Line of Control: Pakistan Army lodges protest against ceasefire violation

Pakistan Army lodged a protest with Indian authorities on Sunday over what it said was another violation of ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC).

According to military officials, the protest was lodged after Indian troops resorted to ‘unprovoked firing’ after midnight at the Bhattal sector of the LoC.

“Indian troops fired small arms and launched mortars, which prompted Pakistani troops to respond effectively,” a military official said. “No loss of life or damage to property has been reported so far.”

This was the third ceasefire violation in the last three weeks. The two armies accused each other of breaching the 2003 ceasefire agreement on April 25, breaking almost three months of calm in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir.  Three days later, the two sides exchanged fire again. Although, no loss of life was reported from either side during the latest clashes, the situation indicates the fragile nature of the truce.

The latest clashes come at a time when India is in the midst of parliamentary elections. Pre-election forecast puts Narendra Modi of hardline Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the frontrunner. Critics fear Modi’s victory may not auger well for the peace process between Pakistan and India. The BJP candidate has taken a tough line on Islamabad.

Rigging chorus: Thunder in D-Chowk

D Chowk of the federal capital was draped in red and green, the colours of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s flag. Thousands of zealous supporters descended on Jinnah Avenue to renew their party’s campaign against the alleged rigging that took place in the 2013 parliamentary elections. At least Imran Khan lived up to his promise.

At the venue, fired-up young PTI supporters sang and danced to motivational songs. They had travelled to the federal capital from different parts of the country, mainly from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Amid thunderous applause, Imran spelt out his nine-point charter of demands, calling for the reconfiguration of the election commission, re-verification of voters with thumbprint impressions in the four National Assembly constituencies where he believes the elections were rigged.

“We demand immediate verification of thumbprints in the four constituencies identified by PTI and the process should be completed within two weeks,” he said. “If the rigging is not investigated, we will stage a protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) offices every Friday.”

He said that all incumbent members of the ECP must resign forthwith because they have lost the confidence of the nation. “This is not an Election Commission. It has become a ‘selection commission’,” he said, calling for an overhaul of the entire election mechanism to make it more transparent.

Similarly, the selection of chairman and members of the ECP should be changed to ensure the commission functions as a truly independent body as guaranteed in the Constitution.  And all returning officers should be legally accountable to the ECP for their performance in the conduct of elections.

The PTI chief demanded that all those found guilty of abetting rigging in the 2013 elections be brought to justice to pave the way for a true democracy in the country.

“We demand that post-election appeals must be decided within the stipulated time, which is 120 days, by law and those not complying must be held accountable,” he added. “All future elections must be under the biometric system.”

Imran also appealed for steps to prevent members of an interim set-up from holding any public office for two years after serving as caretakers.

He also invited all parties who want electoral reforms to form a committee with the PTI and come up with a comprehensive electoral reform package for Parliament to pass.

He announced that the next protest rally will be held in Faisalabad on May 23, calling upon all those parties who believe the elections were not free and fair to join hands with his party in its ‘movement to fix the system’.

In his speech the PTI chief also took the government to task over what he called bad governance, rampant inflation, swelling debts, chronic power crisis and widespread unemployment. According to him, even the previous PPP government was better than the incumbent. “Circular debt may have piled up Rs. 500 billion during the five-year tenure of the PPP government, but it has reached almost the same level within just one year of the current government,” he said.

He lambasted the PML-N leadership for stashing their monies in foreign banks while taxing the poor Pakistanis. “Why will any foreign investor invest in our country if our rulers invest their monies in other countries?” he asked. “The Sharif brothers are among the top investors in the UK, US, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, yet our country is looking for foreign investors.”

Imran questioned why the government has not taken any serious step to bring back the $200 billion of Pakistanis stowed away in Swiss banks. “If this money is brought back, then there will be no need to levy new taxes on poor Pakistanis for the next decade or so,” he said.

He also heaped scorn at the government decision to spend billions of rupees on the Metro bus project. Citing the Asian Development Bank reports, he said Rs. 4 billion project is costing Rs. 40 billion due to massive corruption and huge kickbacks.

Earlier addressing the rally, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the government blamed his party and PTI for attempting to derail democracy – but “we believe there is no democracy because the elections were massively rigged”.

He said there was dynastic politics in Pakistan as a handful of families have been ruling the country in the name of so-called democracy. “I’ll define such democracy as for the families, by the families and of the families,” he said.

PTI President Javed Hashmi, Secretary General Jehangir Khan Tareen, Vice Chairperson Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Punjab Amir Mian Mohammad Aslam also addressed the rally. All of them called for a free and neutral election commission.

Pakistan playing key role for regional peace: PM Nawaz Sharif

Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan supports the reconciliation process in Afghanistan while the country is following the non-interference policy with the Middle East.

PM Nawaz Sharif was addressing from the concluding session of three-day Pakistani Envoys Conference in Islamabad today.

He said that Pakistan wants to resolve all issues with India including Kashmir through peaceful dialogue process.

He continued saying that Pakistan is playing a crucial role to bring peace in the region and at the international level. He told that dialogue process has been initiated to eliminate terrorism and extremism while efforts are also underway to combat energy crisis.

He further told that 2600 megawatt electricity will be added in the system in the current year to address the energy crisis.

PM Nawaz said that Pakistan’s economy is reviving with surge in foreign exchange reserves and decrease in inflation.

Some elements unhappy with Govt-TTP ceasefire: Nawaz Sharif

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said some elements unhappy with the Taliban ceasefire were ‘neither our, nor the TTP’s friends’.

Talking to BBC, Nawaz said these elements, who were enemies of peace, wanted to deteriorate the affairs. “These elements carried out attacks at the Islamabad fruit and vegetable market and other places and we are trying to hunt them down.”

At the conclusion of his first trip to the UK after assuming the office of the prime minister, Nawaz told the BBC that attacks had gone down in Pakistan but not ceased fully. Asked how the security situation could be improved to attract the foreign investment, the prime minister said the security problem had been continuing since 9/11.

“This problem has been lingering on since the country had dictatorship. Had there not been martial laws, the security problem would not have emerged in the country. During democracy, the country has never had a security problem.”

On extremism, Nawaz said the martial law administrators pushed the politicians to the wall and built relations with those had no relations with democracy. “The result of this practice is what we are witnessing today. These are our own mistakes; this is production of our own sins.”

He further said: “Wounds were inflicted on Balochistan. We all know how Nawab Akbar Bugti was assassinated and then buried in the presence of a few people. Nobody has forgotten these scenes. I too feel the pain of the Baloch people.”

He said the government, the armed forces and intelligence agencies were making progress on the issue of security. “Our first priority is to resolve this problem through talks. Talks are on. Progress in talks is less than our expectations but if we achieve peace without any more bloodshed, nothing is more desirable than it.”

Regarding a recent statement of the army chief, Nawaz said he was right in saying that the Constitution was supreme and everybody should respect it. “Many misconceptions have been cleared after this statement of the army chief,” he added.

Asked that while the PPP and other parties say they would support democracy, voices are raised throughout the country when a journalist points a finger at a state institution, Nawaz said: “I do not think that we should hold somebody responsible for it at once. Speculations should not be made unless the facts come forward. We should wait for the findings of the judicial commission on Hamid Mir attack, which will fix the responsibility.”

He said nothing was done to heal the wounds of Balochistan in the previous government, but this time representatives of the people had made the government in the province. He said Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik had been tasked with wooing the angry elements and bringing them back into the mainstream politics.

The premier said his government will provide gas to each city of Balochistan and lay down a network of roads. “During these five years, a lot of work will be done in Balochistan to reduce the sense of deprivation there. Those who committed the atrocities against the Baloch people will have to pay for it,” he said.

“Dictatorship gives birth to racism, sectarianism and social and economic inequalities. Forty years ago, there was no talk of who was Shia and who was Sunni but when the undemocratic forces came, sectarian elements became their helpers and dictatorship became the breeding ground for terrorism,” he said.

Nawaz said he wanted better relations with both India and Afghanistan. “I had good relations with President Hamid Karzai and we will have to improve the relations with whatever (party) comes to power in India. We will talk to whoever the Indian people give mandate to. We will try to improve relations with them. We will bring back the good time of 1999 when Vajpayee came to Pakistan. Train, trade and visa services should be improved. We will also talk to India on the issue of electricity. We will try to move ahead on the issue of Kashmir.”

About extremism, he said it was rooted in dictatorship, deviation from the path of law and justice, and social and economic inequalities. “Had Pakistan been on the path of democracy, there would not have been a trace of these things today,” he said.

Nawaz is scheduled to visit Iran shortly to cement the ties and talk on the issues of gas, trade and frontier affairs. He said he wanted to promote historical relations with Iran. “We want strong relations with the UK. The UK is doing a lot in the field of education for Pakistan. It has initiated many development programs which we value.”

He said his UK counterpart had said that they wanted expanded relations with Pakistan in the field of security. He said the UK was also ready to help Pakistan overcome the ongoing energy crisis.

On his government’s 10-month progress, Nawaz said his government had paid attention to education, energy, economy and countering extremism. He said these four points were included in his party’s manifesto. He said the country’s economy was improving and his government will increase the education budget from two to four percent.

Nawaz said new power houses were being built which will help overcome the energy crisis. He added that his government was thinking about the country’s needs for the next 20-25 years. He said over the last 65 years, power generating units with a capacity to produce 23,000 MW were installed in the country whereas in the coming eight years the country will have 21,000 MW additional electricity. “Had we not believed (that we will be able to make it), we would not have promised it in our manifesto,” he said.

Nawaz Sharif urges time for Taliban talks

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he is still hopeful that talks with the Taliban will succeed, despite the militants ending a ceasefire.

Nawaz Sharif told BBC Urdu on Monday that talks offered the ‘best option’ of ending the country’s long conflict. The prime minister said he believed his talks strategy could ‘bring peace without any further bloodshed’. “If we can make this process somehow successful, I think it will be the best option.”

In an interview given on last day of his official visit to the UK, the prime minster said some elements were averse to the peace process. “These elements are not our friends and probably not of Taliban as well.” They want to spoil their peace efforts. These are the same elements that are behind bombing at Islamabad’s green market and at other places. “We are trying to trace them out.”

Responding to a question, Nawaz Sharif said the militants had to respect the constitution and lay down their arms. “This of course is the number one condition that has to be met. We are making progress on these issues. Let us see if the next round of meetings is successful and we can find a way to make headway in the talks we are holding with each other.”

The prime minister said it would take two or three more meetings for the sides to know “how sincere we are with each other and how the talks are progressing”. He added that security had improved while the talks have been under way but he did admit that there was a long way to achieve complete peace in the country as militant activities were still going on.

He said to resolve security issues, civilian government, army and intelligence agencies were moving ahead in the right direction. “Solving this problem through dialogue is our first priority. Talks are under way… (But) the progress on this regard is lesser than their expectations. However, if we achieve without shedding further blood then there could be nothing better than this.”

About a recent statement of Pakistan army chief, he said General Raheel Sharif has rightly said that country’s constitution is supreme and everyone should respect it. “The statement of army chief has done away with many doubts.”

Replying a question about the Hamid Mir attack episode, Nawaz said he believed it was wrong to speculate about something and draw any conclusion prematurely. “We are waiting for the report of investigative commission. It will make it clear who was behind it (attack on Mir).”

About Balochistan, he said the province was meted out injustices and nothing was done in the past to cure the wounds, but now there is an elected government and it is committed to peace and development in Balochistan. He said he has directed Chief Minister Dr Abdul Maalik to talk with the estranged elements and bring them back to the national mainstream.

About growing extremist trends in Pakistan, PM Nawaz said this problem is a product of periods of dictatorship which disregarded laws, and socio-economic imbalances. “Had democracy not been detracted, such problems would have no existence.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Islamabad on Monday after completing his official visit to the United Kingdom.

The prime minister undertook the visit at the invitation of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

During the visit, he held important meetings with the British leadership to strengthen the strategic relations between the two countries.

The prime minister held an important meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron and discussed bilateral ties, regional situation and issues of mutual interest.

Prof Ibrahim asks TTP not to create hurdles in talks

Member Taliban negotiating committee Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan said that Taliban should respond positively to the government’s peace efforts.

The TTP should give peace a chance and must not create hurdles in the way of permanent peace in the country, he said while talking to media persons. He appreciated the government’s efforts towards peace.

He said that they would try to convince the TTP political Shura to accept the government’s demands and announce a permanent ceasefire in the country.

To a question about venue and time of direct talks, he said a final decision regarding the venue and time for direct talks has not been made yet. He said efforts were underway to arrange the government committee’s meeting with the TTP Shura. He hoped that the meeting might take place soon. He said if the government asks the TTP for complete ceasefire during negotiation process then the TTP should support the government’s stance.

Peace talks will not be successful without ceasefire: Prof Ibrahim

The peace talks will not be successful without a ceasefire, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) intermediary Professor Muhammad Ibrahim told.

The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz government began the dialogue process with the TTP through negotiators in February to try to end the seven-year insurgency.

Just yesterday, the TTP had ended the ceasefire it had declared on March 1 and extended on April 4 for another six days. The group, however, had said that peace talks with the government will continue.

Today, Prof Ibrahim said that they will contact the government regarding the TTP concerns which have come forward through the media. He reiterated that they will meet the TTP leadership to persuade them to extend the ceasefire.

The senior Taliban intermediary had earlier said the Taliban had not disengaged from the dialogue process. At the same time, he had called upon the government to take steps for bridging the trust gap.

The government had called off surgical air raids against suspected hideouts of the Taliban in tribal regions after the TTP declared a month-long ceasefire on March 1.

On April 16, Taliban spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid had accused the government of failing to make any progress on the Taliban’s demands. “The TTP Central Shura has unanimously decided not to extend the ceasefire,” he had said in a statement.

He had added, however, that the dialogue process will continue with complete ‘sincerity and seriousness’ that could keep hope alive for a halt in violent attacks. “The TTP will not be reluctant to take serious steps if the government makes some progress on our demands.”

Taliban end ceasefire, but not talks

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced not to extend the ceasefire it had declared on March 1 and extended on April 4 for another six days. The group, however, said that peace talks with the government will continue.

Senior Taliban intermediary Professor Muhammad Ibrahim said that he and his colleagues would encourage the TTP leadership to continue to cease fire. He reiterated that the Taliban have not disengaged from the dialogue process. At the same time, he called upon the government to take steps for bridging the trust gap.

The government had called off surgical air raids against suspected hideouts of the Taliban in tribal regions after the TTP declared a month-long ceasefire on March 1.

Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid accused the government of failing to make any progress on the Taliban’s demands. “The TTP Central Shura has unanimously decided not to extend the ceasefire,” he said in a statement.

He added, however, that the dialogue process will continue with complete ‘sincerity and seriousness’ that could keep hope alive for a halt in violent attacks. “The TTP will not be reluctant to take serious steps if the government makes some progress on our demands.”

Shahid said the TTP showed ‘complete restraint’ over the army’s ongoing operations during the negotiations that caused huge losses to the Taliban. “We tried to control our colleagues from any provocation and kept our intermediaries informed about the development. We have made it clear to our negotiators that the government’s actions are very harmful for the dialogue process.”

“There has neither been any progress on the Taliban demands for the release of the non-combatant prisoners nor on establishing a peace zone. The government did not even put a pause on the operations against the Taliban,” the TTP spokesman claimed.

Shahid said that while the ceasefire expired six days ago, the government had been mysteriously tight-lipped about the dialogue process. “It seems that the real centre of power is now active and wants to impose decision of its choice on the people,” he added.

He claimed that the Taliban had started dialogue with sincerity and adopted a soft attitude at every phase of the process. “We took all necessary steps that could provide a strong basis for successful dialogue.”

The spokesman said the security forces conducted nearly 100 raids and 25 search operations while “brutal torture of the TTP detainees also continued under the plan.”

“More than 50 of our colleagues were martyred during the 40-day ceasefire,” Shahid claimed, adding that over 200 innocent people were arrested from different areas for links with the TTP.

TTP’s self-proclaimed ideology against polio

Polio is the disease which needs to be cured as soon as possible. Pakistan Government, different NGOs are running the anti-polio campaigns but the main hurdle in doing this is killing of polio workers. TTP is behind this brutal act of killing the members of polio team who are running the anti-polio campaign. Government of Pakistan is silent on this issue. Why? TTP has announced ceasefire but keep on killing the polio workers. Why? Pakistan Government should open its mouth and announce that any act of violence against the polio team will be considered as an act of aggression against the state and also it will be considered as ceasefire violation. Ceasefire means you should not create any kind of violence in the country. It does not mean that you keep on killing the polio team workers and says that we are not violating ceasefire.

Population of Pakistan is almost 19 crore. People who are young or old and doing job or retired and sitting at home get proper vaccination during their childhood. Their parents get them immunized so that their children will not have polio disease. Nowadays, children are not being vaccinated just due to these brutal acts by TTP. Due to killing of polio workers, other polio team members stop running the campaign and as a result, many children do not get polio vaccine. Why this is happening? It’s the right of every child to get proper vaccine.

Islam has given a clear message to find a cure for every disease. Everyone has a right to get treatment or cure of every kind of disease. If Islam is allowing us to find cure of diseases, then why is TTP attacking the people who are giving treatment?

TTP gives the logic of attacking the polio workers and their logic against the polio is just fabricated. They gave religious answers to this but all answers are bogus and crooked just to carry on their mission to attack the polio workers. GOD forbid, they are misusing the Islam and their propaganda is based on twisted religious ideology. TTP just want Muslim generations to suffer from a life-long disability.

The enemies of polio campaign give the reason of attacking the polio workers that it had killed Osama Bin Laden. The episode happened just due to the anti-polio campaign and just due to it; they want this campaign to be stopped. I think Government of Pakistan should tell them the whole story once again as they are in denial. They don’t know the real story and just using their own baked story, they are trying to stop anti-polio campaign. The reason of Osama Bin Laden event was basically an individual whose name is Dr Shakil Afridi. Due to him, whole episode happened. It was not happened due to polio drops. Shakil Afridi helped in the operation, not polio drops. Polio drops didn’t provide information about Osama Bin Laden. It was Shakil Afridi who assisted in an operation. So, the enemies should know the reality.

Many religious scholars also gave fatwa in favour of polio immunization. According to them, children should get proper vaccination of polio as Islam allows us to find cure for every disease. So there is nothing un-Islamic in getting vaccination of polio.

Prof Ibrahim urges govt not to delay peace process

As the peace dialogue hinges on the release of ‘non-combatants’, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) intermediary Professor Ibrahim on Wednesday said the government should not delay the peace process.

The TTP is said to have shared with government negotiators a list of Taliban ‘non-combatants’ – mostly women, children and elderly – who they claim are in the custody of the security forces. The government had also called for the release of some high-profile figures held hostage by the Taliban.

Sources had told that the government had sought more time from the Taliban intermediaries for tracing the ‘non-combatants’.

Professor Ibrahim today said that the government has not gotten back to the TTP intermediaries as of yet. He said that the ceasefire will continue throughout the dialogue process.

A day after indictment: Govt advised to let Musharraf see his mother

Army chief General Raheel Sharif is said to have suggested to the government let Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf go abroad for his medical treatment and to look after his ailing mother.

The issue of Musharraf’s possible exit was discussed during a meeting between Gen Raheel and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday.  Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam also attended the ‘informal consultations’ to decide the fate of Musharraf.

Both chiefs were supposed to attend a meeting on national security to discuss the future strategy for talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but the meeting was postponed due to developments taking place on Musharraf’s front.

There was no official release regarding the high-level meeting between the prime minister and army chief. A source, however, confirmed the development and insisted that it was informal meeting to discuss the future of Musharraf.

A well-informed security official told that Musharraf’s name should be removed from the exit control list after a clear verdict by the special court, which is trying the former army chief for treason charges.

The three-judge special court in its ruling stated that it had no objections if the federal government removes travel ban on Musharraf for medical treatment.

“There is no legal issue left now and it is purely a political decision,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The official said that Gen Raheel told the prime minister that Musharraf’s case now ‘should come to a close’.

“The sooner the better,” the official said, adding that Musharraf’s mother was ‘seriously ill’ and he wanted to be with her at the earliest.

Another official pointed out that Musharraf had already been indicted and the time had come to ‘move on’. “That is the message the army chief has delivered to the government,” he added.

When contacted, the military’s media wing refused to comment on the issue.

Insiders are of the view that given the army’s crucial support for government’s peace initiative, it will be extremely difficult for the prime minister to ignore Gen Raheel’s advice on Musharraf.