Afghan Taliban not excluding Pakistan from peace talks: DG ISPR

Photo handout of Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor. (ISPR/FILE)
Updated 27 January 2019
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Afghan Taliban not excluding Pakistan from peace talks: DG ISPR

  • Head of Pakistan army’s media wing gives wide-ranging, exclusive interview to Arab News
  • Says Pakistan has done its job of bringing insurgents to the negotiating table

RAWALPINDI: The head of the Pakistan army’s media wing has said the Afghan Taliban were not excluding Pakistan from US-led talks currently being held in Doha to seek a negotiated end to the Afghan war but that Pakistan was a facilitator and had fulfilled its task of coaxing the insurgents to the table for dialogue. 
This week, the Taliban resumed stalled peace talks with US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha, where the insurgents have long maintained an office. The dialogue, originally meant to run over two days, entered its sixth day on Saturday, raising hopes that the latest efforts to find a mechanism to end the 17-year Afghan war might be the most serious yet. 
Hopes of a denouement also increased due to a recent reshuffle in the Taliban team, with senior leaders including Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar put into key positions.
The U.S. has long been pressuring Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban to bring them to the negotiating table. Last week, Khalilzad visited Pakistan to push the peace process forward amid media reports that the Taliban had refused to meet him in Islamabad, insisting that they preferred to hold talks in Qatar and did not want Pakistan, the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia to be involved. 
“The Taliban are not excluding Pakistan from the peace process,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, the head of the army’s media wing, said in a wide-ranging interview to Arab News on Friday evening. “We are a facilitator. We have done our job of bringing them to the negotiating table. What is discussed and how the process moves forward will depend on progress during every meeting.”
When asked if the Taliban had refused to meet Khalilzad in Islamabad, Ghafoor said: “There are so many factions and stakeholders involved in the process. Coordination takes time. One faction or party gets out of coordination, [which] can result in changes in schedule or place.”
He said Pakistan had pushed for the dialogue to restart but had “no preference for time or place.”
Taliban sources have told media the Doha talks have focused on a roadmap for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and a guarantee the country will not be used for hostile acts against the United States and its allies.
The Taliban have so far refused direct talks with the Kabul government, which it views as an illegitimate, foreign-appointed force. Ghafoor said there was as yet no certainty on whether the insurgents could be persuaded to engage with the Afghan government but added that progress from the meetings would determine all outcomes. 
He also spoke about abiding fears about how Afghan government forces would withstand the Taliban threat without US military support if US President Donald Trump acted on his desire to bring home half of the 14,000 U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan should not go into turmoil” when US forces leave, the army’s media chief said: “The U.S. should leave Afghanistan as friends of the region, with a commitment to assist Afghanistan in becoming self-sustaining and help in socio-economic development.”
Islamabad also fears that increased turmoil in Afghanistan would mean more sanctuaries there for Pakistani Taliban [TTP] militants who have lost control of all territory in Pakistan since a major counter-terrorism operation was launched after a 2014 attack on an army school.

Pakistan has also fenced part of its porous 2,500 km border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by the Pakistan Taliban who have waged a decade-long insurgency in the South Asian nation.
Ghafoor said the Afghan government did not currently have the capacity to eliminate all sanctuaries given that it was embroiled in fighting an insurgency, but once the Taliban entered the political mainstream, Kabul would be in a better position to tackle groups like the Pakistan Taliban and the Middle Eastern Daesh. 
“If there is peace in Afghanistan and greater control of the area by Afghan forces, it will be difficult for TTP to continue their sanctuaries there," the military spokesman said. 
The general dismissed fears that the U.S. would lose interest in Pakistan once it exited Afghanistan, or be free to take harsh actions when it no longer needed Islamabad’s help to end the conflict.
“Pakistan has always remained relevant and will continue to be relevant,” Ghafoor said. “And when the U.S. leave Afghanistan, it will leave acknowledging Pakistan’s role in ending the conflict. Our relationship shall further strengthen.”
But as Pakistan’s ties with the U.S. have soured in recent years over the war in Afghanistan, Islamabad has turned to neighbouring China to fill the void. The countries are partners in a $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of infrastructure and energy projects that Beijing touts as the flagship programme in its vast Belt and Road Initiative.
Responding to media reports that Pakistan was building military jets, weapons and other hardware with funds received under the CPEC umbrella, Ghafoor said the corridor was “purely an economic project.”
“We have separate defence cooperation with China but that has nothing to do with CPEC,” he said. “We had F-16 deals with the U.S. That was our requirement. Later we have jointly made the JF-17 Thunder with China. Like any sovereign country, Pakistan takes decisions suiting its national interest.”
Speaking about a growing protest movement by Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtuns who want the army to remove landmines and check-posts from the country’s northwest where most Pashtuns live, and allege extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and “disappearances” of young Pashtun men, which it vehemently denies, the army spokesman said: 
“Till such time that the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement [PTM] is peaceful and they stick to their genuine demands, which are natural in a post-conflict environment, the state is committed to take care of them.”
Responding to a question about PTM leaders Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar who, along with the movement's founder Manzoor Pashteen, have emerged as the strongest voices against alleged military high-handedness, Ghafoor said the demands of the Pahstun people were genuine and the state was committed to addressing them.
“But instigating people against institutions is neither within the law nor a public sentiment,” he said. “Once we have fulfilled the genuine demands which are already in the overall plan, then we see how to deal with anyone who still tries to exploit.”
The army’s media chief also said the movement was being exploited by Pakistan’s enemies, in a veiled reference possibly to arch-rival India and neighbouring Afghanistan: “When there are fault lines, then enemies will always try to exploit them. So there is an effort to exploit PTM, whether with their connivance or not.”
The general warned that India needed to “stop using proxies against us,” adding that “just as we are concerned that an unstable Afghanistan is not in our interest, India should also know that an unstable Pakistan is not in its interest. They need to change their behaviour.”
Responding to a question about an extension in military courts first set up by parliament in 2015, and decried for their lack of transparency, Ghafoor said the courts were a “national requirement” because the country’s civilian judicial infrastructure was ill-equipped to deal with terrorism cases.
Ghafoor said verdicts could be appealed at several levels, including in military appellate and civilian courts, and those on death row had the right to file mercy petitions with the army chief and the president of Pakistan.  
“Military courts proceed as per law; there is a laid down legal process with full transparency. Courts decide on evidence and not emotions,” the army's media chief said. However, he added, “should parliament decide that military courts are not needed, then they will not be renewed.”


Pakistan eyes $25 billion IT exports in three years, 5G rollout despite roadblocks 

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Pakistan eyes $25 billion IT exports in three years, 5G rollout despite roadblocks 

  • Pakistan’s IT exports face significant challenges due to Internet connectivity issues stemming from firewall installations to regulate content
  • In August, the Pakistan Software Houses Association said the country’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s ambitions to boost its information technology (IT) exports to $25 billion in the next three years and to roll out 5G Internet services, despite challenges from firewall installations.
The Pakistan prime minister expressed these plans during his meeting with a delegation of VEON, an Amsterdam-based multinational telecommunication and digital services company, led by its chairman Augie K. Fabela, to discuss his government’s efforts to “develop and promote” the telecommunications sector, according to Sharif’s office.
The South Asian country’s IT exports face significant challenges due to Internet connectivity issues stemming from firewall installations to regulate content and social media platforms that hinder the ability of local tech firms to communicate with international clients. This results in delayed deliveries, loss of business opportunities and a tarnished reputation for Pakistan’s IT industry, ultimately stifling growth and costing millions of rupees in losses.
In August, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said the country’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions caused by the imposition of the firewall. However, State Minister for IT Shaza Khawaja repeatedly denied the use of firewalls by the government as a form of censorship.
“We are determined to achieve the target of increasing IT exports from Pakistan to 25 billion dollars in the next three years,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office. “Steps are being taken to introduce 5G Internet services for faster and reliable Internet services in Pakistan.”
Sharif said the rollout of 5G services would make it possible for his government to achieve the vision of “Digital Pakistan.” He said the telecommunications sector would play an important role in promoting a cashless and digital economy, praising the work of a VEON subsidiary, Jazz Group, and expressing his government’s willingness to promote IT, digitization and artificial intelligence (AI) in Pakistan.
The visiting delegation appreciated the Pakistani government’s efforts to stabilize the economy and termed Pakistan an important country for investment in the IT sector, according to Sharif’s office.
Pakistan recorded $298 million in IT exports in June, up 33 percent from the year before. During the fiscal year that ended in June, Pakistan recorded overall IT exports of $3.2 billion, up 24 percent from $2.5 billion in the previous year.
The South Asian nation has lately encouraged its IT sector and facilitated collaborations with firms in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, China and Qatar, to boost its IT exports.
However, IT-related associations and businesses this year raised alarm over slowing Internet speeds as the federal government moved to implement the nationwide firewall to block malicious content, protect government networks from attacks, and allow authorities to identify addresses associated with what it calls “anti-state propaganda.”
In August, the Pakistan Business Council warned that frequent Internet disruptions and low speeds caused by poor implementation of the firewall had led many multinational companies to consider relocating their offices out of Pakistan, with some having “already done so.”


Pakistan’s Punjab province shuts public spaces in smog-hit cities

Updated 46 min 53 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Punjab province shuts public spaces in smog-hit cities

  • Access to parks, zoos, playgrounds, historic monuments, museums and recreational areas will be banned until Nov. 17
  • Punjab residents have been trapped in thick smog for over a week ever since the air quality index spiked above 1,000

LAHORE: Pakistan’s most populated province of Punjab ordered public spaces closed in smog-hit main cities, authorities said Friday, as the country battles record air pollution.

Access to parks, zoos, playgrounds, historic monuments, museums and recreational areas will be banned until November 17 due to poor air quality, according to a local government directive seen by AFP.

The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Lahore’s air was more than 20 times higher than the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Multan, it was up to 48 times higher on Friday.

Punjab residents have been trapped in thick smog for over a week ever since the air quality index (AQI), which measures a range of pollutants, spiked above 1,000 — well above the level of 300 considered ‘dangerous’ — according to data from IQAir.

Schools in some of Punjab’s major cities were ordered shut on Tuesday until November 17.

The province extended that order on Wednesday to several more cities enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.

The decision follows restrictions imposed last month on four “hot spots” in Lahore that banned tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines, along with restaurants that operate barbecues without filters.

Seasonal crop burn-off by farmers on the outskirts of Lahore also contributes to toxic air, which the WHO says can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.

Excess pollution shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.

According to UNICEF, nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to high levels of air pollution, which is also linked to half of childhood pneumonia deaths.


Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US — Islamabad envoy to Washington

Updated 31 min 44 sec ago
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Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US — Islamabad envoy to Washington

  • Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence
  • The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can help bridge differences between the United States (US) and China, Islamabad’s envoy to Washington said on Thursday, amid the South Asian country’s efforts to strike a balance in its ties with the two world powers.
Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence in several domains. The two nations have often had disagreements over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan maintains a delicate balance in its relations with China and the US. While aligned with the US for military cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts, Islamabad has strengthened economic ties with Beijing through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In a talk delivered at the University of California, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh underscored the strength of Pakistan-US relations and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American community in fostering mutual growth, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Pakistan has the potential to serve as a bridge between China and the United States,” Sheikh was quoted as saying at the event.
The statement came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its relations with key longtime ally China would remain “unaffected” by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election
“Pakistan’s relations with China are all-weather,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing when asked if Trump’s victory will affect the country’s China policy.
“They are strategic and a source of stability in our foreign policy.”
Baloch said Islamabad does not even need to consider the possibility that its relationship with China will be affected by any domestic development in another country.
The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both world powers while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.
“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields,” Baloch said.
“As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
Pakistan and the US cultivated strong defense ties during the Cold War days yet their relationship was also tested by divergent priorities on various issues.
In recent years, Washington and Islamabad’s ties deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected. Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied.
Pakistan, under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s two separate stints as prime minister in 2022 and 2024, has actively sought to improve its relations with the US.


Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

  • Draft law proposes imprisonment and fines for individuals involved in preaching and displaying symbols of Zionism
  • Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior has this week approved a bill proposing a three-year jail term and fines for individuals involved in propagating Zionism or displaying the movement’s symbols.
Zionism emerged in the late 19th century as an ethnic and religious movement but later converted into a political movement for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel through the colonization of land outside Europe, which is Palestine. 
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The anti-Zionism bill approved by the Senate committee on Thursday was introduced in the upper house of parliament by Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, a lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. He has tabled the bill as a private member, which means its approval does not signify government policy. This bill will become law only if it is passed by both houses of parliament, Senate and National Assembly, with majority vote.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally is engaged in the preaching of Zionism to incite and provoke hatred in society shall be punished with three years imprisonment, or with forty thousand rupees ($145) fine or with both,” says the draft law.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally display symbol of Zionism to spread hatred and cause a disturbance in public peace shall be punished with two years imprisonment, or with thirty thousand rupees ($108) fine, or with both.”
Being a Muslim state, the bill says, Pakistan “should never allow display of symbols depicting Zionism for spreading unrest in Pakistan.”


Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

Updated 20 min 33 sec ago
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Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

  • Record air pollution has triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures, stay-at-home orders in Lahore
  • On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir

ISLAMABAD: A three-year-old girl in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore has sued the government of the Punjab province as record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the city, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Research shows children exposed to high levels of smog may suffer from reduced lung capacity, pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections and more asthma attacks and worse symptoms than adults. 
“Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment,” said the petition filed by three-year-old Amal Sekhera, who appeared in court with her mother Mehek Zafar on Thursday. 
Sekhera said she was seeking justice for herself, her friends and the future generations as children and the elderly were the most badly hit by air pollution and smog. She also criticized the Punjab government for failing to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.


The Lahore High Court issued notices in response to the petition to the Punjab government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City Traffic Police. The hearing has been adjourned till Nov. 12, with the court instructing the government to ensure the presence of the provincial secretary of the Environment Protection Department and the director general of the EPA in court at the next hearing. 
Authorities earlier this week shut down schools in Lahore and said 50 percent of government employees in the city were told to work from home until next week. On Wednesday schools in 18 surrounding districts were also shut. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province, has urged residents to voluntarily wear face masks and avoid unnecessary travel, and said that “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.” 
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws, and wedding halls must close by 10pm. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution, which has been sending patients to hospitals and private clinics complaining of coughs and burning eyes.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association, told media on Thursday.