-  Honourable Chairperson Mr. Fahim Dashti, -  Your Excellency Ambassador Karan Pierce of UK, -  Mr. Abaceen Nasimi, -  Mr. Kawun Kakar, -  Distinguished members of Pakistani and Afghan delegations, -  Ladies and gentlemen, First of all let me thank the organizers for holding this event and providing me with an opportunity to interact with all of you. The civil society meetings play an important role in bringing our two countries closer. The journalists, writers and civil society members can guide people in their own way. If I may quote Ezra Pound, who says “Artists are the antennae of the race”. And to me every creative writer is an artist whether he is a poet or a journalist, whether he writes a poem or a column, whether he speaks one language or the other. It’s they who teach love, who tell positive things, who bring people together. Such intellectuals are our asset because they help humanity when politicians fail, they speak love when others are talking hate. And hence, Ladies and Gentlemen, we pin our hopes on writers, intellectuals and journalists. The media is the fourth pillar but it can guide the first three pillars. It can lead the people. It can make or break. But this important role also brings responsibility. If you highlight 90% positive things, you can serve the interest of the two nations and bring the two countries close. However, if you chose to highlight only 5-10% negative issues, you can poison the minds of people on both sides of the border. Ladies and Gentlemen, Pakistan–Afghanistan relationship is special and unique. The two countries share common history, religion, civilization, culture, language and ethnic bond that is truly people-to-people. The fraternal ties between the two brotherly countries transcend the boundaries of time and are reinforced by our common faith and cultural affinities. The vision of Pakistani leadership hinges on close and cooperative relations with Afghanistan for which we have made serious efforts especially since...

-  Honourable Chairperson Mr. Fahim Dashti, -  Your Excellency Ambassador Karan Pierce of UK, -  Mr. Abaceen Nasimi, -  Mr. Kawun Kakar, -  Distinguished members of Pakistani and Afghan delegations, -  Ladies and gentlemen, First of all let me thank the organizers for holding this event and providing me with an opportunity to interact with all of you. The civil society meetings play an important role in bringing our two countries closer. The journalists, writers and civil society members can guide people in their own way. If I may quote Ezra Pound, who says “Artists are the antennae of the race”. And to me every creative writer is an artist whether he is a poet or a journalist, whether he writes a poem or a column, whether he speaks one language or the other. It’s they who teach love, who tell positive things, who bring people together. Such intellectuals are our asset because they help humanity when politicians fail, they speak love when others are talking hate. And hence, Ladies and Gentlemen, we pin our hopes on writers, intellectuals and journalists. The media is the fourth pillar but it can guide the first three pillars. It can lead the people. It can make or break. But this important role also brings responsibility. If you highlight 90% positive things, you can serve the interest of the two nations and bring the two countries close. However, if you chose to highlight only 5-10% negative issues, you can poison the minds of people on both sides of the border. Ladies and Gentlemen, Pakistan–Afghanistan relationship is special and unique. The two countries share common history, religion, civilization, culture, language and ethnic bond that is truly people-to-people. The fraternal ties between the two brotherly countries transcend the boundaries of time and are reinforced by our common faith and cultural affinities. The vision of Pakistani leadership hinges on close and cooperative relations with Afghanistan for which we have made serious efforts especially since...

An Eight member Pakistani delegation comprising members of civil society and media arrived in Kabul on Tuesday December 1st, for the second round of meetings as part of a series of seven Track 1.5/II meetings between Afghan and Pakistani civil society and regional security working groups. This is British funded initiative organized by the Center of Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in partnership with Duran Research & Analysis, who have launched a major Afghanistan-Pakistan Track 1.5/II project Beyond Boundaries, as part of their efforts to help connect civil society stakeholders of both countries, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Beyond Boundaries comprises two working groups, the Regional Security Group, and Regional Civil Society Group, aimed at facilitating and promoting people-to-people contacts. The working groups on Regional Security and Regional Civil Society will address varied themes that are important in the peace process between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is also meant to build upon existing people to people relations and increase future people-to-people contact. The key objectives of the initiative are: expanding the peace constituency through friendship groups in both countries; and improving support for better Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship through dialogue among the influential stakeholders and informing policy makers through consensus recommendations. The second in a series of seven meetings, the Regional Civil Society Group meeting was inaugurated today December 2nd in Kabul. The arrival of the Pakistani Civil Society and Media delegation marks the resumption of dialogue between non-governmental and political stakeholders from the two countries to the backdrop of a politically difficult and challenging environment. These talks are taking place at a time of increased tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan for most of this year. Afghan and Pakistani government officials met during the Af-Pak Joint Economic Commission...

US strikes continued in Afghanistan and Somalia last month. Strikes in both countries were carried out to counter a threat to US forces on the ground. There were no attacks reported in Pakistan, where the Pakistan Air Force continues bombing the tribal areas, or in Yemen where the Saudi-led coalition’s aerial bombing campaign continued. Pakistan Pakistan: CIA drone strikes All strikes, November 2015 All strikes, 2015 to date All strikes, 2004 to date CIA drone strikes 0 13 421 Total reported killed 0 60-85 2,489-3,989 Civilians reported killed 0 2-5 423-965 Children reported killed 0 0 172-207 Total reported injured 0 25-32 1,158-1,738   All the strikes in the table above were carried out by the CIA using Predator or Reaper drones. The Pakistan Air Force has also carried out air strikes in the same region as the CIA, using jets and its own armed drone – the Burraq. November was the second consecutive calendar month without a reported US strike in Pakistan. Despite this halt in CIA drone strikes, US air operations continue across the border in Afghanistan and the impact is being felt in the tribal areas of Pakistan. On November 20 details emerged of several funerals for people killed in US air strikes in Afghanistan. These ceremonies, held in various districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were reportedly attended by thousands of people. You can download the Bureau’s complete datasheet of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan here. Afghanistan Afghanistan: confirmed US drone and air strikes All strikes, November 2015 All strikes, 2015 to date All US strikes 9 175 Total reported killed 64-129 749-1,131 Civilians reported killed 0 44-103 Children reported killed 0 3-21 Total reported injured 21 132-137 The US Air Force has a variety of aircraft carrying out missions over Afghanistan, including jets, drones and AC-130 gunships. The UN reported in August 2015 that most US strikes were by unmanned aerial vehicles. This matches the Bureau’s records that show most US...

THE prime minister’s recent statement offering an unconditional dialogue with India is a positive political move to decrease the escalating tension between India and Pakistan. However, there is also an important legal development in the context of which it should become clear to the Modi government that dialogue on the core issue of Kashmir cannot be indefinitely avoided and that it has become a legal necessity to find a solution to the territory of Kashmir that India occupies. The said legal development, hardly noticed on the Pakistani side, is the recent judgement by the Srinagar High Court interpreting Article 370 of the Indian constitution. This judgement has blocked the Modi government’s intentions to fully integrate India-held Kashmir into the territory of the Union of India. In fact, in 2015, another, similar judgement was delivered by the Srinagar High Court comprising a different bench. Both the judgements delivered by the court arrived at the same conclusion, effectively that the territory of India-held Kashmir retains an element of sovereignty and cannot be integrated into India at all. These views are based on the interpretation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution. The Srinagar High Court bench comprising Justice Hasnain Massodi and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal in ‘Ashok Kumar vs State of J&K’ rejected the political position of the Indian government while interpreting Article 370 of the Indian constitution and, instead, held that the status of India-held Kashmir with the Union of India would remain temporary forever. In other words, the position taken by the Indian government that Article 370 has been watered down and India-held Kashmir, by the flux of time, stands integrated into the territories of India is legally incorrect. This is a serious jolt to the Modi government’s stance on Kashmir. The Srinagar High Court found that Article 370 of the Indian constitution can cease to have effect only if the procedure prescribed in the proviso to clause...