|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
The India-Pakistan Peace Process
July-Ahust 2011
Compiled by Sidra Tariq
Supervised by Dr. Shaheen Akhtar
The foreign minister level talks between India and Pakistan held in July 2011 generated different views from various circles. It was a disappointment for those who were looking for a quick breakthrough on crucial issues between India and Pakistan. Another section found these talks too mundane an exercise to note. However, for many, the mere fact that the dialogue was going ahead was a positive development in bilateral relationship. Both foreign ministers termed the meeting a “new era in ties.”
On 6 July, Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani billed India as Pakistan's most “important neighbour.” He said that New Delhi would have to play a more positive and accommodating role and respond to Islamabad's legitimate security concerns. Gilani said that New Delhi “would not find Islamabad lacking in will to write a new chapter in bilateral relations,” but stressed the need for some accommodation by India. He stated: “Pakistan desires sustained, substantive and result-oriented process of dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.”(1)
For the first time since 26/11, the Indian government acknowledged that its policy of not engaging with Pakistan might have been wrong.
On 5 July, former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in an interview on an Indian TV channel said India’s “new approach towards Pakistan is more realistic.” Ms. Rao said: “I think the decision to re-engage with Pakistan and to talk about the issues that divide us, that created a gulf between us and reduced the trust deficit as the two prime ministers said, is a very realistic approach in dealing with the problems with Pakistan. Pakistan’s attitude towards tackling terrorism has changed, a concrete development that India should take note of.”(2)
On 1st August, India’s new Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said that he had been mandated to pursue “substantive dialogue” with Pakistan to “restore trust and confidence” in the country’s relationship with the neighbouring country. He said that he considered “constructive cooperation” between India and its immediate neighbours as one of his priority tasks.(3)
The foreign ministerial level talks between India and Pakistan took place on 27 July at New Delhi. The Pakistani side was led by Pakistan’s newly appointed foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, while her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna represented the Indian side. The talks focused on cross-Kashmir confidence-building measures (CBMs) and concerns over terrorism. The 21-point joint statement affirmed “the importance of carrying forward the dialogue process with a view to resolving peacefully all outstanding issues through constructive and result-oriented engagement.” The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan said relations between the countries were "on the right track" and hailed a "new era" in bilateral ties.(4)
After the talks, the Indian foreign minister said: "We have reaffirmed our commitment to resolve all outstanding issues through a comprehensive, serious and sustained dialogue. We have some distance to travel, but with open mind…I am sure we can reach our desired destination of having a friendly and cooperative relation between our two countries." While stressing Pakistan’s commitment to the dialogue process, Foreign Minister Khar said: "This is a new era of bilateral cooperation. It is our desire and I believe after having spoken to you, Mr. Foreign Minister, that it is the desire of both the governments to make it an uninterrupted and an uninterruptible process…A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades."(5)
During the meeting, the ministers announced a few agreed steps to “remove mistrust by allowing cross-border trade and visits for tourism from either side of Kashmir. The number of days per week that cross-border trade would be allowed between the two sides of disputed Kashmir would be doubled from two to four. The two governments agreed to make it easier for Kashmiris from either side to cross the border.” Moreover, the ministers agreed to “permit people to visit for tourism and religious pilgrimages as well.” The two sides agreed that they would meet in the first half of 2012 to discuss the progress made.(6)
Before the formal foreign ministers level talks, Ms. Khar’s meeting with the Kashmiri leaders in Delhi caused a flurry in the Indian media. However, on her meeting with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders in New Delhi, she told the Indian minister that Pakistan wanted to engage all stakeholders.
On 6 August, while briefing the National Assembly about her India visit, Ms. Khar termed the visit as extremely successful and said Islamabad was keen on building a new relationship with not just New Delhi but also Kabul. She said: “We believe that peace, security and prosperity in South Asia as a whole is indivisible.'' The minister said Pakistan had been able to convey to India its commitment to the engagement on the issues of Siachen and Sir Creek, which seems to be ‘doable.’(7)
On 3 August, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said India wished to have constructive relations with Pakistan in an environment free from terror and wanted Pakistan to take “credible” action against anti-India Jihadi leaders like Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed who “continue to incite violence”. He said that Ms. Khar’s visit was aimed at resolving peacefully all outstanding issues through a “constructive and forward-looking dialogue and to establish cooperative and good neighbourly relations between the two countries, in an environment free from terrorism and violence… I requested Pakistan to act on the assurance given to our home minister by Pakistaní interior minister in June 2010 on the dossiers regarding seven specific individuals and the need to provide voice samples.(8)
In response, Ms. Khar told him that India must have patience, trust and confidence in the judicial process in Pakistan as far as the Mumbai trial was concerned. She stressed that Pakistan was not trying to abdicate its responsibility.(9) Regarding terrorism emanating from the Pakistani territory, Ms. Khar said no country had suffered as much as Pakistan at the hands of terrorists and, therefore, Islamabad’s commitment to fight the menace should not be doubted. She said: “It was not Pakistan’s policy to support terrorism in any country. Pakistan was ready to have a dialogue with India on the issue and there was need for cooperation to combat terrorism.”(10)
In March 2011, India had arranged a list of 50 most wanted terrorists and had already handed it over to Islamabad when it was found that two of three suspected terrorists mentioned on the list were in India, one out on bail and the other still in jail. Indian agencies then withdrew the list and have now compiled a new one. The new “error free” list has 48 names including those of “underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and other masterminds of the November 2008 Mumbai attack and other terror strikes in India.”(11)
On 19 July, expressing United States pleasure over the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “We are encouraged by the dialogue occurring between India and Pakistan… We think this is the most promising approach — to encourage both sides to build more confidence between them and work to implement the kind of steps that will demonstrate the improved atmosphere that is so necessary for us to deal with the underlying problem of terrorism.”(12)
On 4 July, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani talking to a delegation of the People’s Party, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, said that Pakistan would support the Kashmir cause at all international fora and would use diplomatic means to highlight the issue till it was resolved. He said: “Pakistan People’s Party is committed to continuing moral, diplomatic and political support to this cause till the issue is resolved according to the wishes of Kashmiri people.” He also guaranteed the Kashmiris that the government of Pakistan would keep on providing adequate resources for the development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.(13)
On 9 August, briefing the National Assembly about her meeting with Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi, Pakistan’s foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that she “reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the Kashmiri cause” and said “Islamabad would continue to press for associating the true representatives of Kashmiris with the dialogue process on Jammu & Kashmir.”(14)
On 8 July, paying tributes to the martyrs of 13 July 1931, the chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, sought the involvement of representatives of Jammu and Kashmir in talks between India and Pakistan for a final resolution of the Kashmir issue. He said: “the ongoing talks between India and Pakistan would be result-oriented and fruitful only when the representatives of the state were involved in the talks.” He also stressed the need to create conducive atmosphere at the ground level in the trouble-torn state that would pave the way for a congenial atmosphere for talks at all levels.(15)
Pakistan has long been showing concern against India’s diverting the Neelum River, thereby affecting the Neelum Valley as well as Neelum-Jhelum Hydroproject. Despite numerous efforts, the matter could not be sorted out through dialogue between the two neighbours.
On 2 July, Pakistan filed its petition over the controversial Kishanganga dam in the World Bank’s arbitration court. The objection was filed by Pakistan on the basis that India could not redirect the route of the Neelum. By constructing Kishanganga dam, India would divest Pakistan of “15 per cent of its water share which was a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) between the two countries.”(16)
On 15 August, in a new development, Pakistan filed a petition in the Court of Arbitration (CoA), The Hague, seeking an order to ask India to put on hold the ongoing construction on the controversial Kishanganga project until the final decision of the court.(17)
On 18 July, senior officials of India and Pakistan discussed Jammu and Kashmir related cross-Line of Control (LoC) confidence-building measures, recommending a host of measures to boost trade and travel. The Indian delegation was led by Y K Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Pakistani side by Zehra H. Akbari, Director General (South Asia) Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the joint statement: “Both sides reviewed the existing cross-LoC travel and trade arrangements to ensure their effective implementation and exchanged views on additional measures to facilitate cross-LoC travel and trade.” Both sides also approved “a partial banking mechanism and increased the number of trade days from the present two to four days a week.” Furthermore, the two sides also recommended issuing multiple-entry permits having a six-month validity with a maximum of three trips for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.”(18)
On 9 August, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal extended formal invitation to Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim to visit India in September 2011, along with a business delegation to give impetus to the crucial talks started in April last for liberalisation of trade between the two neighbouring countries. According to Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry, “Mr Sabharwal informed the Pakistani commerce minister that Indian minister of commerce and industry, Anand Sharma, would like to carry the talks process forward.”(19) According to the news sources, Pakistan may grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India during the same visit.(20)
On 3 July, Convener, Lahore Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) Standing Committee on Customs and Ports and former vice-president Aftab Ahmad Vohra said that new trade routes other than Wagah border could enhance the bilateral Indo-Pakistan trade to the “tune of $5 billion while removing the tariff and non-tariff barriers.” Vohra said: “a dry port-like facility has already been established at both sides of the Wagah border but its potential is yet to be exploited… There were 1,945 products on import and export list of Pakistan out of which only 105 were allowed to be moved through the land route which was a major hurdle to the trade… The bilateral trade could improve if India removes the non-tariff barriers and increases the goods on land route list as both sides’ limited capacity of rail facilities hampered growth.” Furthermore, he stressed that visa facility was also the need of the hour for boosting bilateral trade.(21)
On 5 July, Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood, while addressing a one-day workshop on Indo-Pakistan trade relations, which was jointly organized by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, said that the Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status given to Pakistan by India remained only on paper, as very little had been done by India to enhance bilateral trade. The “Non-Tariff Barriers or hidden barriers remain the biggest hurdle in enhancing bilateral trade volume” between the two neighbours. He said: “Pakistani traders and exporters are facing visa issues in India while the Indian exporters were also under certain confusion and reservations after the Mumbai attacks. However, following the start of foreign/commerce secretary level talks, things have been improving and positive results from the negotiations are expected.”(22)
On 11 August, India asked Pakistan to take a humanitarian view and release Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced to death in 1991 over involvement in bomb attacks in Lahore and Multan in 1990. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in the Rajya Sabha that Sarabjit Singh was sentenced to death on 15 September 1991, on allegations that “he was involved in three bomb blasts in Lahore and one in Multan.” He held: “It is not our case that he was involved [in those blasts]….We don't share that [Pakistan's view of his involvement in the blasts].” He added that India had taken up the matter with the Government of Pakistan “very seriously.”(23)
Mohammad Khalil Chishty, an 80-year-old Pakistani virologist at the Karachi Medical College, has been serving life sentence in the Ajmer Central Jail. He was accused of killing a man during a brawl in April 1992 in Ajmer. He was in the city on pilgrimage to the famous dargah (shrine) of the Sufi saint, Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty, when the incident happened. He was awarded life imprisonment in January this year after an 18-year long trial. Indian Supreme Court Justice Markandeya Katju in June requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release Chishty on ‘humanitarian grounds.’(24) On 14 August, Pakistan’s former federal minister for human rights, Ansar Burney, wrote letters to Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting them for the early release of Chishty on the occasion of India’s Independence Day on 15 August.
Burney said that this would be “a good gesture for peace in the region” and also to improve relations between the two neighbouring countries. He said: “It is so tragic and I am very much afraid that Dr. Chishty may not come out alive if he continues in the jail as at present he is above 81 years of age. He is immobilized and unable to walk or stand. He also has fractured his left hip and is also showing symptoms of palsy as well as being a heart patient.”(25)
References
1. Anita Joshua, “India is the most important neighbour: Gilani,” The Hindu, Delhi, 7 July 2011.
2. “Disengaging Pakistan post 26/11 may have been wrong: Nirupama,” The News, Karachi, 4 July 2011.
3. Ashok Tuteja, “Ties with Pakistan top on new Foreign Secy’s agenda, The Tribune, Chandigarh, 2 August 2011.
4. Barrister Harun Ur Rashid, “Indo-Pakistan foreign ministers' meeting: Good beginning to ease tensions”, The Daily Star, Dhaka, 3 August 2011.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Anita Joshua, “Pakistan for uninterrupted, uninterruptible dialogue: Hina”, The Hindu, 10 August 2011.
8. Ashok Tuteja, “Don’t doubt our sincerity to fight terror, Pakistan tells India,” The Tribune, 4 August 2011.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. “India drafts new most-wanted list”, The Nation, Lahore, 14 July 2011.
12. Jawed Naqvi, “US ‘encouraged’ by India-Pakistan talks: Clinton,” Dawn, Karachi, 20 July 2011.
13. “Kashmir to be raised at int’l fora”, The Nation, 5 July 2011.
14. Anita Joshua, “Pakistan for uninterrupted, uninterruptible dialogue: Hina,” The Hindu, 10 August 2011.
15. “Mirwaiz: Involve Kashmiris in dialogue process”, The Tribune, 9 July 2011.
16. “Pakistan files stance over KG Dam”, The Nation, 3 July 2011.
17. “Pak moves international court to stall J&K power project”, The Kashmir Times, Jammu, 17 August 2011.
18. “India, Pak okay cross-LoC CBMs”, The Kashmir Times, 19 July 2011.
19. Mubarak Zeb Khan, “India invites Fahim to speed up trade talks”, Dawn, 12 August 2011.
20. “Pakistan may give India MFN status next month”, The Nation, 22 August 2011.
21. Jawwad Rizvi, “New routes can boost Pak-India trade to $5 billion”, The News, 4 July 2011.
22. Ghulam Abbass, “Indian Duplicity over MFN status to Pakistan”, Pakistan Today, Lahore, 6 July 2011.
23. “Release Sarabjit, India urges Pakistan”, The Hindu, 12 August 2011.
24. “Pakistani prisoner moves closer to release from Indian jail”, The News, 6 August 2011.
25. “Burney writes letters to Indian president, PM for Prof Chishty’s release,” The News, 15 August 2011
July-August 2011
Compiled by Humera Iqbal
It was revealed that Osama bin Laden was planning a major attack on the United States on 11 September this year to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 devastation. Lately, US relations with both Afghanistan and Pakistan are not on cordial terms. Although there have been certain moves from all three sides to sort out bilateral irritants so that the fight against the insurgent movement does not get affected.
US President Barack Obama’s top adviser on Pakistan said that the US had six months to deliver “a knockout blow” to al-Qaeda’s senior leadership in Pakistan while the group was still in turmoil after the killing of Osama bin Laden. The adviser, Douglas E. Lute, a deputy national security adviser, said the US needed to step up covert action in Pakistan to take advantage of the disarray within al-Qaeda’s senior ranks. Although he did not refer to the operations by name, his comment was widely interpreted to refer to drone strikes.(1)
A drone strike operated by the CIA killed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, a Libyan who was al-Qaeda’s second in ranking and top operational planner since last year. Atiyah’s death is significant because he belonged to the new generation of leaders and was in constant contact with bin Laden as shown by the electronic files recovered at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He used to deliver bin Laden’s recorded communications widely.(2)
A report in The Wall Street Journal claimed that Osama bin Laden was planning a major attack on the United States to coincide with the 10th anniversary this year of the 9/11 atrocity. The planning even went as far as considering candidates for the attack. Details of the planned strike emerged after a detailed examination of the data recovered from al-Qaeda leader’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, following the raid that killed him. The report though cited that no evidence was found other than the "nascent plot" which was the planning phase of attack.(3)
A task force assembled last year by Gen. David Petraeus, then the commander of allied forces in Afghanistan and now director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said in a broader war assessment report that the US military had lost a portion of $360 million intended for combat and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan to the Taliban, criminals and local leaders during nearly a decade on the ground there. The rest of the money has been lost to profiteering, bribery and extortion.(4)
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at a press conference in Kabul after a two-day trip to Afghanistan. He is due to step down in October. Mullen highlighted a lack of good governance in many parts of Afghanistan. He spoke specifically about Afghan institutions involved in the transition of power from the coalition to the Afghan troops and officials. The process will eventually see all foreign combat forces leave by the end of 2014. Some countries including the US have already started troop withdrawals as part of the transition process.(5)
Money from part of a $2.16 billion US transportation contract in Afghanistan ended up in the hands of Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon said. The disclosure was another example of the persistent difficulty the US military faces in keeping its massive war funding from reaching the insurgents it is fighting in the decade-old war. The United States is spending more than US$6 billion a month in the conflict. Pentagon officials have repeatedly warned of the need to tighten controls on US contracts and last year announced the creation of a task force to crack down on misuse of funds by contractors, some of whom pay Taliban protection money.(6)
The US Treasury Department announced a list of six members of an al-Qaeda network headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, a prominent Iran-based al-Qaeda facilitator, that is operating under an alleged agreement between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government. The action presses the US allegation that Iran is a critical transit point for funding to support al-Qaeda’s activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This alleged network serves as the core pipeline through which al-Qaeda moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia, including to Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, a key al-Qaeda leader based in Pakistan, who was also named in the list.(7)
Ryan C. Crocker, one of the most accomplished US diplomats, replaced Karl W. Eikenberry as ambassador to Afghanistan. Crocker told the diplomatic community that the US would not “rush for the exits” in the country’s longest declared war. Crocker had helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul in 2002 before serving as ambassador to Iraq. He is charged with overseeing the world’s largest diplomatic mission just as American and other foreign troops begin to leave the country. “It’s time for us to step back and for the Afghans to step forward,” he said.(8)
A pact aimed at clearing mistrust between Afghanistan and US about the future course of US troop presence and aid in Afghanistan has created further misunderstandings between the two. Afghan officials believe that US wants to decrease its support once the combat mission ends in 2014. To ensure confidence among Afghans, both will hold negotiations in Washington in early September on the document. The agreement would be signed before the international conference on Afghanistan’s future scheduled for December in Germany.(9)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Afghanistan would sign a long-term "strategic partnership" deal with Washington only if the US met Afghan conditions including an end to controversial night raids on homes. Karzai asked the foreign troops to work within the Afghan legal framework. They should not take prisoners and also they must not own private prisons, he said. Karzai also pledged that Afghanistan would pay for its own armed forces and police, but the only major prospective income stream for one of the poorest countries in the world is profits from mineral reserves that are still years from being mined.(10)
About $2.7 billion of military equipment would be delivered to Afghanistan over the next eight months. The huge military package has been termed an ‘iron mountain’ by NATO war planners. Starting from now till March next year, the US-led coalition will deliver 22,000 vehicles, including 514 new four-wheeled “mobile strike force” armoured vehicles yet to be used in Afghanistan, 44 airplanes and helicopters, 40,000 weapons, and tens of thousands of radios and other pieces of communications gear.(11)
A strategic pact would be signed prior to Bonn Conference on Afghanistan scheduled for December between US and Afghanistan which would allow thousands of US troops to remain in Afghanistan until at least 2024. According to the decided agreement not only the military trainers will be allowed to stay to build up Afghan army and police, US Special Forces soldiers and air power would also remain in the country. Prior to signing of the pact, the negotiations would be escalated in Washington in September between both countries national security advisers. The pact has been publicly disliked by Afghanistan’s neighbours; Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia; as it gives American military continued closer presence to Pakistan, Iran and China.(12)
A ceremony of security transition in Panjshir province was held on 24 July 2011. Afghan security forces took control from NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Panjshir province, 200 km north of Kabul. In a ceremony attended by Afghan and NATO-led forces officers in provincial capital Bazarak, Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said, "This is our national duty to take over security of our own country and defend it.”(13)
US acknowledged having secret and independent negotiations and meetings with the Taliban before they were undercut by Afghan President Karzai. Taliban negotiator, Tayyab Aga, was prominent in facilitating US-Taliban secret meetings. Prior to scuttling of meetings by Karzai because of his apparent fears of being sidelined, US and Taliban representatives met in late 2010 followed by at least two other meetings in early spring this year. The meetings were held in Germany and Qatar. Pakistan was kept in dark as an Afghan official with contacts with the Taliban said the insurgents decided not to tell Pakistan about the meetings with the United States.(14)
The Taliban have started to send signals to negotiate settlement, potentially offering an opening for the West and the Afghan government. While there have been some meetings between the Afghan government, NATO officials and some Taliban figures — and even with someone who turned out to be a Taliban imposter — the Taliban have always insisted that NATO troops would have to leave Afghanistan before any meaningful negotiations could take place. Recent statements suggest Taliban’s willingness to engage in talks even with foreigners’ presence in the country.(15)
The US military has banned the transfer of detainees to Afghan authorities in Kandahar until the issue of detainees rights and safeguards gets resolved. The US military is investigating reports that forces loyal to influential provincial police chief have abused prisoners. The ban had been imposed in mid-July in response to allegations that detainees had been mistreated in custody of Gen. Abdul Razziq’s forces. Gen. Razziq oversaw Afghan border police at a major crossing with Pakistan, where he was long suspected by Western leaders of profiting from legal and illegal supply routes.(16)
Insurgents shot down a Chinook transport helicopter, killing 30 Americans, including some Navy Seal commandos from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as eight Afghans, American and Afghan officials said. The helicopter, on a night-raid mission in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province, west of Kabul, was brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack while American officials said that 22 of the dead were Navy Seal commandos, including members of Seal Team 6.(17)
The number of insurgents reported killed in a NATO attack on a large encampment in a remote area of Paktika province rose to 80. There were concerns about more undetected militant camps within the country’s borders. The camp, which was raided by NATO troops backed up by Afghan forces, housed considerably more people than most compounds where Taliban and other insurgents take shelter along the border with Pakistan. The discovery raised questions about how entrenched the insurgency had become in southeastern Afghanistan.(18)
The US-led coalition in Afghanistan admitted that its forces had inadvertently killed an unspecified number of women and children during a fight with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, adding that it was also investigating a separate allegation of civilian casualties in the same region.(19)
British troops in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province handed over control of the city of Lashkar Gah to Afghan security forces. Lately Nato handed over the relatively peaceful province of Bamiyan and the eastern town of Mehtar Lam as well. However, maintaining stability in Lashkar Gah will be the sternest test yet for local forces. A handover ceremony took place at the governor’s palace in Lashkar Gah.(20)
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country would withdraw 1,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan by the end of 2012. He made the announcement during his third visit to Afghanistan, at a military base in the Sarobi district, north of Kabul. France has a total of 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.(21)
Canada formally ended its combat role in Afghanistan, closing a mission that cost 157 soldiers their lives since 2002. The move adds to the burden of US and Afghan troops who are trying to prevent a Taliban rebound in the militants' southern stronghold where Canadian troops had been fighting. Canada withdrew its combat units as the sixth largest troop-contributing nation, behind the US, Britain, Germany, France and Italy. While 2,850 Canadian soldiers went home, 950 others had started streaming into Afghanistan to help train Afghan security forces to take the lead role in securing the country by 2014.(22)
Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons that the British troops would withdraw early from Afghanistan. He said that the pullout would be limited to 500 troops in 2012, on top of 460 being withdrawn this year. None of the 500 soldiers to be pulled out next year will be combat troops. The British plan will leave a force of 9,000, still the second-largest foreign troop presence in Afghanistan, after the United States.(23)
About 100 Afghan lawmakers present in the 249-member assembly Wednesday voted against accepting the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) decision to replace nine legislators over voting fraud during elections in September last year. There has been potentially a paralysing rift widening between President Hamid Karzai and parliament since elections in which opponents of the president gained more. There are fears of the president suspending the parliament because of the critical situation.(24)
President Hamid Karzai ordered the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to enforce the special tribunal's verdict. The five-judge court, set up in late December 2010 by the Supreme Court following a series of protests pressing probe into alleged fraud and irregularities in the 18 September ballot, announced its judgment and ruled 62 of the 249 sitting parliamentarians were not entitled to retain their seats, based on the result of a vote recount ordered under Article 22 of the Electoral Law. It was rejected by the Election Commission and on request of a group the president said that the election commission had prepared a six-article resolution to resolve the crisis.(25)
Despite Taliban claims that they killed Ahmed Wali Karzai on 12 July a Western official said that the powerful half-brother of President Hamid Karzai was gunned down by an associate over a personal issue, and was not assassinated by the Taliban. The assassination had set off a power struggle and tensions about stability in southern Afghanistan as attacks and assassinations continue. Taliban involvement in the killing could have undercut the president's peace talks with insurgents, as US and coalition allies begin to withdraw forces. The gunman identified as Sardar Mohammad, had provided security for Wali Karzai and his family.(26)
An insurgent suicide bomber hiding explosives in his turban assassinated the mayor of Kandahar, the third killing of a high-profile official in the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the mayor, who held dual citizenship in Afghanistan and the United States. The killing came two weeks after a suicide bomber used the same disguise to attack senior mullahs at a memorial for the former provincial chairman of Kandahar, Ahmed Wali Karzai, who was also assassinated, heightening concerns that the tenuous security gains in the violent south are faltering despite months of intensified fighting by NATO and Afghan forces.(27)
A key adviser of President Karzai and a parliament member, Jan Mohammad Khan, was killed in a home west of Kabul. At least three attackers entered the home of Jan Mohammad Khan, who was also a former governor of Uruzgan province, and killed him, his security detail and Uruzgan parliament member Hashim Watanwal, according to police and Governor Khaudai Rahim.(28)
The mayor of Kandahar and the head of the city's clerical council were both killed by turban-wearing bombers in what is believed to be the first uses of the tactic. Security officials are predicting the tactic would be used again because of its success. Turbans, being a symbol of pride and identity in Afghanistan, particularly among the Pashtun tribes of the south, have made policemen and guards reluctant to ask elders and clerics to remove their turbans during security checks. Karzai met religious council members to discuss the issue and asked the clerics to convince insurgents not to use turbans and other religious attire to carry out suicide bombings, not to target mosques and to make them aware that suicide was un-Islamic. However, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the movement had never placed a bomb in a turban.(29)
President Karzai met a group of would-be child suicide bombers aged as young as seven and ordered their release on compassionate grounds. The 20 or so youngsters were recruited individually by the Taliban, often at religious schools, and promised virgins in paradise after they blew themselves up. However, all of the group were either arrested or surrendered to security forces before they could strike. During the meeting with Karzai, would be suicide bombers told that Taliban frequently give drugs in order to embolden them to carry out their attacks by telling them they are sick and then injecting them which make them feel different.(30)
A suicide car bomb destroyed the compound wall and a number of heavily armed men forced their way inside the British Council office in Kabul. Gunmen killed at least 12 people after several hours of gunfire and blast, including about eight Afghan policemen and a New Zealand special forces soldier. The Taliban said the attack marked the anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from UK in 1919.(31)
High Peace Council chief Burhanuddin Rabbani has tipped Arab citizen Abu Anas as the council's representative for Europe. Abu Anas is a son-in-law of Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, a highly influential Palestinian Islamic scholar, who preached in favour of Afghan mujahideen and against the Soviet invaders. During a meeting with Prof. Rabbani after his visits to Dubai, Turkey and Norway, Anas sought a role for himself in promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan.(32)
Government officials in an attempt to break up hundreds of small independent militias in the volatile northern province of Kunduz ordered more than 4,000 members to surrender their weapons within 20 days or face a military crackdown, threatening more violence in a region where security has steadily eroded over the last two years. In Kunduz, where the government has armed and equipped about 1,500 militiamen, thousands of others have joined the proliferating independent groups, or arbakai. Some have only a dozen men, while others number in the hundreds. But officials say they are little more than gangs that wreak havoc, frequently clashing with one another and collecting illegal taxes from local residents.(33)
Republicans in the US House of Representatives proposed a foreign aid bill that would restrict President Barack Obama’s authority to provide US money to Pakistan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority while cutting money for international organizations. The legislation would provide $47.2 billion in the next budget year, including $7.6 billion for the Global War on Terror fund. The bill would bar civilian and security aid to Pakistan unless the US secretary of state can certify to Congress that Islamabad is pursuing terrorists and helping investigate how al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hid for years inside Pakistan.(34)
The White House said that it withheld some $800 million in military assistance to Pakistan in a show of displeasure over its cutback on American trainers, limits on visas for American personnel and other bilateral irritants. The move was made following weeks of tension between the two nations following the 2 May raid by US special forces that killed al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.(35)
Pakistan army spokesman, Gen Athar Abbas, responded to US decision of cutting military aid to Pakistan saying that it would not affect Pakistan’s ability to combat terror groups. The money equates to about a third of the annual US security aid to Pakistan. Gen Abbas said that the move would have “no significant effect” on Pakistan's anti-terror efforts as Pakistan would continue its operations as it was doing in the past. Two major military operations currently under way in the Mohmand and Kurram tribal regions were being run without external support and would continue, he said, adding that al-Qaeda and other militant groups operating in Pakistan were "not only a threat to us but [also] to others.”(36)
Pakistan's ISI asked the US CIA to sign a contract outlawing unilateral American raids in the war on al-Qaeda. The two countries have been at loggerheads over intelligence sharing since the CIA’s secret raid in May that killed Osama bin Laden. A senior security official said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was demanding a formal contract ruling out such attacks on Pakistani soil, to resume the relationship.(37)
An influential US Democrat, Senator Carl Levin, leading a delegation of US Congressmen met with Pakistani officials. In a meeting with Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the Senator offered to restore $800 million in military aid to Pakistan. However, a condition attached to the restoration of aid offer was only if Islamabad reverses its decision of expelling US military trainers in the aftermath of the 2 May Abbottabad raid that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Senator Levin, who is the chairman of Senate’s Arms Services Committee, also held separate meetings with President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.(38)
The United States made a reconciliatory gesture to improve its strained relations with Pakistan. It assured Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh that the recent tense developments would not affect its economic support to the country. Also, as part of its efforts to improve military-to-military ties, Washington decided to send its military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, to Islamabad for talks with Pakistani generals. In Washington, however, all eyes were focused on a series of meetings that the ISI chief, Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha, held with senior intelligence and security officials.(39)
US officials defended a tactic used by the CIA to attempt to verify the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the covert creation of a vaccine programme in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The vaccine campaign was conducted shortly before the raid in early May on bin Laden’s compound, officials said, and was overseen by a Pakistani doctor who travelled to Abbottabad. The goal was to collect DNA evidence from residents to learn whether bin Laden lived in the compound. A senior US official said the campaign involved actual hepatitis vaccine and the doctor who oversaw the effort has since been arrested by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency for cooperating with the CIA.(40)
The US State Department said that both Washington and Islamabad had resolved issue of travel restriction placed on American diplomats in Pakistan. The US made efforts in convincing Pakistan’s security establishment to ease travel restrictions on diplomats and review expelling US military trainers. Both the issues were discussed between US Ambassador Cameron Munter and Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The US diplomats will have to carry their identity cards with them when they leave their embassy and same instructions are for Pakistani diplomats in US.(41)
The new CIA Islamabad chief assumed charge after his predecessor’s sudden departure from Pakistan ostensibly on medical grounds, confirmed a Pakistani official. However, the main reason behind the previous CIA chief’s exit from the country was attributed to his differences with Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and also with the US Ambassador Cameron Munter on the CIA-led drone campaign in the country’s tribal belt. The new CIA station chief is the third in the last seven months that the US top spy agency has appointed in Pakistan.(42)
The United States and Pakistan are heading towards yet another confrontation over halting production of nuclear bomb materials. Recent reports in the US media suggest that the UN General Assembly in New York next month will be the venue for this new push and the US has the blessings of four declared nuclear powers for its move. Moreover, the NBC News channel reported that the US was preparing for “the worst-case scenario of attempting to snatch Pakistan’s 100-plus nuclear weapons if it feared they were about to fall into the wrong hands.”(43)
Afghanistan was dissatisfied with the trilateral process involving the US and Pakistan that works for promoting peace and reconciliation with Afghan warring groups. “I bring the message of urgency to the core group as the situation in Afghanistan requires fruits of cooperation,” Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawid Lodin said at a press briefing after the fourth round of trilateral talks in Islamabad along with Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and US Special AfPak Envoy Marc Grossman. Both Pakistani and US officials insisted on keeping their bilateral problems out of the trilateral forum. However, to Lodin the trilateral process needs to make rapid and result-oriented progress.(44)
Pakistan finally asked the US to stop the CIA-run unmanned air strikes into its tribal areas. Although the drone raids began in 2004, the official request for stopping the strikes was conveyed when ISI chief Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha visited Washington. Pasha told acting CIA Director Michael J. Morell that the raids had become a major source of embarrassment for the Pakistani government as it was blamed for failing to stop a foreign power from killing its own citizens. Before this, Pakistan had publicly protested the strikes but had never officially asked the United States to discontinue them.(45)
Spy agencies have traced the mastermind behind abduction of American aid expert Dr. Warren Weinstein from an upscale neighbourhood of Lahore city. Up to eight assailants abducted Dr Warren Weinstein, the country director for JE Austin Associates Inc, in a pre-dawn raid on his house in Model Town on 13 August. Intelligence sources informed mediapersons that the mastermind belonged to an outlawed extremist organization while other accomplices of the man were being tracked down through the help of mobile phone data records. The Lahore police chief gave an assurance that Weinstein would be recovered soon as he had not been taken out of Pakistan.(46)
About 300 insurgents from Afghanistan launched a pre-dawn cross-border raid on seven Pakistani paramilitary posts. A military statement reported that terrorists from Swat, Dir and Bajaur organized by Fazullah and Maulvi Faqir Mohammad with local Afghans had attacked the security forces posts. The raid killed up to 36 including both soldiers of the Chitral Scouts and police in the border village of Arandu in the Chitral district just across from Afghanistan's Nuristan province.(47)
The Chitral cross-border raid by terrorists from Afghanistan spiked tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghan ambassador Umar Daudzai was warned by the Foreign Office, similar to an earlier warning in June, that such attacks would not be tolerated further. The terrorist activities and cross-border attacks from Afghanistan are of great concern in Pakistan.(48)
A Pakistani official said that around 15 militants crossed over from Afghanistan and shot dead an anti-Taliban tribal elder Afsar Khan and his son Sher Alam in a northwestern tribal region. Afsar Khan and Sher Alam were guarding a border post manned by members of a citizens' militia in the Bajaur tribal region when they were attacked. Police official said that Afsar Khan had been among volunteers who had burned the homes of a militant faction some two months ago.(49)
The displaced families and the United Nations said that as many as 12,000 Afghan civilians fled villages along the border with Pakistan since mid-June, seeking refuge from frequent artillery barrages fired by Pakistani security forces.(50)
Pakistan government has proposed a new law for trying terrorists apprehended by security forces and intelligence agencies. Two western models will be applied to Pakistan’s legal system to ensure swift justice in terrorism cases. These models are the Sicilian model and the American Witness Protection Act. New jails and courts will also be established for those considered a security threat. The procedural process is expected to be completed by the end of year.(51)
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a plot to target ministers and key figures with perfume bombs was foiled. “Terrorists had devised a perfume bottle like bomb as gifts to target ministers and key political figures in the month of Ramazan,” said Malik. Malik prepared a report after receiving intelligence from the spy agencies and sent it to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, ISI DG Shuja Pasha, MI DG and to all four provincial chief ministers along with 21 other key figures.(52)
Pakistan Army announced the ending of military operation in Kurram Agency officially code-named ‘Koh-i-Sufaid’, after it cleared central Kurram from militants, although the opening of a crucial road link, Tal-Parachinar, was left to an accord between the warring tribes. The ISPR officials explained that the operation was targeted against terrorists and miscreants involved in suicide bombings, kidnapping for ransom and extortion.(53)
The military took over control of more than 90 per cent of areas bordering Afghanistan in Mohmand Agency as the army’s operation named ‘Brekhna’ (lightning) entered a decisive phase, tribal administration officials said. As many as 12 militants, including a prominent local ‘commander’, were also reportedly killed. The operation was launched a week ago in the semi-autonomous Baizai tehsil with the help of local peace committees and militias, especially the Atmarkhel lashkar.(54)
Up to 100,000 people fled their homes in the Kurram tribal region after the military launched an offensive against militants. Militants and Taliban groups active in Afghanistan are reported to have bases and training camps in Kurram. So far at least 9,944 families totalling up to 100,000 people were registered, a senior government official supervising help for the refugees said. He said that about 1,800 families were living in temporary camps but many others shifted either to relatives’ houses or to rented premises.(55)
A court charged militant cleric, Sufi Mohammad, who once brokered a Taliban peace deal in the Swat valley, with treason and murder. Sufi Mohammad, father-in-law of Maulvi Fazlullah, leader of a Taliban insurgent group, was arrested two years ago. He is now set to go on trial in an anti-terrorism court in Swat, held behind closed doors in a maximum security prison in Peshawar over security fears. He and his 23 followers were charged for murder and treason.(56)
The government plans to extend the Political Parties Order 2002 to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), allowing political parties to operate in the volatile tribal region. “All is set for issuing a new presidential regulation, in the current week, extending the legislation that allows political mainstreaming of the tribal areas besides introducing some reforms in the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR),” sources said. A parliamentarian from Fata said that President Zardari was likely to sign the new regulation before he met a tribal jirga comprising parliamentarians and notables to take them into confidence.(57)
A total of 10 suspects belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were arrested by officials in the cities of Karachi and Lahore. The seven suspects were arrested in three different raids led by the CID police in the Maripur and Sohrab Goth areas. A large cache of weapons and ammunition were also recovered.(58)
A young boy aged 15-16 years entered the Mandokhel Masjid in the Jamrud area of Khyber Agency. He exploded himself in a suicide attack which killed at least 56 people and injured 123. Locals said some militants had entered the area two to three days back and had been forced to leave by tribal elders. The injured and bodies were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex.(59)
British human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith of the campaign group Reprieve, and lawyers in Pakistan are seeking an international arrest warrant for John Rizzo, who was until recently acting general counsel for the American intelligence agency, for approving drone attacks that have so far killed hundreds of people in Pakistan. According to a report published in The Guardian, the lawyers are also building cases against other individuals, including drone operators interviewed or photographed during organized press facilities.(60)
Indonesian security officials were handed over the custody of an alleged terrorist arrested in Pakistan linked to the 2002 bombings of a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali. The alleged terrorist, Umar Patek, was arrested in Pakistan’s northern city of Abbottabad in January this year. There are speculations that both Patek and bin Laden may have come in contact with each other in Abbottabad but further details would be revealed once investigated by Indonesian officials.(61)
References
1. Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger, “White House Adviser says U.S. Has 6 Months to ‘Knock Out’ Rattled Qaeda Leadership”, The New York Times, 29 July2011, <ttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/world/30policy.html>.
2. Mark Mazzetti, “C.I.A. Drone Is Said to Kill Al Qaeda’s No. 2”, The New York Times, 27 August 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/world/asia/28qaeda.html?_r=2>.
3. Alistair Dawber, “Bin Laden’s plan for 9/11 anniversary”, The Independent, London, 16 July 2011, <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bin-ladens-plan-for-911-anniversary-2314579.html>.
4. Jennifer Epstein, “Report: US has lost $360M in Afghanistan”, Politico, 16 August 2011, <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61489.html>.
5. “Mullen warns of Afghan transition corruption”, Google News, 31 July 2011, <http://www.google.com/ hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hpzsFz2zhBGuprMDPPxxue15_1qA?docId=CNG.dba07fd63e8c8ecffdcc0b4e13ec6f9e.c1>.
6. “US trucking funds end up in Taliban hands”, The Marlborough Express, 26 July 2011, <http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/business/5341718/US-trucking-funds-end-up-in-Taliban-hands>.
7. “Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point”, US Department of the Treasury, 28 July 2011, <http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1261.aspx>.
8. Kevin Sieff, “Ryan Crocker sworn in as ambassador to Afghanistan”, The Washington Post, 25 July 2011, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/crocker-sworn-in-as-ambassador-to-afghanistan/2011/07/25/ gIQAs3OzXI_story.html>.
9. “Talks on New US-Afghan Pact Strains Relations”, The New York Times, 30 August 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/08/30/world/asia/AP-AS-US-Afghan-Future-Pact.html?_r=1>.
10. “Long-term deal with U.S. must be on Afghan terms: Karzai”, Reuters, 26 July 2011, <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/26/us-afghanistan-us-idUSTRE76P1U320110726>.
11. Joshua Partlow, “Afghanistan set to get huge supply of military gear”, The Washington Post, 23 August 2011, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/afghanistan-set-to-get-massive-supply-of-military-gear/2011/08/22/gIQA7ovWYJ_blog.html?wprss=checkpoint-washington>.
12. Ben Farmer, “US troops may stay in Afghanistan until 2024”, The Telegraph, 19 August 2011, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8712701/US-troops-may-stay-in-Afghanistan-until-2024.html>.
13. “Afghan forces take over control of Panjshir province”, People’s Daily Online, 25 July 2011, <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7450268.html>.
14. Kathy Gannon and Anne Gearan, “AP EXCLUSIVE: US-Taliban talks were making headway”, Associated Press, 29 August 2011, <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN_ TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-29-07-15-29>.
15. Alissa J. Rubin, “Taliban Hint at Interest in Negotiated Settlement”, The New York Times, 03 August 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/world/middleeast/04afghanistan.html?pagewanted=1>.
16. Dion Nissenbaum, “U.S. Probes Afghan Abuse”, The Wall Street Journal, 19 August 2011, <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576516300602585270.html>.
17. Ray Rivera, Alissa J. Rubin and Thom Shanker, “Copter Downed by Taliban Fire; Elite U.S. Unit Among Dead”, The New York Times, 06 August 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/world/asia/ 07afghanistan.html?pagewanted=1>.
18. Sharifullah Sahak and Alissa J. Rubin, “Toll Climbs to 80 in NATO Raid on Insurgent Camp in Southeastern Afghanistan”, The New York Times, 23 July 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/world/ asia/24afghan.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>.
19. Joshua Partlow and Sayed Salahuddin, “NATO admits civilian deaths in Afghanistan”, The Washington Post, 7 July 2011, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/war-zones/civilian-casualties-alleged-in-afghanistan/2011/ 07/07/gIQAOGU11H_story.html>.
20. “Lashkar Gah: Nato hands over volatile Afghan city”, BBC News, 20 July 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ world-south-asia-14206060>.
21. “France to withdraw a quarter of troops in Afghanistan”, BBC News, 12 July 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/world-south-asia-14117394>.
22. “Canada ends combat mission in Afghanistan”, The Telegraph, 07 July 2011, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8624272/Canada-ends-combat-mission-in-Afghanistan.html>.
23. John F. Burns, “Slow Withdrawal Plan for British Troops in Afghanistan”, The New York Times, 06 July 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/world/europe/07london.html>.
24. Mirwais Harooni, “Afghan legislators protest election body's decision”, Reuters.com, 24 August 2011, <http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77N3H120110824>.
25. “Karzai wants special court verdict enforced”, Pajhwok Afghan News, 10 August 2011, <http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/10/karzai-wants-special-court-verdict-enforced>.
26. “Official: Taliban didn't kill Karzai's kin”, CBS News, 31 July 2011, <http://www.cbsnews.com/ stories/2011/07/31/501364/main20086065.shtml>.
27. Taimoor Shah and Alissa J. Rubin, “Suicide Bomber Sent by Taliban Assassinates Kandahar’s Mayor”, The New York Times, 27 July 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/world/asia/28afghanistan.html?_r=1>.
28. David Ariosto, “Gunmen kill Karzai adviser, lawmaker”, CNN News, 17 July 2011, <http://ht.ly/1dQRvF>.
29. Ben Farmer, “Hamid Karzai launches campaign to stop Afghan suicide bombers using turbans”, The Telegraph, 09 August 2011, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8691531/Hamid-Karzai-launches-campaign-to-stop-Afghan-suicide-bombers-using-turbans.html>.
30. “Karzai meets would-be child suicide bombers”, Goggle News, 24 Aug 2011, <http://www.google.com/ hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hE7jfn6qFhenA4Y4kLMwVf--eIyw?docId=CNG. af132ca0e3a0fd2cd947182992220075.61>.
31. “Attack on British Council compound in Kabul kills 12”, BBC News, 19 August 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14585563>.
32. Mohammad Hamkim Basharat, “Abu Anas tipped as peace council envoy in Europe”, 03 August 2011, http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/08/03/abu-anas-tipped-peace-council-envoy-europe
33. Ray Rivera “Afghanistan Seeks to Disband Some Armed Militias”, The New York Times, 02 August 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/world/asia/03afghanistan.html?_r=1&ref=world>.
34. “US House bill targets aid to Pakistan”, Dawn News, 27 July 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/27/us-house-bill-targets-aid-to-pakistan.html>.
35. “Worsening ties between Pakistan and the United States”, Reuters, 11 July 2011, <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/us-pakistan-usa-qa-idUSTRE76A1EG20110711>.
36. “Pakistan: US aid cut will not harm fight against terror”, BBC News, 11 July 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14104342>.
37. Rob Crilly, “Pakistan's spies wants CIA to stop acting alone in war with al-Qaida”, The Gazette, 05 July 2011, <http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Pakistan+spies+wants+stop+acting+alone+with+Qaida/5053897/story.html>.
38. Kamran Yousaf, “Restoration of military aid: United States offers quid pro quo”, The Express Tribune, 24 August 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/238232/restoration-of-military-aid-united-states-offers-quid-pro-quo/>.
39. Anwar Iqbal, “US contacts Shaikh, assures of economic support”, Dawn News, 15 July 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/15/us-contacts-shaikh-assures-of-economic-support.html>.
40. Jason Ukman, “CIA defends running vaccine program to find bin Laden”, The Washington Post, 14 July 2011, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-defends-running-vaccine-program-to-find-bin-laden/2011/07/13/gIQAbLcFDI_story.html>.
41. “Row resolved over US diplomats` travel restrictions”, Dawn News, 19 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/19/row-resolved-over-us-diplomats-travel-restrictions.html>.
42. Kamran Yousuf, “Mending precarious ties: New CIA station chief arrives in Islamabad”, The Express Tribune, 08 August 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/226489/mending-precarious-ties-new-cia-station-chief-arrives-in-islamabad/>.
43. Anwar Iqbal, “US, Pakistan heading towards confrontation over N-arms issues”, Dawn News, 04 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/us-pakistan-heading-towards-confrontation-over-n-arms-issues.html>.
44. Baqir Sajjad Syed, “Divergence mars trilateral meeting on Afghanistan”, Dawn News, 03 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/03/divergence-mars-trilateral-meeting-on-afghanistan.html>.
45. Anwar Iqbal, “ISI chief asked US to stop drone strikes”, Dawn News, 31 July 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/31/isi-chief-asked-us-to-stop-drone-strikes.html>.
46. “US aid expert’s abduction: The mastermind belongs to banned outfit, say officials”, The Express Tribune, 25 August 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/239071/us-aid-experts-abduction-the-mastermind-belongs-to-banned-outfit-say-officials/>.
47. Gul Hamaad Farooqi, “Militants from Afghanistan attack Pakistani posts”, Reuters.com, 27 August 2011, <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/27/us-pakistan-violence-idUSTRE77Q0OK20110827>.
48. “Afghan envoy summoned after Chitral cross-border ambush”, Dawn News, 28 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/28/afghan-envoy-summoned.html>.
49. Anwarullah Khan, “Official: Militants kill Pakistani tribesman, son”, Yahoo News, 17 August 2011, <http://news.yahoo.com/official-militants-kill-pakistani-tribesman-son-103412854.html>.
50. Maria Abi-Habib, “Afghan Villagers at Border Flee Shelling From Pakistan”, The Wall Street Journal, 12 July 2011, <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304584404576439591958759406.html?mod= WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews>.
51. Jamshed Bhagwan, “Trying terrorists: New law proposed to counter acquittals for lack of evidence”, The Express Tribune, 22 August 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/236775/trying-terrorists-new-law-proposed-to-counter-acquittals-for-lack-of-evidence/>.
52. “Plot to target ministers with perfume bomb foiled, says Malik”, Dawn News, 04 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/plot-to-target-ministers-with-perfume-bomb-foiled-says-malik.html>.
53. Baqir Sajjad Syed, “Army ends operation in Central Kurram”, Dawn News, 19 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/19/army-ends-operation-in-central-kurram.html>.
54. Iftikhar Firdous, “Operation in Mohmand: ‘90pc border areas under army control’”, The Express Tribune, 31 July 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/221042/operation-in-mohmand-90pc-border-areas-under-army-control/>.
55. “Up to 100,000 flee Kurram offensive,” Dawn News, 27 July 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/27/up-to-100000-flee-kurram-offensive.html>.
56. “Court charges Sufi Mohammad with murder, treason”, The Express Tribune, 18 July 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/212266/court-charges-sufi-mohammad-with-murder-treason/>.
57. Mohammad Ali Khan, “Fata to see political activities soon,” Dawn News, 09 August 2011, <http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/09/fata-to-see-political-activities-soon.html>.
58. “Police arrest 10 suspected Taliban, LeJ operatives,” The Express Tribune, 31 July 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/221271/police-arrest-10-suspected-taliban-lej-operatives/>.
59. “Suicide blast in Jamrud mosque: 56 killed, 123 injured”, The Express Tribune, 19 August 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/235082/khyber-agency-blast-in-jamrud-mosque/>
60. “Building case against drones: Campaigners seek ex-CIA legal chief’s arrest,” The Express Tribune, 17 July 2011, <http://tribune.com.pk/story/211547/building-case-against-drone-strikes-campaigners-seek-ex-cia-legal-chiefs-arrest/>.
61. Farhan Bokhari, “Indonesia to take custody of alleged Bali bomber,” CBS News, 10 August 2011, <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20090802-503543.html>.