102 replies to this topic

[SUPARCO]

US ‘non-NATO’ supply trucks cross Torkham
Saturday, May 19, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday allowed four containers of office supplies for the US Embassy in Kabul to cross into Afghanistan, for the first time in nearly six months after a NATO air strike in Salala killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The US Embassy said a diplomatic shipment that was stranded along with NATO supplies was allowed to be transported to Kabul via Torkham.

Talking to Daily Times, US Embassy spokesman Mark Stroh said it was a purely diplomatic shipment that was to be shifted to the US Embassy in Kabul. “The shipment had nothing to do with the NATO or ISAF, it needed to be cleared first,” he said when asked about the contents of the shipment.

When he was asked if the shipment was stopped along with the blocked NATO supplies after attack on Pakistan’s Salala post, the spokesman said he was not sure when it arrived in Pakistan, but it was clear that it had been stuck up due to closure of NATO supplies.

There were conflicting accounts of when the trucks crossed, with one source saying they began moving earlier in the week and another saying they passed through on Friday. i hussain/afp


http://dailytimes.co...ry_19-5-2012_pg1_4

[Dizasta]

Something related to United States, which i think is relevant to Pakistan, if any idiot in the PPP Govt is thinking about opening up the border for the Americans in Afghanistan.

Quote

Pentagon instructor urged total war with Islam


A red-faced Pentagon has conceded that an instructor at its Joint Forces College in Virginia for military officers was until recently teaching a course advocating “total war” with Islam that could require obliterating the holy cities of Mecca and Medina without concern for civilian deaths.


The material in the course, which officers could elect to take but was not obligatory, flew in the face of repeated assertions by the Obama administration that the war on terrorism is just that and should under no circumstances be read as an assault on a religion observed by 1.4 billion people around the world.

Details of the course were obtained by a blog on Wired.com, drawn from a presentation given by the teacher, Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, in July last year.  He suggested that destroying Islamic holy sites would follow the precedents of the nuclear strike by the allies on Hiroshima in World War II and the firebombing of Dresden. His course was called ‘Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism’.

It was suspended in April after the Pentagon received a complaint from a student and Lt. Col. Dooley, while still at the College, no longer has any teaching duties.  The FBI, meanwhile, has revealed that it too has recently been forced to revise some of its instructional materials to excise references that could have been insulting to Islam.

“It was just totally objectionable, against our values, and it wasn't academically sound,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, said at a press conference at the Pentagon. “This wasn't about ... pushing back on liberal thought; this was objectionable, academically irresponsible.”

Dooley offered a theoretical war plan based on the need for “a direct ideological and philosophical confrontation with Islam”. In his presentation, he said: “They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit”. He added that as America waged that war it would be free to ignore provisions of the Geneva Convention that sets the rules for armed conflict as “no longer relevant”.

“This would leave open the option once again of taking war to a civilian population wherever necessary (the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki being applicable...).”  Saying Islam has already declared war on the US, Dooley called the current American stance of seeking common ground with Islamic leaders around the world as “illogical” and the better option was “waging ‘near total war’”.

“We have now come to understand that there is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam’,” Dooley said in the July presentation. “It is therefore time for the United States to make our true intentions clear. This barbaric ideology will no longer be tolerated. Islam must change or we will facilitate its self-destruction.”

Offered five times a year for groups of 20 at a time, the course may have been taught to as many as 800 mid-level and senior US military officers before the Pentagon closed it down.  Lt. Col. Dooley was himself a highly decorated officer who had served in Iraq, Bosnia and Kuwait among others.

http://www.independe...am-7737807.html

[SUPARCO]

NATO supplies restored, claims AFP
Friday 18 May, 2012



According to AFP four NATO containers have crossed the Pak-Afghan border and reached Kabul

The Agence France Presse has reported that NATO supplies to Afghanistan have been restored and four trucks, carrying the US embassy’s official material, have reached Kabul through Pak-Afghan border.

These containers were transported from Karachi Port. US officials on condition of anonymity claimed that more NATO containers would cross the Pak-Afghan border in next few days.

http://dunyanews.tv/...iNOaWQ9ODA3NTA=

[faizan khaliq]

no one will speak now not even Hafiz saeed and jamaat e Islami or Imran khan ,
saaray eik hi thali kay beingan hain

[Felicius]

faizan khaliq, on 18 May 2012 - 04:52 PM, said:

no one will speak now not even Hafiz saeed and jamaat e Islami or Imran khan ,

They aren't in the govt., hence they have no say. This is what happens when you boycott elections!
PML-N is in the opposition, and they can easily get a court order if push comes to shove I believe. Suo Moto anyone?

Anyways, when I was in Karachi last, the govt. was very content with keeping the borders closed, it was the military that was inclined to reopen them.

Edited by Shehz, 18 May 2012 - 05:29 PM.

[SUPARCO]

US supply trucks cross Pak-Afghan border
Saturday May 19, 2012

PESHAWAR - Pakistan allowed four containers of office supplies for the US embassy in Kabul to cross into Afghanistan for the first time following a six-month blockade, officials said on Friday, as President Asif Zardari left for Chicago to participate in the NATO summit meeting on Afghanistan. Islamabad closed its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies on November 26 when US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, leaving hundreds of containers of international supplies stranded at the port in Karachi and plunging relations with Washington to a new low. The four trucks of US embassy supplies crossed Torkham border into Afghanistan, the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information to the media.

“I can’t give you the exact number but a lot more will go to Afghanistan in coming days. These all are diplomatic shipments, I mean non-NATO supplies,” one of the officials said. In Kabul, the US embassy said it could not confirm the shipment. There were conflicting accounts of when the trucks crossed, with one source saying they began moving earlier in the week and another saying they passed through on Friday. Almost 300 containers of US embassy supplies, including stationery, computers and printers, are understood to have been stranded in Pakistan by the blockade.

http://www.pakistant...-afghan-border/

[Caesar]

So the US congress puts restrictions on Pak aid and these idiots in Pak military respond by opening the supply routes!! What a bunch of sell out clowns.

[hifi]

So much for glorifying the generals !

[rungroot]

and now this:  http://dawn.com/2012...-supply-routes/

and this:  http://dawn.com/2012...to-be-taken-pm/

I don't know what to think any more...

Are they really the supply route or is it just a delay tactic to take part in the Chicago summit and then pull the plug again???

[faizan khaliq]

Shehz, on 18 May 2012 - 05:27 PM, said:

They aren't in the govt., hence they have no say. This is what happens when you boycott elections!
PML-N is in the opposition, and they can easily get a court order if push comes to shove I believe. Suo Moto anyone?

Anyways, when I was in Karachi last, the govt. was very content with keeping the borders closed, it was the military that was inclined to reopen them.

That is where the difference between statesman and general comes up.General gets into a state of inertia once comparison of power is against him but a true states man will hold on and utilize the internal strength of people.any good politician can put Army on to defensive by declaring ''till the complete and unconditional withdrawal of American forces ,no supply will be opened to Afghanistan not even the transit trade''
war can be fought by people of Pakistan and particularly this war will have the role of forces as secondary but who can import Mullah omar for Pakistan.

[SUPARCO]

Hopes fading for swift US, Pakistan deal on Afghan supply routes
Saturday May 19, 2012



President Asif Ali Zardari talks with US President Barack Obama. – File Photo

CHICAGO: The Obama administration may not be able to strike a long-awaited agreement with Pakistan to help supply Western soldiers in Afghanistan as hoped in time for a major Nato summit in Chicago this weekend, a US official said.  

"There's a distinct possibility that we may not see an agreement before the end of this weekend," the US official said on condition of anonymity. "But talks are progressing and we do expect to reach a deal in the near future."

Earlier this week, as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari accepted a last-minute Nato invitation to the May 20-21 summit, many US officials were optimistic they could finally make a deal to reopen key Nato ground routes into Afghanistan. Pakistan shut the routes in protest when US aircraft killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border in November.

Zardari's appearance at the summit was seen as a potential breakthrough after the border deaths plunged perennially poor US-Pakistan ties into a deep freeze for months.

Now, as the two countries continue to disagree about details of a possible deal, that optimism appears to have faded.

Nato nations, grappling with severe fiscal pressure at home, are anxious to reach an agreement under which Pakistan would allow Nato trucks to once again travel on Pakistani roads, in part because shipping supplies into land-locked Afghanistan from the north is much more expensive.

Being able to transit across Pakistan becomes even more important as US commanders prepare for the monumental logistical task of withdrawing most of the 128,000 Nato soldiers in Afghanistan – and the equipment they have accumulated since 2001 – by the end of 2014.

Negotiations between US and Pakistani officials in Islamabad have dragged on.

From the beginning, Zardari's government has demanded a high-level apology for the border deaths, which Nato said were accidental but which enraged Pakistanis.

The Obama administration, loathe exposing itself to further Republican criticism, has refused to apologise.

The US official said a "wide gulf" remained on the amount Nato nations would be charged for transporting equipment into Afghanistan, the central stumbling block in those talks.

Pakistan says its roads require millions of dollars in repairs after years of Nato truck going back and forth. The amount that Pakistani officials believe should be charged is far higher than what US officials have offered.

"The fees proposed by the Pakistanis are unacceptable, not just to the United States but to our Nato allies," the official said.

Lack of an agreement could add strains to interactions between President Barack Obama and other senior US officials and Pakistani leaders during the summit. US officials have long complained that Pakistan has failed to act sufficiently against militants fighting US troops in Afghanistan.

The White House said on Thursday that Obama had no plans for a one-on-one meeting with Zardari.

Still, Zardari's government supports reopening the supply routes once a deal can be reached that satisfies both sides. For that reason the Obama administration expects to ultimately find an arrangement on the supply routes and on the precise amount of US military assistance Washington owes Pakistan.

http://dawn.com/2012...-supply-routes/

[SUPARCO]

Decision on Nato supply routes yet to be taken: PM
Saturday May 19, 2012
Zulqernain Tahir



Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza GIlani.—File Photo

LAHORE: Brushing aside speculations that the government has decided in principle to reopen the Nato supply routes, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here on Friday that a decision in this regard was yet to be taken.

“The parliamentary committee has given its recommendations regarding the reopening of Nato supply routes, but my government has not yet taken a final decision,” he said, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari’s participation in the Nato summit in Chicago was not linked to restoration of ground supply routes for Nato forces in Afghanistan. “President Zardari has been invited to the Chicago conference unconditionally.”

Mr Gilani was talking to reporters after a meeting with PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at their residence in Gulberg, where he had gone to thank them for their support after his conviction by the Supreme Court.

He challenged the PML-N and his opponents to table a no-confidence motion against him or move to impeach President Zardari in a constitutional manner.

“If anyone has courage he should bring a no-confidence motion against me or impeach the president by adopting a constitutional way. No-one can remove us through democratic way. I will remain in office as long as the parliament and allies are backing me.”

Mr Gilani said governments had been packed up in unconstitutional and undemocratic ways in the past when the president had the power of 58(2b).

The PML-N should first quit the assemblies and then launch a movement against his government, he said, adding: “The people may join their (Sharif brothers) protest if they quit the (Punjab) government and assemblies. The PML-N being part of the Punjab government cannot hold a long march against the federal government.”

The prime minister said he had protected the Constitution and he did not consider it to be a crime. He asked the opposition to stop their protest because the apex court had not disqualified him.

Answering a question about his son’s alleged involvement in the ephedrine scandal, he said Ali Mosa Gilani was facing allegations because he was in politics. “But he will face the court.”

The prime minister said his government was taking measures to tide over the energy crisis. Jobs for youth, a tax-free budget and relief to the agriculture sector would be ensured. He said the government had constituted an emergency cell and a special cabinet committee to deal with the energy crisis.

About Chaudhry Shujaat’s formula to overcome loadshedding, Mr Gilani said he had agreed to his proposal, adding that energy crisis was not the issue of a single party because the provinces had not been barred from producing electricity.

He said his government had added 3,600MW to the national grid and another 2,500MW projects were in the pipeline. Thar coal, Mangla raising and Diamer-Bhasha dam projects would be completed soon.

He said 100,000 new jobs would be created for the youth. No new taxes would be imposed in the budget.

Fawad Chaudhry, special assistant to the prime minister who accompanied Mr Gilani, told Dawn that the meeting lasted about 40 minutes and the PPP and PML-Q leadership discussed the current political situation and the energy crisis. He said Mr Gilani had called on the Chaudhrys to express his gratitude for their support at this critical juncture.

http://dawn.com/2012...to-be-taken-pm/

[mudassar]

really shameful,Yet ppl have faith in jarnails aka kiyani/miyani.They are all  sold out just like the politicians

[writer84]

We should open supply lines. What benefit for us to leave them closed?

I cant believe some of you wish Pakistan to stand up against America when the power differentials is massively in favour of Washington.

No leader of Pak, inc Imran Khan, would be any different.

[platinum786]

What would they do if we did stand up to them? Bomb us? I couldnt give a sh!t, they do that already, the difference would be the people getting bombed would be in cities rather than villages in FATA, who's lives dont seem to matter. What we NEED is tye assasinatiom of hundreds of the most powerful people in Pakistan, like the ayatollahs cleansed Iran.

[writer84]

Do you think non elected leaders would be any firmer?

No.

Be it PPP, PML, PTI, Army or mullahs (evolution forbid), ultimately Pakistan does what America says. You say 'bring it on', but would you say that if you lived in Lahore or Islamabad?

Probably not. Fact is removing Islamists from our region is in everyone's favour to ensure a free, safe and prosperous Pakistan (and region) that is free from draconian dogmas.

[Perilious`MAD]

writer84, on 19 May 2012 - 03:12 PM, said:

Do you think non elected leaders would be any firmer?

No.

Be it PPP, PML, PTI, Army or mullahs (evolution forbid), ultimately Pakistan does what America says. You say 'bring it on', but would you say that if you lived in Lahore or Islamabad?

Probably not. Fact is removing Islamists from our region is in everyone's favour to ensure a free, safe and prosperous Pakistan (and region) that is free from draconian dogmas.

Agreed, the decision to take on a country should be made by the Pakistanis living in the country. However, on a different note, would be kind enough to list the horrible things that these so called islamists from our region has ever done to anyone.

[SUPARCO]

faizan khaliq, on 18 May 2012 - 04:52 PM, said:

no one will speak now not even Hafiz saeed and jamaat e Islami or Imran khan ,
saaray eik hi thali kay beingan hain

DPC announces long march against NATO supply restoration
Sunday, May 20, 2012  

LAHORE: Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) on Saturday announced to hold a countrywide protest on May 25 and a long march from Karachi to Islamabad on May 27 against expected resumption of NATO supplies.

The announcement came after a DPC meeting was held under Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference, Haq said the council had decided to start a march against the reopening of NATO supply routes from the country.

“The march will start from Karachi on May 27, and after passing through various cities it will culminate in Islamabad,” he added. He said that it would be a peaceful march. agencies

http://dailytimes.co...y_20-5-2012_pg7_11

[writer84]

Perilious`MAD, on 19 May 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Agreed, the decision to take on a country should be made by the Pakistanis living in the country. However, on a different note, would be kind enough to list the horrible things that these so called islamists from our region has ever done to anyone.

Perilious`MAD, on 19 May 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Agreed, the decision to take on a country should be made by the Pakistanis living in the country. However, on a different note, would be kind enough to list the horrible things that these so called islamists from our region has ever done to anyone.

Dude, really?

The TTP have been killing Pakistanis for 8 years! You still want to see the damage fanaticism can do?

Attacking schools, oppressing women, keeping our country in a social and moral dark age, lacking progressive social policies and empowerment of females. No, Islamism is a disaster for Pakistan.

[rungroot]

writer84, on 19 May 2012 - 04:57 PM, said:

Dude, really?

The TTP have been killing Pakistanis for 8 years! You still want to see the damage fanaticism can do?

Attacking schools, oppressing women, keeping our country in a social and moral dark age, lacking progressive social policies and empowerment of females. No, Islamism is a disaster for Pakistan.

ttp is directly being supported by us and NATO.  the attack on salsala post was meant to remove any check on infiltration from Afghanistan into Pakistan. so please don't equate the ttp with Islamism and the real Taliban who are fighting us and NATO.

[SUPARCO]

Nato supplies not resumed despite containers crossing border: Malik
Saturday May 19, 2012



Interior Minister Rehman Malik talks to media after a meeting with JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan at Mansoora in Lahore on Saturday. – Photo by APP


LAHORE: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday clarified that the supply trucks crossed into Afghanistan on Friday did not belong to Nato as he denies resumption of Nato supply routes through Pakistani soil, DawnNew reported.

The interior minister, who on Saturday met Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan at JI headquarters Mansoora, said Hassan has been invited for talks with President Asif Zardari at the Presidency on important national issues including resumption of Nato supply routes and law and order situation in the country.

Speaking to media representatives after the meeting, Malik said the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)-led coalition government is following the guidelines and principles given by the parliament regarding resumption of supply routes through Pakistan.

He said both, PPP and JI, agree on the point that there should be no drone attacks inside Pakistan. "Nato supplies had been suspended to stop these drone attacks," he added.

The minister said that he respects Jamaat-i-Islami as the party has never acted against integrity of the country.

Both Houses of Parliament and all the provincial assemblies through their resolutions have demanded that drone attacks should not take place which is the unified demand of the entire nation, said the interior minister.

http://dawn.com/2012...ies-says-malik/

[SUPARCO]

NATO supply: US rejects Pak transit fee demand
Saturday May 19, 2012



Panetta has ruled out Pakistan’s demand to pay $5,000 for each NATO container across its territory.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this in an interview to foreign newspaper before leaving for Chicago to attend NATO summit is scheduled to begin on Sunday.

Pakistani officials have demanded that amount as a condition for reopening supply routes that have been closed to the alliance since fall.

"Considering the financial challenges that we re facing, that s not likely," Panetta said of the demand. He also aims to find agreement among allies on the Afghanistan war.

Before the supply routes were closed in November after a mistaken U.S. attack on two remote Pakistani border posts that killed two dozen Pakistani troops, NATO convoys were paying an average of about $250 a truck, a senior U.S. official said.


http://dunyanews.tv/...iNOaWQ9ODA5MTI=

[SUPARCO]

Nato chief will not meet zardari


CHICAGO: Planned talks between NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and President Asif Ali Zardari were canceled at the last-minute Saturday after the Pakistan leader's plane was delayed.

"This cancelation is due to a scheduling problem," said NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero, on the eve of a two-day NATO summit being held in Chicago.

"Mr Zardari's plane was delayed" which meant the talks with the NATO secretary general could not go ahead as planned, she said.

She added that a bilateral meeting could still be held between the two men before the summit ends on Monday.

Earlier Saturday, the NATO chief urged Islamabad to back efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

Zardari was invited to the summit in Chicago amid expectations that Pakistan will lift a six-month blockade against NATO supply trucks imposed after US air strikes killed 26 Pakistani troops in November.

NATO has also pressed Islamabad to do more to prevent insurgents from taking advantage of the porous Afghan-Pakistani border region to take sanctuary inside Pakistan.

"We can't solve the problems in Afghanistan without the positive engagement of Pakistan," Rasmussen told a policy forum here.

"We have to solve these problems," he said, referring to the safe havens used by insurgents in Pakistan to launch attacks on NATO troops across the border. (AFP)

http://www.thenews.c...hief-called-off

[Caesar]

Why did this Zardari even decide to go this summit. What a moron.

[rungroot]

Caesar, on 19 May 2012 - 09:44 PM, said:

Why did this Zardari even decide to go this summit. What a moron.

For the entertainment of nato officials and untee samantha.

Naach zardari naach, tujhay paysa milay ga!!!!!!!!

[SUPARCO]

Caesar, on 19 May 2012 - 09:44 PM, said:

Why did this Zardari even decide to go this summit. What a moron.

Salaam,

On Pakistani military's insistence.

Salaam

[butterfly]

Zardari is the representative of Pakistan......I ask you would it not have been better to send a four legged donkey?

[Magnus]

Pakistan to seek $1b in Chicago summit

ISLAMABAD: Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said President Asif Ali Zardari would demand one billion dollars in Nato's Chacago Summit and the reimbursement via Coalition Support Fund is Pakistan's right.

According to him, President Zardari would present Pakistan's view regarding war on terror and its dire consequences on national economy.

'We are with international community in fight against this menace but it cannot be won by military means only. Poverty and unemployment are two big reasons of extremism.'

http://www.thenews.c...-Chicago-summit

Edited by Magnus, 20 May 2012 - 01:57 AM.

[SUPARCO]

General Allen plays down urgency of Nato supply deal


CHICAGO: The US commander in Afghanistan told Reuters he would not be disappointed if a long-sought agreement with Pakistan on supply routes failed to materialize by the end of the Nato summit in Chicago on Monday.

General John Allen, who is also the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) commander, said in an interview he was confident a deal would eventually be struck but "whether it's in days or weeks, I don't know."

Many Obama administration officials had hoped for an agreement with Islamabad in time for the Sunday-Monday summit that would end a nearly six-month ban prohibiting trucks in Pakistan from carrying supplies to Nato forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Islamabad cut off the ground supply routes after a Nato air strike in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, causing a rift with the United States and forcing Nato commanders to look to alternative, most costly routes to supply the war effort.

Asked if he would be disappointed if Pakistan - whose president will attend the summit - didn't strike an agreement before the end of the Chicago talks, Allen said: "No."

"I don't need the (ground supply lines) to be open to support the campaign. But they're helpful to us in sending home our equipment," Allen said.

"We don't want an agreement fast, we want an agreement that's right. So we're going to take the time to get it right."

NO REPEAT OF HISTORY

The summit comes as Nato allies seek to extricate themselves from a long and costly war without surrendering an unstable, violent Afghanistan back to militants intent on attacking the West.

Allen faces an extremely difficult task, preparing for the withdrawal of most Nato troops by the end of 2014 even as he continues to build up Afghan security forces and move territory under their control. His strategy has been to speed that transition, while enough US forces are still there to help the Afghans when needed.

"Getting as much of that early in the process as we can, so I've got enough combat power here to support (the Afghans) during that early part of the transition's really important," he said.

Allen will complete the removal of all US surge troops this fall, leaving a US force of about 68,000. He is then due to make recommendations for additional troop reductions after the summer combat season, which should reveal how well Afghan forces can fight - and how well Nato fares with a force smaller than the one that claimed swathes of southern Afghanistan in a troop-heavy, counterinsurgency campaign in 2010.

But the presidential victory in France of Socialist Francois Hollande, who has promised to pull French combat troops from Afghanistan this year, raises questions. Hollande repeated that pledge during his inaugural visit to Washington last week and said an extremely limited number of troops would remain to train Afghan forces and bring back equipment beyond 2012.

Allen said Hollande's plans to accelerate the withdrawal would not affect his strategy. "It's a sovereign decision of France. And we'll work with them and to support whatever decision ultimately they make," he said.

Allen said he believes the summit in Chicago will demonstrate a long-term commitment to Afghanistan's military, allowing Nato to avoid making the same mistake that the Soviet Union did after its withdrawal more than two decades ago.

"After the Soviet Union departed Afghanistan, that army survived for a short period of time. But it was unsupported. And unsupported, it eventually collapsed," Allen said, pointing to the ensuing civil war and rise of the Taliban.

"The trajectory we are on right now, I am confident, will prevent history from repeating itself." (Reuters)

http://www.geo.tv/Ge...l.aspx?ID=50061

[SUPARCO]

Presedint Zardari, Nato chief meeting on Monday


CHICAGO: The meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, which was cancelled earlier today, would now be held on Monday, Geo News reported.

The Nato chief is expected to convey an important message to the president during the meeting. Reopening of Nato supply routes to Afghanistan and the ties between Pakistan army and the Taliban would top the agenda.

Planned talks between the Nato chief and President Zardari were canceled at the last-minute Saturday after the Pakistan leader's plane was delayed.

"This cancelation is due to a scheduling problem," said Nato spokeswoman Carmen Romero, on the eve of a two-day Nato summit being held in Chicago.

"Mr Zardari's plane was delayed" which meant the talks with the Nato secretary general could not go ahead as planned, she said.

She added that a bilateral meeting could still be held between the two men before the summit ends on Monday.

Earlier Saturday, the Nato chief urged Islamabad to back efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

Zardari was invited to the summit in Chicago amid expectations that Pakistan will lift a six-month blockade against Nato supply trucks imposed after US air strikes killed 26 Pakistani troops in November.

Nato has also pressed Islamabad to do more to prevent insurgents from taking advantage of the porous Afghan-Pakistani border region to take sanctuary inside Pakistan.

"We can't solve the problems in Afghanistan without the positive engagement of Pakistan," Rasmussen told a policy forum here.

"We have to solve these problems," he said, referring to the safe havens used by insurgents in Pakistan to launch attacks on Nato troops across the border.

http://www.geo.tv/Ge...l.aspx?ID=49998

[Felicius]

For PPP to become (re-popular) and win the elections again, they have to keep the borders shut; and they intend to.
Opening of borders will be disastrous for their popularity.

The pressure is from PA to reopen the borders.

[Jazba-e-Kashmir]

Who said daddy was going alone, little bilawal is going to there with him as wel!!


Bilawal embarks on US visit

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is embarking upon an eight-day visit to the United States on Sunday on the invitation of local diaspora.During his visit, the PPP Chairman will also visit New York and Washington, meet American legislators, senior officials and media organizations, and address a number of think tanks.The visit of Bilawal Zardari Bhutto comes at a time when President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also PPP Co-Chairman, is in Chicago to attend an important summit of North Atlantic Treating Organization on the future of Afghanistan.Bilawal Zardari Bhutto during his interactions with the American officials and legislators will try to explain Pakistan’s position on various issues, remove mis-perceptions and create a favourable environment for improving Pak-US relations.


http://app.com.pk/en...195115&Itemid=1





Hasb-e-Haal on the matter:

[SUPARCO]

Torkham border slammed shut ahead of NATO summit
Sunday May 20, 2012



An AFP reporter who on Sunday travelled to Torkham confirmed no NATO vehicles were going through.

An AFP reporter who on Sunday travelled from the northwestern Peshawar city to Torkham, on the dangerous Khyber Pass, confirmed no NATO vehicles were going through, nor were there even any waiting at the pass.

A furious Pakistan slammed shut the Torkham border gate in its northwest to NATO vehicles in November when air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, souring already fragile relations between allies Washington and Islamabad.

There was no sign on Sunday of Pakistan opening its border crossing to NATO trucks carrying essential supplies to Afghanistan, as President Asif Ali Zardari prepared to meet Western leaders.

A furious Pakistan slammed shut the Torkham border gate in its northwest to NATO vehicles in November when air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, souring already fragile relations between allies Washington and Islamabad.

That left hundreds of containers of supplies intended for the 130,000 NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan stranded at port in Karachi, although the Western alliance said it had other ways of making up for the shortfall.

Six months on, Pakistan on Friday allowed containers of office supplies for the US embassy in Kabul to cross into Afghanistan via Torkham, giving rise to hopes that Islamabad would imminently let NATO again use the crossing.

But officials at Torkham, a dusty and mountainous outpost through which trucks packed with mostly fuel and food for NATO used to trundle through daily, told AFP there was no link between supplies for embassies and NATO goods.

"Some 17 containers of various countries were allowed to pass in last six months and it s normal because they had diplomatic protection," said Mazhar Ali, a government official at Torkham.

An AFP reporter who on Sunday travelled from the northwestern Peshawar city to Torkham, on the dangerous Khyber Pass, confirmed no NATO vehicles were going through, nor were there even any waiting at the pass.

"NATO supply is completely closed. We have not received any fresh order to reopen it," Ali told AFP.

"We are only allowing private vehicles and commercial trucks, we have even no intimation for the reopening of NATO supplies."

Pakistan tribal police and troops were searching every vehicle passing through the main iron gate at Torkham, where thousands of veiled women and children were also crossing on foot.

Torkham lies on the still-controversial Durand Line, which British imperialists drew through millions of Pashtun tribesmen to separate Pakistan from landlocked Afghanistan.

President Zardari, who accepted a last-minute invitation to attend, will be one of the key figures when 50 world leaders gather in Chicago for one of the biggest NATO summits in history later Sunday.

Their aim is to hammer out a unified exit strategy from Afghanistan after a decade of war. Washington is also hoping that Zardari will agree to reopen Torkham.

But US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that Islamabad, seen as key to ending the Afghan war, was demanding too high a price to resume the deliveries across its territory.

Quoting a senior US official, the daily said Islamabad now wanted $5,000 per truck, compared with $250 previously, amounting to a handsome sum for the thousands of trucks that rumble across the border daily.

"Considering the financial challenges that we re facing, that s not likely," Panetta told the daily.

The border closure to NATO, which says the goods it needs are being flown in to Afghanistan instead from Central Asia, is good news for some.

The lone parking terminal for NATO at Torkham has been abandoned with some commercial vehicles and private trucks taking the opportunity to park their vehicles there.

Shopkeepers in the nearby Landikotal border town said they felt more relaxed with the ban.

"No NATO supply truck means no attack," Inayat Khan, 22, who runs a grocery shop, told AFP.

"We fear that militants will again start attacking if NATO supplies resume." Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently attacked NATO supply vehicles in the northwest region of Pakistan, the most volatile part of the country and where the insurgents are most active.

http://dunyanews.tv/...iNOaWQ9ODA5ODU=

[Magnus]

Chicago: Zardari to return empty-handed

CHICAGO: President Obama was struggling to balance the United States’ relationship with two crucial but difficult allies on Sunday, after a deal to reopen supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan fell apart just as Mr. Obama began talks on ending the NATO alliance’s combat role in the Afghan war.

As a two-day NATO summit meeting opened in Chicago, Mr. Obama remained at loggerheads with President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, refusing even to meet with him without an agreement on the supply routes, which officials in both countries acknowledged would not be coming soon.

Mr. Zardari, who flew to Chicago with hopes of lifting his stature with a meeting with Mr. Obama, was preparing to leave empty-handed as the two countries continued to feel the repercussions of a fatal American airstrike last November, for which Mr. Obama has offered condolences but no apology. Mr. Zardari did, however, meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to discuss the supply routes, said a report published in the New York Times.

Pakistan closed the routes into Afghanistan after the strike, heightening tensions with Pakistani officials who say that the United States has repeatedly infringed on their sovereignty with drone strikes and other activities.

“This whole breakdown in the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan has come down to a fixation of this apology issue,” said Vali Nasr, a former State Department adviser on Pakistan. The combination of no apology and no meeting, Mr. Nasr said, “will send a powerfully humiliating message back to Pakistan.”

American officials hope the summit of the 28-member alliance will set in motion an orderly conclusion of the decade-long war in Afghanistan, a huge undertaking. NATO aims to give Afghan forces the lead in combat operations next year to pave the way for the departure of NATO troops by the end of 2014. The NATO summit will also focus on financing Afghan forces for the next several years.

Mr. Obama and his other tenuous ally in the region, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, huddled together Sunday morning to grapple with stalled reconciliation talks with the Taliban.

It was a measure of just how bad things have gotten between the United States and Pakistan that, by contrast, Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Karzai — which has been rocky ever since Mr. Obama came into office vowing to end what he viewed as former President George W. Bush’s coddling of the mercurial Afghan leader — looked calm and stable on Sunday.

“I want to express my appreciation for the hard work that President Karzai has done,” Mr. Obama said after the meeting, standing next to Mr. Karzai. “He recognizes the enormous sacrifices American troops have made.”

Mr. Obama quickly added: “We recognize the hardships that Afghans have been through during these many many years of war.”

Mr. Karzai, for his part, said he would work to make sure that Afghanistan is not a “burden on the shoulders of our friends” in the international community.

“For all the twists and turns in this relationship, we now very much want to get to very much the same place,” one Obama administration official said. He credited the strategic partnership agreement, which he says has given Mr. Karzai a level of reassurance that the United States and NATO will not abandon Afghanistan once combat troops leave the country. “The discussion today was very much about what do we have to do over the next two years to close out our piece of the war.”

On the Pakistani front, however, things seem to deteriorate.

http://www.thenews.c...rn-empty-handed

[rungroot]

^^^

let's see if the son can do a better job at begging in front of his father's masters !

[Magnus]

Success !!


Australia to provide $200m to Pak: Babar

CHICAGO: Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that Australia would be providing $200 million to Pakistan in the next three years, Geo News reported.

Babar said that President Asif Ali Zardari and the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard met on the sidelines of the Nato Summit and exchanged views on bilateral ties, trade and economic relations between the two countries.

President Asif Ali Zardari said that the Australian cooperation in education sector was laudable, while in the economic sector opportunities exist for enhanced cooperation.
The president said that the assistance in education sector would help pave the way in eradicating the terrorism.

According to spokesman, President Zardari also appreciated the Australian support to democratic governments

[platinum786]

wow, 1 dollar each. Where can 1 claim mine?

[aamirzs]

Obama refuses to meet Zardari




Link: http://canindia.com/...o-meet-zardari/

My view: Just shameful ... he should have never gone.

[SUPARCO]

platinum786, on 21 May 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

wow, 1 dollar each. Where can 1 claim mine?

Salaam,

You got it all wrong plati.  It's actually $200 million for 179,637,727 people.  Which works out to $1.11.

http://www.census.gov.pk/

Salaam

[BaburMissile]

Shehz, on 20 May 2012 - 08:27 AM, said:

For PPP to become (re-popular) and win the elections again, they have to keep the borders shut; and they intend to.
Opening of borders will be disastrous for their popularity.

The pressure is from PA to reopen the borders.

Frankly, I don't even know what to believe anymore. Though, under no circumstances will I trust the actions and words of Zardari and his cronies. I know what these criminals are capable of. Lies and deception are their traits. This could well be another orchestrated smoke screen. After all, elections are around the corner. It could be a win win considering US success is coupled with Zardari's success.

On a different note, it's difficult to tell where exactly the PA stands. I cannot comprehend how the PA could forget and forgive the Salala incident. There's certainly much more than meets the eye. Although, understandably the PA wouldn't like to be seen dragging the supply route issue.

Regardless of their positions, both the PA and the political leadership are fully aware of the two opposing pressures. One cannot defy the popular sentiment of the Pakistani masses. Neither is it realistically plausible to indefinitely shut the supply routes.

In my humble opinion, Pakistan should disengage the US led alliance in its entirety. The war against rouge insurgents which are unwilling to lay arms must be fought on our terms and conditions. Genuine concerns regarding the security of Pakistani border area must be addressed immediately. The protection and security of Pakistani territory is in our own interest. How much longer can Pakistan afford to have lawless areas where the writ of the state is virtually nonexistent? Besides, Pakistan shouldn't have to be lectured by outsiders to take care of its territory. The Pakistani supply routes should only be used to assist the downsizing of US/NATO equipment.