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Taliban Struggling Financially Since Mansour's Death: RS
The Taliban appear to be facing financial pressure since the death of their former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was more adept at managing money, Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said. he evidence we've seen of that is an increase in their taxes to locals as they move through," Cleveland said at a press conference Wednesday in Kabul. "We believe that the death of Mullah Mansour certainly contributed to that as well." Mansour, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's Balochistan province in May, had financial acumen that, along with his involvement in the narcotics trade, helped grow the group's war chest, Cleveland said. "It was a good harvest and we did expect the Taliban to be flush with money, but since that time of course Mansour was killed and we have seen this evidence, in particular the taxes being raised on the local population," he said. The financial pressure could be affecting Taliban operational readiness. But Cleveland acknowledged the insurgent group manages to offset some of that pressure through their field operations against Afghan security forces. "Of course what we've also seen is that they will raid a checkpoint and they kind of restock some of their supplies as well," Cleveland added. This comes while the insurgents have increased their attacks in different parts of the country recently - especially in Helmand, Uruzgan, Farah and Kunduz provinces. This article originally appeared on www.mobile.tolonews.com, October 13, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
Sartaj Denies Backdoor Diplomacy With India
Rejecting the view about the country’s isolation at diplomatic front, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Thursday said, with the major “re-alignments” under way at “global and geostrategic” levels, “Pakistan was moving in the right direction”. “Development of Eurasia by Russia and China, activation of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), formation of AIB (Asian Investment Bank), etc., indicated major re-alignments,” he said while talking to Express News. In response to a question, Aziz said there was no backdoor or track-II diplomacy going on between Pakistan and India, as such kind of contacts were established on the desire of two sides. Aziz said the cause of concern in the western countries about Pakistan was its growing relations and cooperation with China and added that “Pakistan was pursuing various connectivity projects in the region such as CASA-1000 electricity transmission line, TAPI gas pipeline, etc., and it would become permanent member of the SCO next year.” The adviser: however, added that Pakistan also enjoyed good bilateral ties with the US, the UK, the European Union, the Middle East and other regions of the world. Responding to a question about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s address to the UN General Assembly, he said the issue of Kashmir and the continued human rights violations in the occupied territory were focussed in the address. He also recollected how the Composite Dialogue Process between the two countries was discontinued and said “India had the habit of blaming Pakistan after every terrorist incident in their country without providing any solid evidence”. About the PTI’s planned rally in Islamabad, Aziz said it was the beauty of democracy that issues should be debated and resolved through the forum of parliament. This article originally appeared in The Express Tribune, October 14, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by...
China-India Relations
Ahead of the upcoming Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit, Pakistan will be paying particularly keen attention to exchanges between its two neighbours, China and India. The two countries have always shared an uneasy relationship as they vie for regional supremacy – something Pakistan has tried to take advantage of by developing a close alliance with China – but they are also dependent on each other for trade and investment. China is India’s largest trade partner, both in terms of total trade volume and total imports and this is something China would want to maintain. That might explain an apparent softening of China’s position on Indian membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group – till now. China has been at the forefront of a small bloc opposing Indian membership but it has now hinted that it may change its stance, but only if support for India is unanimous in the NSG. In practice, that will likely end up meaning that India is still kept out of the NSG for now but China’s softening rhetoric could clear the path to Indian membership at some point in the future. Still, interactions between China and India are still laced with differences. China is putting a hold on an Indian move at the UN to have Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Mullah Azhar declared a terrorist and is accusing the Indians of trying to politicise counterterrorism. China was the only member of the UN Security Council to vote against a resolution which would have banned Azhar from travelling and frozen his accounts back in March and once its six month hold ended in November, India would have been able to get the move passed but China has now said it will extend the hold by another three months. Since China itself has little to no interest in Azhar, it is clear that it is doing this at Pakistan’s request. India has tried to use Azhar and the JeM as a cudgel against Pakistan and wants the two to be linked at the UN. This is why India is also likely to refuse China’s offer to act...
While Afghanistan Raises $15B to Stop Taliban Control, Corrupt Leaders Are Selling Weapons To Them On The Side
For the past month, the Taliban have held control over most of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where the majority of the world’s opium is grown — and as insurgent attacks intensify around the provincial capital, residents are blaming rampant government corruption for the rising militant threat. At an international aid conference last week, Afghanistan’s leaders raised $15 billion from their international backers and pledged to clamp down on graft. But corrupt officials have hollowed out the national security forces, selling weapons and even government buildings to the Taliban, and alienated local populations. One Afghan official said that Helmand residents were so angry at corruption that they were turning to the Taliban, despite memories of the extremist group’s harsh rule. Afghanistan is consistently rated by the corruption watchdog Transparency International as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, along with Somalia and North Korea. “It is estimated that an eighth of all the money that goes to Afghanistan is lost to corruption,” it said in a report released ahead of the aid conference. The U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, John Sopko, who is charged with tracing billions of dollars of American aid, estimates that while the United States pays salaries for 320,000 Afghan soldiers and police nationwide, the actual number of troops is just 120,000. The remainder are so-called “ghost soldiers.” Corrupt commanders claim salaries and benefits for soldiers and police who either don’t exist, have agreed to hand over part of their pay in exchange for not going to work, or who have been killed in battle. Of the 26,000 security force personnel officially assigned to Helmand, up to half are ghost soldiers, according to Sopko’s most recent report. Helmand is particularly afflicted by corruption, thanks in large part to its opium fields. The majority of the world’s heroin originates in this southern province bordering Pakistan. The...
Pak High Commissioner Abdul Basit Rubbishes Indian Surgical Strike Claims
Pakistan's High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit in an interview with India Today rejected Indian claims of a 'surgical strike' across the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday. "As far as the government of Pakistan is concerned, there was no surgical strike whatsoever, otherwise they would have responded immediately," he said. When 'video evidence' of the strike was brought up during the interview, Basit rubbished the claim. "There can't be any video... Because the surgical strike did not take place." "No surgical strike across the LoC was conducted in the dark hours of Sept 29," he reiterated. 'Closing all doors for cooperation' Responding to a question about investigation into the Uri attack, Basit said, "We would like to get out of this blame game, so why not get an international investigation into this incident?" "You did not leave any room for cooperation. When you start blaming Pakistan and terming us as a terrorist state, you are closing all the doors for cooperation," the high commissioner said. "If India believes Pakistan has done it then the best way forward would be to have an international probe." The high commissioner added that when both sides commence a dialogue process, resolution of issues can be taken forward. "When we're not talking to each other, then this cooperation is not possible," Basit said, adding that Pakistan's investigation into the Pathankot air base attack was ongoing. 'Some forces trying to undermine Pakistan' When questioned about Balochistan, the Basit said, "The people of Balochistan are as patriotic as people in other parts of Pakistan but we do have worries because there is a larger question of a foreign agenda of destabilising Pakistan," he said. "You would recall that earlier this year we arrested a man called Kulbhushan Jadhav, and that corroborated what Pakistan has been saying all along. So to that extent, we are worried... Some forces are trying to undermine Pakistan," he added. 'Saarc a collective loss' The high...
Pakistan Seeks Bigger Saarc to Counter India’s Influence
Pakistan is exploring the possibility of creating a greater South Asian economic alliance to counter India’s controlling hold on the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), diplomatic observers say. A parliamentary delegation from Pakistan, which is now in New York, pitched this idea during its five-day visit to Washington last week. “A greater South Asia is already emerging,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, in one of his interactions with the media. “This greater South Asia includes China, Iran and the neighbouring Central Asian republics.” He described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the key economic route linking South Asia with Central Asia. The Gwadar port, he pointed out, would be the nearest warm water port, not only for China but also for the land-locked Central Asian states. “We want India to join this arrangement as well,” said Mr Hussain, an offer Indians are unlikely to accept as they are comfortable with the advantage that Saarc provides them. Last month, India used its influence in Saarc to isolate Pakistan when it announced that it would not attend the regional group’s 19th summit, scheduled in Islamabad on Nov 15 and 16. India cited Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the Sept 18 terrorist attack in Uri as the reason for its decision to boycott the summit. Pakistan strongly denies the Indian allegation and India has provided no evidence to support its claim so far. Yet three other Saarc nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan — joined the boycott. The boycott led to an indefinite postponement of the summit and exposed Pakistan’s isolation within the group where it once played a key role. Among the eight Saarc nations, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are India’s strong allies while Bhutan, surrounded by India from all sides, is too small to resist any move from New Delhi. The Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka have good ties with Pakistan, but they are not large enough to take on India. “Apparently, the...
China Aims To Thaw Frosty India, Pakistan Ties
A senior official of China’s foreign ministry voiced hope on Tuesday that tensions between Pakistan and India will defuse after the upcoming summit of five emerging economic powers in a western Indian state later this month. China’s President Xi Jinping will travel to Goa to attend the 8th summit of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — which will be held on October 15 and 16. The Chinese leader would also meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “China is concerned at rising tensions between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue,” Xiao Qian of the Department of Asian Affairs told a group of senior Pakistani journalists in Beijing on Tuesday. “China will try to normalise strained relations between Pakistan and India,” he added. He said the two countries should resolve the festering dispute through dialogue. “China appreciates Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue with India.” Tensions have been running high between Pakistan and India since the Sept 18 deadly attack on an Indian military base in Uri, in the disputed Himalayan state. New Delhi whipped up war hysteria, especially after conducting self-styled surgical strikes in the Pakistani side of Kashmir — a claim strongly denied by Islamabad. “Pakistan and India should shun the talk of war,” Xiao said. However, he reiterated his country’s assurance that it would stand by Pakistan in every situation. He admitted that durable normalisation might not be possible without resolving the festering dispute which Pakistan describes as the real bone of contention with India. On the Afghan peace process, the Chinese official said that Beijing tried to facilitate talks between the Taliban and the Kabul administration — but the process was suspended following the killing of Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. Mansoor was killed in a US drone strike in Balochistan while he was returning from neighbouring Iran on May 21, 2016. China was part of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group that also involved...
The Taleban Assault on Kunduz city: Déjà vu, but why?
A little over a year after the temporary fall of Kunduz city to the Taleban, the city has become a battleground again. On 3 October 2016, the Taleban entered during a massive assault from three directions. Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), supported by US forces and air power, are battling to recapture the areas they lost, with territory still changing hands. The attack was very similar in tactics to the one last year and was largely staged from the very same areas – despite reassurances by the government that the situation was in hand and despite the many ANSF ‘clearing operations’ (that indeed failed to clear these areas). AAN’s Obaid Ali explains the persistent vulnerabilities that brought the city very close to being overrun by the Taleban for a second time. The Taleban attack Kunduz city again On 3 October 2016, the Taleban started their assault on Kunduz city – a little over a year after the city fell in September 2015. The assault was staged from three directions. The first attack started in the early morning, around 4:00 am, from the western areas of Zakhel, Khakani, Bagh-e Sherkat, Kota-ye Gert and Qahwa Khana. These areas are located in the city’s first police district and are only a few kilometers away from the city’s symbolic heart: its main square where several government buildings are located. Insurgents from Chahrdara, the district flanking Kunduz city to the west and southwest, supplied fighters for this front. Chahrdara has been one of the Taleban’s strongholds for the past few years and played a crucial role in last year’s attack on the city. Once Kunduz city’s security cordon had been breached on this side, the Taleban overran the first police district’s head quarters which is located around two kilometers northwest of Kunduz main square, and started moving towards the city’s centre. The second assault followed shortly after from the east of the city, from an area known as Charkh Ab, which it is around two kilometers away from the main...
Three Afghan Taliban Leaders Arrested
Three key members of the Afghan Taliban, including Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai who served as intelligence chief under Mullah Akhtar Mansoor have been arrested, two Taliban leaders confirmed to The Express Tribune late Tuesday. The Taliban leaders said Nanai was picked up three days ago from Balochistan. Suleman Agha, the Taliban governor for Daykund province, and Mullah Sani, also known as Samad Sani, chief of a religious school and a well-known trader, who have links with the Taliban, have also been taken into custody, they added on the condition of anonymity. There was no official word on the arrests. However, some sources have confided to The Express Tribune that the arrests have been made after the Taliban had ‘refused’ to start peace talks with the government. A Taliban source said at least eight Taliban leaders have been arrested from different parts of Balochistan in recent days. “Several senior leaders, including Amir Khan Muttaqi, former information minister during the Taliban rule, have gone into hiding,” he said. Mullah Nanai, some Taliban sources say, was recently appointed as the Taliban Chief Justice by Maulvi Haibatullah. He was one of the few top Taliban leaders who had been involved in wooing dissident Taliban leaders to declare support for Akhtar Mansour. The arrests have been made at a time when the Taliban have intensified attacks in parts of Afghanistan. A credible source close to the Taliban said the “Pakistani crackdown” is linked to the Taliban’s refusal to come to the negotiating table”. He said Pakistan had recently “approached” the Taliban and asked them to join the peace process. However, they reiterated their stance to not talk to the government. This article originally appeared in The Express Tribune, October 12, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
‘Irrational’ Border Closure A Setback To Pak-India Ties: Chinese Analysts
India's decision to completely close its border with Pakistan is 'irrational' and may lead to a major setback in bilateral relations analysts say, Chinese daily Global Timesreported on Tuesday. Citing Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh's earlier statement that the border between Pakistan and India would be completely sealed by December 2018, the Global Times quoted several analysts who opposed the move due to a variety of reasons. 'Irrational decision' "India is making a very irrational decision, since no exhaustive investigation has been conducted after the Uri incident, and no evidence proves Pakistan is behind the attack," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Hu said that a "completely sealed" border would further hinder the already scarce border trade and talks between the two countries. 'Move complicates China-Pak-India ties' The Times also quoted Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies, as saying that the sealed border would only disrupt peace efforts made by the two sides. "The country's decision reflects its Cold War mentality, and will only cause deeper hatred among residents living in Indian- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir," said Hu. "Since Pakistan is China's all-weather strategic partner, India's decision would make China-Pakistan-India relations more complicated." "A peaceful resolution on the Kashmir disputes is in the interest of China's homeland security, especially its western regions," he said. India's new border Rajnath's announcement came amid escalated tensions between Pakistan and India in the wake of repeated ceasefire violations and Indian claims of a 'surgical strike' in Azad Jammu and Kashmir ─ a claim rejected by Pakistan. The Indian home minister had said of the border: “It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting...
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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.