SANAA, March 5: Sneaking across the desert behind army lines, Al Qaeda militants launched a surprise attack against military bases in south Yemen, killing 107 soldiers and capturing heavy weapons they later used to kill more troops, officials said on Monday.
The military officials said at least 32 of the militants were killed in Sunday`s fighting in Abyan province, and scores were wounded on both sides. Medical officials in the area confirmed the death toll figures.
They said the poor services in local hospitals accounted for the death of many soldiers who suffered serious wounds but could have survived had they been given better medical care.
The death toll among the troops is believed to be the highest on record in battles fought by the army against Al Qaeda militants, who have apparently been emboldened by the political turmoil roiling the impoverished Arab nation for more than a year.
The militants` attack appeared tobe Al Qaeda`s response to a pledge by Yemen`s newly inaugurated President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to fight the Yemeni branch of the terror network, believed to be the world`s most active.
Hadi repeated that pledge on Monday during talks with a visiting British diplomat. `The confrontation will continue until we are rid of the last terrorist, whether in Abyan or elsewhere, local media quoted him as saying.
The military officials said on Monday the militants` surprise attack outside Abyan`s provincial capital Zinjibar also led to the capture of 55 soldiers. The captives were paraded on the streets of Jaar, a nearby town that, like Zinjibar, has been under Al Qaeda`s control for about a year.
The battle in Abyan province shows how militants have taken advantage of the turmoil created by the yearlong uprising against then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who last month handed over power to Hadi.-AP
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Pakistan - Iran Pipeline pressure by US
AMERICA would do well not to link Pakistan`s power requirements with Iran`s nuclear issue.
While the former concerns this country`s desperate attempt to bridge the yawning power gap, the latter is a broader, geopolitical issue. Replying to a congressman`s question in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan of consequences, especially for its `quite shaky` economy, if Islamabad went ahead with the pipeline deal with Iran. If the project went `beyond talk`, the secretary of state said, her country would apply `additional pressures` on Pakistan under the Iran Sanctions Act. Ms Clinton acknowledged that this country had `significant energy requirements` but said that a better alternative for Islamabad could be the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, because that would avoid `doing business with Iran`.
There is no doubt that TAPI could be an additional, though not theonly, source of gas supply to Pakistan to enable the latter to meet its fastexpanding energy requirements. But the war in Afghanistan continues, and there is no guarantee there will be peaceful conditions in the aftermath of the American withdrawal.
With security concerns dominating, TAPI has thus remained a pipedream so far. On the other hand, the pipeline with Iran could become a going concern, if Pakistan made a determined effort to execute the project, although there are several challenges not the least of which is the question of finances. America may `ratchet up` pressure on Iran, as Ms Clinton said, but it is hard to understand why, given Pakistan`s multiplying energy woes, the secretary of state should find it `somewhat inexplicable` that the country should want to go ahead with the Iran pipeline idea. Nevertheless, it is also true that a large part of Pakistan`s energy troubles today are of its own making, and the gas pipeline with Iran can at best be a partial solution.
While the former concerns this country`s desperate attempt to bridge the yawning power gap, the latter is a broader, geopolitical issue. Replying to a congressman`s question in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan of consequences, especially for its `quite shaky` economy, if Islamabad went ahead with the pipeline deal with Iran. If the project went `beyond talk`, the secretary of state said, her country would apply `additional pressures` on Pakistan under the Iran Sanctions Act. Ms Clinton acknowledged that this country had `significant energy requirements` but said that a better alternative for Islamabad could be the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, because that would avoid `doing business with Iran`.
There is no doubt that TAPI could be an additional, though not theonly, source of gas supply to Pakistan to enable the latter to meet its fastexpanding energy requirements. But the war in Afghanistan continues, and there is no guarantee there will be peaceful conditions in the aftermath of the American withdrawal.
With security concerns dominating, TAPI has thus remained a pipedream so far. On the other hand, the pipeline with Iran could become a going concern, if Pakistan made a determined effort to execute the project, although there are several challenges not the least of which is the question of finances. America may `ratchet up` pressure on Iran, as Ms Clinton said, but it is hard to understand why, given Pakistan`s multiplying energy woes, the secretary of state should find it `somewhat inexplicable` that the country should want to go ahead with the Iran pipeline idea. Nevertheless, it is also true that a large part of Pakistan`s energy troubles today are of its own making, and the gas pipeline with Iran can at best be a partial solution.
Pakistan - Dengue returns
THE return of mild weather and a growing number of cases of people down with fever in Lahore have reignited fears of dengue, which are compounded by uninformed discussions. Confusion reigns. A news item about an anti-dengue spray drive by the Lahore Development Authority competes for attention with a newspaper advertisement by the Punjab government that as of now there is no need for an anti-dengue spray campaign. Below the surface is a divide in the committee that has been debating for one month the merits and timing of a fogging campaign. While there may be good reasons why the drive has been put on hold, an effective explanation so far eludes the public.
There are a few other points which need elaboration. It stands against reason that some senior professors did not accompany the teams that went to Thailand and Sri Lanka recently to learn fromthese two countries` experience with dengue. These professors were supposed to pass on what they learned to doctors in Lahore. If the government does not favour fogging right away, whose idea was it to buy insecticide that will expire in a few months` time? Also, last year, suspected dengue patients underwent IgA and IgM tests; a patient had to be infected and suffer from dengue for four or five days to test positive. This year the emphasis, at least in the news, has shifted to NS1 a test which enables the rapid detection of dengue. This is an advancement, but it is not clear just how many local laboratories can carry out the effective if somewhat expensive test that promises early treatment of dengue and thus promises to save lives. The NS1 mystery is a giveaway. It sums up a lack of bias for the scientific in a government that finds it easy to blame the disease on nature.
There are a few other points which need elaboration. It stands against reason that some senior professors did not accompany the teams that went to Thailand and Sri Lanka recently to learn fromthese two countries` experience with dengue. These professors were supposed to pass on what they learned to doctors in Lahore. If the government does not favour fogging right away, whose idea was it to buy insecticide that will expire in a few months` time? Also, last year, suspected dengue patients underwent IgA and IgM tests; a patient had to be infected and suffer from dengue for four or five days to test positive. This year the emphasis, at least in the news, has shifted to NS1 a test which enables the rapid detection of dengue. This is an advancement, but it is not clear just how many local laboratories can carry out the effective if somewhat expensive test that promises early treatment of dengue and thus promises to save lives. The NS1 mystery is a giveaway. It sums up a lack of bias for the scientific in a government that finds it easy to blame the disease on nature.
Pakistan - Idia Trade Boost
WHAT was almost unimaginable less than a year ago is fast becoming a welcome reality. Islamabad and New Delhi have moved at a remarkable pace since the resumption of the commerce secretary-level talks in April last year to normalise trade relations. With India agreeing to dismantle all Pakistan-specific non-tariff barriers, Islamabad has finally done away with the `positive` list of items that could be imported from across its eastern borders and replaced it with a `negative` list of items that cannot be imported. Even the negative list will be phased out by the end of this year. This will pave the way for full liberalisation of trade between the two largest South Asian economies.
The two countries are expected to meet again later this month to sort out the modalities of trade in energy. The unprecedented progress made by the two countries in such a short span of time would not have been possible without the strong political will shown by their governments. The commitment of the Indian and Pakistani governments to move ahead with trade normalisation despite opposition from rightwing groups on both sides of the border must be appreciated. The improvement in IndiaPakistan trade relations is crucial to peace and economic prosperity in the entire South Asian region, which is at the moment the least economicallyintegrated and among the poorest regions in the world.
At the same time, the role played by Pakistan`s business community in backing the government`s efforts for trade normalisation with India cannot be stressed enough. Islamabad would not have been able to move so swiftly if it did not enjoy the full support of Pakistani businessmen. That said, some sectors of the economy are still wary of fully normal trade ties with India.
If Pakistan`s growers are worried about the import of cheap, subsidised vegetables and other agricultural products from across the border, the automobile industry, pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of leather goods are afraid of the influx of made-in-India goods because of the cost differential. Although the commerce ministry has taken their concerns into consideration and doubled the number of items put on the negative list, they argue that the period ofone yearis too shortfor them to prepare for competition with their Indian rivals. It is advisable for the government to take effective steps to protect its growers and give the manufacturers a little longer say, two to three years to allow them enough time to ready themselves for competition. The Indians should not have any objection to this since such protection is the norm the world over.
The two countries are expected to meet again later this month to sort out the modalities of trade in energy. The unprecedented progress made by the two countries in such a short span of time would not have been possible without the strong political will shown by their governments. The commitment of the Indian and Pakistani governments to move ahead with trade normalisation despite opposition from rightwing groups on both sides of the border must be appreciated. The improvement in IndiaPakistan trade relations is crucial to peace and economic prosperity in the entire South Asian region, which is at the moment the least economicallyintegrated and among the poorest regions in the world.
At the same time, the role played by Pakistan`s business community in backing the government`s efforts for trade normalisation with India cannot be stressed enough. Islamabad would not have been able to move so swiftly if it did not enjoy the full support of Pakistani businessmen. That said, some sectors of the economy are still wary of fully normal trade ties with India.
If Pakistan`s growers are worried about the import of cheap, subsidised vegetables and other agricultural products from across the border, the automobile industry, pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of leather goods are afraid of the influx of made-in-India goods because of the cost differential. Although the commerce ministry has taken their concerns into consideration and doubled the number of items put on the negative list, they argue that the period ofone yearis too shortfor them to prepare for competition with their Indian rivals. It is advisable for the government to take effective steps to protect its growers and give the manufacturers a little longer say, two to three years to allow them enough time to ready themselves for competition. The Indians should not have any objection to this since such protection is the norm the world over.
Pakistan Stance on Iran Gas pipeline issue
ISLAMABAD, March 1: The national leadership vowed on Thursday to press ahead with the Iran gas pipeline project, sending a defiant message to the US which is pressurising Palcistan to abandon it.
`We are a sovereign country and we will do whatever is in the interest of Pakistan,` Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said during a TV show `Prime Minister Online` Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, making a rare appearance at the Foreign Office weekly briefing, said pursuing energy cooperation agreements and trade with Iran was in national interest.
`Pakistan is pursuing important projects with Iransuch as gas pipeline, electricity transmission and also building a more robust trade partnership,` the foreign minister said, adding that `all of these projects are in Pakistan`s national interest and will be pursued and completed irrespective of any extraneous consideration`.
The comments from the prime minister and the foreign minister came a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned at a Congressional testimony that Pakistan could face sanctions if it did not give up the Iran gas pipeline project.
Ms Clinton also said that any sanctions against Islamabad, for not observing its (US) Iran restrictions regime, could further undermine the already shaky economy.
Pakistan, which is facing intense energy crisis, believes that the multi-billion dollargas pipeline which is scheduled to become operational in 2014 is its best bet to partially ease the situation.
Most parts of the countrynot only face massive power cuts because of electricity shortages, but homes in some urban areas remain without gas used for cooking for several days a week.
`I think all our friends are encouraged tounderstand the real energy crisis that is in Pakistan. We can`t afford to be selective of where we receive our energy supply from,` Ms Khar remarked.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got a similar commitment when he visited Islamabad for a trilateral summit last month. During his bilateral meetings with Pakistani leaders, Mr Ahmadinejad was told that Pakistan remained committed to expeditious implementation of the pipeline project, 1,000 MW electricity transmission line and 100MW Gwadar power supply.
In a further sign of growing energy ties, media reports say Iran is ready to provide about 80,000 of barrels of crude per day to Pakistan on a 3-month deferred payment.
Notwithstanding the brave public pronouncements suggesting disregard for US pressure, the sense emerging from foreign minister`s another interaction with a group of journalists was that Pakistan was playing a wait-and-see game on the pipeline issue.
While she admitted that there could be repercussions for pursuing the pipeline project, she said: `There are still four months before the sanctions take effect and you have the three plus three process on Iran and if something comes out of that .
she said, adding that the costbenefit analysis would have to be done before taking a final decision on the matter.
`We are a sovereign country and we will do whatever is in the interest of Pakistan,` Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said during a TV show `Prime Minister Online` Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, making a rare appearance at the Foreign Office weekly briefing, said pursuing energy cooperation agreements and trade with Iran was in national interest.
`Pakistan is pursuing important projects with Iransuch as gas pipeline, electricity transmission and also building a more robust trade partnership,` the foreign minister said, adding that `all of these projects are in Pakistan`s national interest and will be pursued and completed irrespective of any extraneous consideration`.
The comments from the prime minister and the foreign minister came a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned at a Congressional testimony that Pakistan could face sanctions if it did not give up the Iran gas pipeline project.
Ms Clinton also said that any sanctions against Islamabad, for not observing its (US) Iran restrictions regime, could further undermine the already shaky economy.
Pakistan, which is facing intense energy crisis, believes that the multi-billion dollargas pipeline which is scheduled to become operational in 2014 is its best bet to partially ease the situation.
Most parts of the countrynot only face massive power cuts because of electricity shortages, but homes in some urban areas remain without gas used for cooking for several days a week.
`I think all our friends are encouraged tounderstand the real energy crisis that is in Pakistan. We can`t afford to be selective of where we receive our energy supply from,` Ms Khar remarked.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got a similar commitment when he visited Islamabad for a trilateral summit last month. During his bilateral meetings with Pakistani leaders, Mr Ahmadinejad was told that Pakistan remained committed to expeditious implementation of the pipeline project, 1,000 MW electricity transmission line and 100MW Gwadar power supply.
In a further sign of growing energy ties, media reports say Iran is ready to provide about 80,000 of barrels of crude per day to Pakistan on a 3-month deferred payment.
Notwithstanding the brave public pronouncements suggesting disregard for US pressure, the sense emerging from foreign minister`s another interaction with a group of journalists was that Pakistan was playing a wait-and-see game on the pipeline issue.
While she admitted that there could be repercussions for pursuing the pipeline project, she said: `There are still four months before the sanctions take effect and you have the three plus three process on Iran and if something comes out of that .
she said, adding that the costbenefit analysis would have to be done before taking a final decision on the matter.
Pakistan-Iran Pipeline and US concern
WASHINGTON: The US State Department indulged in a damage-control exercise on Thursday, urging Pakistanis not to see Secretary of State Hillary Clinton`s statement on a proposed gas pipeline from Iran as a threat.
Secretary Clinton told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that the project was `inexplicable` and could invoke US sanctions that would further `undermine` Pakistan`s `already shaky` economy.
`Yesterday Secretary Clinton at the Hill said that Pakistan will face dangerous implications if it goes ahead with this gas pipeline with Iran. Was this some kind of warning to Pakistan? And why was it so?` a journalistasked State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland on Thursday.
`Well, I don`t think what the secretary said was appreciably different than what we`ve been saying for weeks and weeks, publicly, privately, if not months on this subject,` Ms Nuland replied. `You know, this is something that we don`t think is a good idea, and the secretary made that absolutely clear.
The US official noted that Iran was making `all kinds of offers to all kinds of countries`, to break strict sanctions the United States and its allies had imposed on Tehran to persuade it to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
`And they often don`t live up to their promises,` Ms Nuland claimed.
The State Department official claimed the US was aware of Pakistan`s energy needs and was working with Islamabad to meet those needs. `And we would just encourage them to think twice about aligning themselves with an `unreliable partner`,` she said.
`Can you tell us what kind of implications Pakistan would face when it goes ahead with this pipeline? Because the foreign minister of Pakistan today said Pakistan is going ahead with this pipeline project,` asked another journalist.
`Well, again, you know that we have a variety of sanctions on the books that we would not want to see kick in this instance, which is, you know, among the reasons why we think this is a bad idea and hope it doesn`t move forward,` Ms Nuland replied.
Secretary Clinton told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that the project was `inexplicable` and could invoke US sanctions that would further `undermine` Pakistan`s `already shaky` economy.
`Yesterday Secretary Clinton at the Hill said that Pakistan will face dangerous implications if it goes ahead with this gas pipeline with Iran. Was this some kind of warning to Pakistan? And why was it so?` a journalistasked State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland on Thursday.
`Well, I don`t think what the secretary said was appreciably different than what we`ve been saying for weeks and weeks, publicly, privately, if not months on this subject,` Ms Nuland replied. `You know, this is something that we don`t think is a good idea, and the secretary made that absolutely clear.
The US official noted that Iran was making `all kinds of offers to all kinds of countries`, to break strict sanctions the United States and its allies had imposed on Tehran to persuade it to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
`And they often don`t live up to their promises,` Ms Nuland claimed.
The State Department official claimed the US was aware of Pakistan`s energy needs and was working with Islamabad to meet those needs. `And we would just encourage them to think twice about aligning themselves with an `unreliable partner`,` she said.
`Can you tell us what kind of implications Pakistan would face when it goes ahead with this pipeline? Because the foreign minister of Pakistan today said Pakistan is going ahead with this pipeline project,` asked another journalist.
`Well, again, you know that we have a variety of sanctions on the books that we would not want to see kick in this instance, which is, you know, among the reasons why we think this is a bad idea and hope it doesn`t move forward,` Ms Nuland replied.
Fake Polio Drive by American NGO's
ISLAMABAD, March 1: An alliance of about 200 USbased NGOs, many of them working in humanitarian operations in Pakistan, has expressed deep concern over a vaccination campaign carried out in Abbottabad last year by the Central Intelligence Agency and expressed fear that the action may jeopardise the lives of aid workers in the country.
The president of the InterAction alliance, in a letter written to CIA Director Gen David Petraeus, registered serious objections to the vaccination campaign launched to collect intelligence about Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The letter said the CIA should avoid tactics that `erode the ability of humanitarian actors in Pakistan and the rest of the world to work on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable` The fact that the CIA had launched such fake campaigns was confirmed by US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta in an interview on Jan 27 where he praised a doctor named Shakil Afridi for helping the agency. Dr Afridi is in custody of Pakistani security agencies for launching the fake polio vaccination campaign and tipping the US government about Osama.
`The CIA`s use of cover of humanitarian activity for this purpose casts doubt on intentions and integrity of all humanitarian actors in Pakistan, thereby undermining the international humanitarian community`s efforts to eradicate polio, provide critical health services and extend life-saving assistance during times of crisis like the floods seen in Pakistan over the past two years,` InterAction chief Samuel A. Worthington said.
The ChildFund International, Mercy Corps, World Wild Fund, Plan USA, Helen Keller International, Action Against Hunger US and Relief International are among key members of InterAction.
Mr Worthington noted that since reports of the CIA campaign surfaced last summer, `we have seen continued erosion of US NGOs` ability to deliver critical humanitarian programmes in Pakistan and an uptick in targeted violence against humanitarian workers. I fear CIA`s activities in Pakistan and the perception that US NGOs have ties with intelligence efforts may have contributed to these alarming developments`.
`Distrust of the US government runs high in parts of Pakistan and NGOs must take great care to avoid overt association with the US government...The CIA-led immunisation campaign compromises the perception of US NGOs as independent actors focused on a common good and casts suspicion on their humanitarian workers.
The group said there had been increased surveillance by Pakistani intelligence entities and expressed fear that they would soon face a much more restrictive and invasive bureaucratic framework governing their operations.
Mr Worthington demanded that `independent, impartial humanitarian action be kept clearly distinct from intelligence-gathering activities.
`Any blurring of the two risks causing setbacks in decades-long global health and humanitarian efforts and endangers the lives of those working to make those advances on behalf of the global community.
Talking to Dawn, Save the Children NGO`s country director David Wright said: `Our ability to continue this important work has been seriously undermined by CIA`s use of humanitarian activity as a cover for their intelligence gathering.
The president of the InterAction alliance, in a letter written to CIA Director Gen David Petraeus, registered serious objections to the vaccination campaign launched to collect intelligence about Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The letter said the CIA should avoid tactics that `erode the ability of humanitarian actors in Pakistan and the rest of the world to work on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable` The fact that the CIA had launched such fake campaigns was confirmed by US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta in an interview on Jan 27 where he praised a doctor named Shakil Afridi for helping the agency. Dr Afridi is in custody of Pakistani security agencies for launching the fake polio vaccination campaign and tipping the US government about Osama.
`The CIA`s use of cover of humanitarian activity for this purpose casts doubt on intentions and integrity of all humanitarian actors in Pakistan, thereby undermining the international humanitarian community`s efforts to eradicate polio, provide critical health services and extend life-saving assistance during times of crisis like the floods seen in Pakistan over the past two years,` InterAction chief Samuel A. Worthington said.
The ChildFund International, Mercy Corps, World Wild Fund, Plan USA, Helen Keller International, Action Against Hunger US and Relief International are among key members of InterAction.
Mr Worthington noted that since reports of the CIA campaign surfaced last summer, `we have seen continued erosion of US NGOs` ability to deliver critical humanitarian programmes in Pakistan and an uptick in targeted violence against humanitarian workers. I fear CIA`s activities in Pakistan and the perception that US NGOs have ties with intelligence efforts may have contributed to these alarming developments`.
`Distrust of the US government runs high in parts of Pakistan and NGOs must take great care to avoid overt association with the US government...The CIA-led immunisation campaign compromises the perception of US NGOs as independent actors focused on a common good and casts suspicion on their humanitarian workers.
The group said there had been increased surveillance by Pakistani intelligence entities and expressed fear that they would soon face a much more restrictive and invasive bureaucratic framework governing their operations.
Mr Worthington demanded that `independent, impartial humanitarian action be kept clearly distinct from intelligence-gathering activities.
`Any blurring of the two risks causing setbacks in decades-long global health and humanitarian efforts and endangers the lives of those working to make those advances on behalf of the global community.
Talking to Dawn, Save the Children NGO`s country director David Wright said: `Our ability to continue this important work has been seriously undermined by CIA`s use of humanitarian activity as a cover for their intelligence gathering.
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