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Govt Lifts Ban on Nepalis Working In Afghanistan
Oct 17, 2016- The government has lifted a travel ban on Nepali security guards going to work in Afghanistan, hardly two months after the Kabul suicide attack that claimed the lives of 13 Nepali guards working for the Canadian embassy. On June 23, three days after the deadly attack, the then KP Sharma Oli-led government had stopped issuing permits to Nepalis to work in the war-torn country amid a public outrage. Officials at the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) said the decision was taken before Dashain based on the recommendation of concerned stakeholders including migrant workers. “Many people suggested that the ban should be lifted as there is no more threat as perceived,” said Pudasaini. “The government lifted the ban as suggestion came from several quarters that the deadly incident was a result of circumstances.” The embassies in Kathmandu of the United States and Canada had also suggested lifting the ban, he said. DoFE officials said permits would be issued to Nepalis going to work in the Green Zone with full assurance of workers’ safety and security from the employers. Green Zone loosely refers to selected employers including the United Nations, NATO allies and western missions. Pudasaini said that the employers willing to hire Nepali guards would have to comply with the security measures suggested by the government. According to him, the employers should ensure that workers’ residence is located at the duty premises or if the residence is outside of the station, there should be strong security measures to transport the workers to and fro. Officials at the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) said the ban was lifted based on the recommendation of a high-level committee formed to analyse the security situation of the Nepali workers in Afghanistan. The committee recommended sending Nepalis as migrant workers to Afghanistan only after safety assurances and residence on the work premises by the hiring companies. MoLE officials also hinted at...
Reconciliation and Dialogue Key to Regional Peace: Sartaj Aziz
India is trying to score political points and divert attention from the Kashmir issue. The fact of the matter is that Pakistan has made remarkable progress in the last few years against the menace of terrorism. The armed forces have destroyed infrastructure, and decimated the enemy hideouts. A clean-up operation is being coordinated by through various intelligence-led operations across the country. These remarks were made by the National Advisor on Foreign Affairs, the honorable Mr. Sartaj Aziz, while speaking to a Chinese delegation from the China Association for Friendship (CAF), here on invitation from the Center for Research and Security Studies. The CAF delegation is in Pakistan for four days for a people to people exchange of ideas and improved coordination between the two countries. The contingent is led by Mr. Chen Shaoxin, Deputy Secretary General of CAF and bolstered by prominent scholars, professors and researchers. Mr. Sartaj Aziz also said that the anti-terrorism operation has taken special care to completely eliminate any members or infrastructure of the East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) presence in Pakistan. “Enemies of China are enemies of Pakistan”, he said. “We cannot and will not allow them any refuge in Pakistan. Speaking on Pakistan’s strategy moving forward, he said that the state is following a three-pronged strategy. First, Pakistan is strictly following a policy of non-interference. Second, Pakistan is determined not to allow any part of its soil to be used for the nefarious purposes of terrorism. Finally, Pakistan is keen to promote reconciliation and dialogue to facilitate peace in the region, especially in the Afghanistan peace process. He also said that Pakistan cannot accept the Indian dominance narrative perpetrated by a very vocal and aggressive Modi government. “Even if we cannot immediately solve Kashmir, it does not mean we cannot talk about it. We have to come to the table, and keep talking about political...
Will China Be Able to Sort out Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Differences?
Last week at the Brussels Conference, Afghanistan won financial pledges worth $15.2 billion until 2020, including half a million dollars from Pakistan. Though quite encouraging, the pledges at the Conference fall short of $4 billion annual target set in 2012 at the Tokyo conference. Since 2002, Washington alone has handed out $115 billion to Kabul while the rest of the world gave away $15 billion. Afghanistan’s 80% budget is financed by foreign aid. The country seems to have marginally improved in terms of institutions building, infrastructure and security. But its bureaucracy remains in shambles, while political infighting and widespread corruption has taken a toll on an average Afghan. The unexpectedly high pledges in times of global turmoil and donor fatigue won’t be easy to materialise without solid clampdown against corruption and human trafficking. Afghans form the largest group of asylum seekers entering the EU territories in tens of thousands, majority of whom failed to get the refugee status. EU conditioned its $1.5 billion aid to Afghanistan’s progress in anti-corruption and return of failed asylum seekers. “We’re buying four more years for Afghanistan,” said EU special representative Franz-Michael Mellbin in the Conference. Afghan officials have downplayed the preconditions of the pledged assistance. Afghan security forces remain demoralised with insider attacks and desertions. From Northern provinces, such as Kunduz, the central region of Uruzgan, to eastern and southern areas, Afghanistan is faced with resurgent Taliban. And amid erosion of the writ of the state, gains from Kabul’s recent peace deal with Hizb-i-Islami appear miniscule. For almost a year, Afghanistan has abandoned bids for politically negotiating settlements with Taliban through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) forum. Kabul will sooner than later have to shun its hardline policy and return to QCG process. Not only are its resources shrinking amid mounting challenges,...
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.
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...
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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.