – and by serving as a major trade hub, would change the fate of region’s three billion people. He reiterated that CPEC would open a world of opportunities for China, Pakistan and the region....
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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.