The interior ministry told lawmakers on Wednesday that it has sealed 102 Islamic seminaries for fanning extremism. Moreover, it has also frozen Rs1 billion in funds of proscribed militant groups. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have sealed the seminaries for sponsoring terrorism or extremism, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the National Assembly in a written reply to a question raised by PPP MNA Shahida Rehmani. This year, the government has closed down 87 madrassas in Sindh and 13 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he said. Two seminaries have been sealed in Punjab where a number of students were found in contact with banned groups. The LEAs have also identified 190 seminaries that receive funds from abroad. Curbing terror financing As part of the strategy to choke terror financing, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has frozen Rs1 billion in 126 accounts linked to proscribed organisations. Further, the LEAs have recovered Rs251.2 million in cash which was being traded through Hawala and Hundi. The government also recovered Rs19.77 million from suspects involved in the 2004 ‘Chowk Yadgar Operation’ in Peshawar. Losses in War on Terror Nisar said the war on terror has cost Pakistan Rs118.4 billion since 2001. Replying to a question from PTI’s Dr Shireen Mazari, he said Fata had suffered the most, with losses worth Rs68.5 billion. Sindh was a distant second suffering loss worth Rs16.5 billion. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has suffered losses worth Rs15 billion, while Punjab has suffered Rs13.4 billion in losses, he added. Balochistan has suffered losses worth Rs4.3 billion, Gilgit-Baltistan Rs358.1 million, and AJK Rs12.6 million. Banned groups The government has put 7,923 people in the fourth schedule in addition to including the names of 188 hardcore militants on the Exit Control List. Movement of 2,081 hardcore militants has also been restricted. Similarly, the government has registered 1,026 cases, while 230 terror suspects have been arrested. Hate speech One of the...

As part of the interactions with the broader civil society of Pakistan within the framework of ‘Beyond Boundaries-Track II initiative”, the Afghan Civil Society delegation met with Mr. Hamid Mir (prominent journalist/GEO tv anchor) and Mr. Haroon Sharif (Advisor to World Bank, Regional Economic Cooperation South Asia) in Islamabad today.  The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the role of media in peacebuilding and the kind of contributions media on both sides can make to build positive perceptions about the two countries. The Afghan visitors invited Mr. Hamid Mir to conduct shows in Kabul which they think could help bring the two people together. Mr. Haroon Sharif provided an overview of the state of international investments in the region. He noted that despite the volatile conditions in Afghanistan, investments by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other multilateral donors had risen to $ four billion in the last three years. The Afghan delegation was here to participate in a two-day Track II meeting under "Beyond Boundaries", a Pak-Afghan initiative under the aegis of CRSS, supported by Duran Consultants, Kabul. The Pakistan-Afghanistan Track II meeting in Islamabad is part of a series of seven such meetings. The next meeting of Pak-Afghan Civil Society group as well as of the Regional Security Group will be held in Kabul during December.

Pakistan wants its relations with Afghanistan to be based on equality and reciprocity; without peace and stability in Afghanistan, there cannot be peace and stability in Pakistan. The Pakistan of 2015 does not distinguish between good and bad terrorists; combating, crushing and containing all forms of terrorism is a national priority for Pakistan. This was noted by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed in his remarks at the concluding session of the first Af-Pak bilateral meeting of Civil Society and Youth Representatives. The meeting was part of the project “Beyond Boundaries”, a track 1.5/II initiative conceived by Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad aimed to promote peace between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The concluding session of the Track I.5/II dialogue was well attended by various groups of stakeholders, members of civil society, media, intelligentsia, government officials and diplomats from different embassies. Mr. Sayed noted that in the changing geo-political realities and rise of Asia, it is imperative that Pakistan and Afghanistan seize the opportunity and work together for regional peace and long term prosperity. Chairing the concluding session Lt. Gen (R) Talat Masood noted that though both Pakistan and Afghanistan must appreciate the role of third parties in facilitating dialogue – it is the responsibility of both countries to work together to resolve differences and actualize the potential within both countries. He noted that good nations commit mistakes but great nations do not repeat them- Pakistan and Afghanistan must continue dialogue to lower the trust deficit. He further noted that initiatives such as Beyond Boundaries provide an excellent and much needed opportunity for civil society and youth representatives to build understanding on common issues on a people-to-people level. Dr. Muhammad Zubair, a prominent economist briefed the delegates on Afghanistan-Pakistan trade relations and noted that Pakistan is Afghanistan’s number one...

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai has said relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan hold key importance for both the countries. “It is important to advance the goals of mutual cooperation on a state level,” he said while addressing the two-day dialogue titled “Pakistan –Afghanistan Track 1.5 and II Beyond Boundaries Project” in Islamabad on Monday. “Enhancing people to people relations is a priority of relations with Pakistan.” The envoy declared his government’s support to the project, and underpinned the need to build on the commonalities that exist between the two nations. Pakistani, Afghan civil society members to hold peace dialogue Federal Minister for Commerce and Industry Khurram Dastagir also spoke on the occasion, saying it was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s strong desire to end years of hostility between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “There is a need to steer the stakeholders towards negotiations,” he said, adding “it is important to bring together media people from both the countries to help improve the perceptions of each other.” Pakistan invites India’s FM to moot on Afghanistan British High Commissioner to Pakistan Phillip Barton said the British government was happy to support the initiative. The delegates will finalise their peace recommendations on Tuesday. The Beyond Boundaries project comprises two working groups, Regional Security Group, and Civil Society and Youth Group, aimed at facilitating and promoting people-to-people contact between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Published November 9, 2015 http://tribune.com.pk/story/988147/pak-afghan-relations-hold-key-importance-mosazai/

All eyes in the region are on Delhi where the Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar will be meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, and this encounter is being seen as a very significant meeting after a thaw in relations ever since President Ashraf Ghani took office. Atmar will be accompanied by Hekmat Karzai, deputy foreign minister, in the first attempt where Kabul now wants to re-engage with New Delhi. According to reports, after the signing of a strategic partnership agreement in 2012, India is expected to provide Kabul with four MI 25 attack helicopters, while previously New Delhi had been reluctant from providing any defence equipment. However, in Islamabad, the highly respected Afghan Ambassador Janan Mosazai echoed a statement from President Ashraf Ghani who said that Pakistan was not only important for Afghanistan but rather “vital” for peace and development. “Pakistan is ‘closer’ to us than all of Afghan’s neighbours,” Mosazai pointed out while speaking at the inaugural session of a conference, Beyond Boundaries, as part of efforts to improve relations between the two neighbours. Despite a low in relations, Mosazai said this did not mean that there had been breakdown in our relations. “We have maintained a high level of strategic dialogue where I am in touch with the Foreign Office and the security establishment here. President Ashraf Ghani too has been in touch by telephone with the political and military leadership here. We pick the phone and talk,” he said in an optimistic tone. This is the initiative of the Centre of Research and Security Studies (CRSS) - in partnership with its Afghan counterpart DURAN Research and Analysis (DRA). While once again Pak-Afghan relations are seeing a low in bilateral relations, Mosazai was heard with rapt attention as he stressed that the “natural affinity” between the two sides will rescue relations in the future. He said he was hopeful because when the two sides sat across the table they do work...

ISLAMABAD—Officials, civil society activists and politicians from Pakistan and Afghanistan are holding a two-day unofficial dialogue in Islamabad on how to lessen bilateral tensions, address misconceptions and build mutual confidence for jointly promoting peace and security on both sides of their shared border. The unofficial interaction is taking place at a time of increased tension and mutual mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Addressing the opening session Monday of the so-called "Beyond Boundaries” discussions, Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai emphasized the need for increased contacts to build mutual confidence. “We believe that the civil society in Pakistan, the civil society in Afghanistan can become extremely substantial, extremely important stakeholders in the state-to-state and in the country-to-country cooperation and ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Mosazai. Mosazai said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took significant steps to improve relations with Pakistan after assuming office more than a year ago, and dismissed the impression the progress and contacts have completely halted. “Unfortunately, where we seem to have failed the test of times is in translating our common vision, our points of convergence and our very specific decisions, when it comes to various dimensions of our relations, from words to actions,” said Mosazai. Allegations fly Afghan leaders allege the Pakistani military and its spy agency have not ended support for the Taliban insurgency, and Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing anti-Pakistan militants to use Afghan soil for cross-border attacks. Pakistani Trade Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan told the conference Islamabad is determined to prevent militants from using its territory for terrorist attacks. He hoped the two countries will overcome challenges to security cooperation in fighting terrorism. “That is our aim to surmount in the coming days and months, but I want to emphasize this; that our commitment...

ISLAMABAD: A Pak-Afghan Track 1.5 dialogue ‘Beyond boundaries’ opened here on Monday with calls for improved relations between the two neighbours that are facing renewed frictions in their ties. The dialogue involving civil society, youth and government officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan has been hosted by Islamabad-based Centre of Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and its Afghan counterpart, Duran Research and Analysis (DRA), for helping the two neighbours improve their relations and ultimately promote peace, security and regional prosperity. Relations between Islamabad and Kabul improved last year following the change in the Afghan presidency and the two cooperated in the start of reconciliation process with the Afghan Taliban. But the ties suffered a major setback after the breakdown of talks with the militants and the increase in violence in the war ravaged Afghanistan. The two countries suffer from a deep mutual mistrust. Inaugurating the dialogue, Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir urged both the sides to carefully deliberate on the bitter narratives. “We need to jettison the bilateral relationship from hostility and mistrust. Mistrust is the issue and I felt it when I personally visited Kabul,” he said. Mr Dastagir said he had asked the prime minister to develop closer relations between the cabinets of the two countries. “It is also critically important to bring together media people from both the countries to help improve the perceptions on each other,” he added. British High Commissioner Philip Barton also stressed the importance of better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Healthy relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are vital for stability, security and prosperity of the two countries, the region and the world,” he observed. Peace processes, he cautioned, are never easy. “But in the end, dialogue is the only route to peace,” he said. Afghan envoy Janan Mosazai said both the countries were vital for each other and that...