Dawn – Treatment of Pakistan doctor ‘unjust, unwarranted:’ Clinton

Washington, 25 May 2012. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday denounced as “unjust and unwarranted” the treatment of a Pakistani doctor who was jailed for 33 years for helping in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

A tribal court in Khyber, a lawless district and extremist hotbed, on Wednesday convicted Shakeel Afridi of treason after he agreed to collect DNA for US intelligence to verify the presence of the most-wanted al Qaeda leader.

“We regret both the fact that he was convicted and the severity of his sentence,” Clinton told a joint press conference with New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

The chief US diplomat said Afridi’s role “was instrumental in taking down one of the world’s most wanted murderers. That was clearly in Pakistan’s interest, as well as ours and the rest of the world’s.” Afridi ran a fake vaccination program designed to collect bin Laden family DNA from the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, near Islamabad, where the al Qaeda leader was shot dead in a US commando raid in May 2011.

The doctor’s actions “to help bring about the end of the reign of terror designed and executed by bin Laden was not in any way a betrayal of Pakistan,” Clinton said.

“We are raising it (his case) and we will continue to do so because we think that his treatment is unjust and unwarranted,” she said.

Her remarks were stronger than those given Wednesday by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland who said Pakistan had “no basis for Dr. Afridi to be held.”

Nuland’s muted remarks came as Washington and Islamabad, allies in the war on terror, struggle to repair ties that hit a low when US forces staged the secret raid into Pakistan that killed bin Laden.

They were strained to breaking point last November when US forces staged a botched raid that killed 24 Pakistani troops, prompting Islamabad to cut off the land route for supplies to Nato troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

Carl Levin and John McCain, the top senators from the two major US parties on the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday called Afridi’s sentence “shocking and outrageous” and urged Pakistan to pardon and free him immediately.

“Dr. Afridi’s continuing imprisonment and treatment as a criminal will only do further harm to US-Pakistani relations, including diminishing Congress’s willingness to provide financial assistance to Pakistan,” they warned.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted to cut aid to Pakistan by a symbolic $33 million – $1 million for each year of jail time handed to Afridi.

The measure, an amendment to the $52 billion US foreign aid budget, passed in a 30-0 vote in a sign of growing outrage here over Afridi’s conviction.

“We need Pakistan, Pakistan needs us, but we don’t need Pakistan double-dealing and not seeing the justice in bringing Osama bin Laden to an end,” said Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who pressed for the measure.

The mammoth appropriations bill, which includes a total of $1 billion in assistance for Pakistan, will go now to the Senate floor after passing out of committee on Thursday.

The reduction represents a 58 per cent cut in the amount of aid President Barack Obama had requested for Pakistan.

The United States has given Pakistan more than $18 billion in assistance since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but US officials have persistent concerns that some elements of the establishment have maintained support for extremists.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/25/treatment-of-pakistan-doctor-unjust-unwarranted-clinton/

Special to the Tribune – Sikhs in US hail passing of Anand Marriage Bill

Ashish Kumar Sen in Washington

Indian American Sikhs on Tuesday welcomed the Indian Parliament’s decision to pass a Bill that allows Sikhs to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act. The Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the Anand Karaj Amendment Bill on Monday, and on Tuesday the Lok Sabha approved the legislation with a voice vote.

“This is a historic day for Sikhs in independent India,” said Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Washington-based Sikh Council on Religion and Education.

“Not having a full recognition of their observances and their customs in India had created a sense of lack among Sikhs in India and it questioned their independent identity as a community,” he said.

“It also sends a signal that India welcomes its own vibrant diversity and honours its own minorities,” he added.

The Anand Marriage Act, which was enacted in 1909, had no provision for registration of marriage. Sikh marriages were registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

Anand Karaj, which refers to the Sikh marriage ceremony, means “blissful union”.

Sikh groups say members of their community face problems abroad because while they identify as Sikhs, their marriage certificates are issued under the Hindu Marriage Act.

“Finally, Sikhs in India have the chance to feel that they are fully acknowledged,” said Ranjit Singh, chairman of the Maryland-based Guru Gobind Singh Foundation.

“It is important for Sikh leaders to evolve consensus on the next phase of the process,” he added.

I J Singh, a New York-based author, said the passing of the Bill was an important one for Sikhs across the world. “It is crucial step, but it is a pity that it took 60 years,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120524/main7.htm

BBC News – Pakistan jails doctor who helped CIA find Bin Laden

Wednesday 23 May 2012. A Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama Bin Laden has been jailed for at least 30 years, officials say.

Shakil Afridi was charged with treason and tried under the tribal justice system for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information.

The US state department said there was “no basis” for the charges, but declined to make a specific comment on the doctor’s sentence.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Abbottabad in May 2011.

The killing triggered a rift between the US and Pakistan, whose government was seriously embarrassed as it emerged Bin Laden had been living in Pakistan.

Islamabad felt the covert US operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

Absent from court

Shortly after the raid on Bin Laden’s house, Dr Afridi was arrested for conspiring against the state of Pakistan.

Pakistan has insisted that any country would have done the same if it found one of its citizens working for a foreign spy agency.

Dr Afridi has been found guilty in Khyber district, and has also been fined $3,500. If he does not pay the fine his prison sentence will be extended by a further three years.

Under the tribal justice system, the administrative head of a tribal district performs the function of a judge.

Typically, this means a court will often deliver swift justice and does not necessarily follow the regular judicial procedures.

Dr Afridi, who is now being held in jail in Peshawar, was not present in court so was unable to give his side of the story.

State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Wednesday: “We continue to see no basis for these charges, for him being held, for any of it.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for his release on the grounds that his work served Pakistani and American interests.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that many outside observers are concerned that most of the people detained since Bin Laden’s killing have been those who were trying to help capture him, rather than those who helped shield him.

In June, Pakistani army officials told the BBC that some suspects were arrested for helping the Americans refuel their helicopters during the raid. Others were detained because they were suspected of firing flares to guide the helicopters towards the compound.

It is not clear if Dr Afridi knew who the target of the investigation was when the CIA recruited him, or what DNA he managed to collect in the fake hepatitis B vaccination programme.

The idea was to obtain a blood sample from one of the children living in the Abbottabad compound, so that DNA tests could determine whether or not they were relatives of Bin Laden, our correspondent says.

Both US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said Dr Afridi’s arrest was a mistake and called for his release.

Speaking in January, Mr Panetta said: “Dr Afridi was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan. For them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part.”

The conviction of Shakil Afridi is likely to further strain US-Pakistan tensions, which have been rocky since the killing of Bin Laden, the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Islamabad says.

More recently, the issue of drone strikes and Pakistan’s refusal to re-open Nato supply routes to Afghanistan have made for a particularly uneasy relationship between the two allies, she says.

Pakistan’s parliament has called for an end to the use of drones, and says they are an attack on its sovereignty. A drone strike on Wednesday killed four people in the North Waziristan tribal area, security officials said.

The two countries also failed to reach agreement at the Nato summit in Chicago over the supply routes that were closed after a US air strike in 2011 killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Islamabad is demanding more than $5,000 (£3,200) per lorry, up from its previous rate of $250, to let supplies flow again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18175964

The Asian Age – Obama delivers snub to Zardari in Chicago

Lalit K. Jha

Washington, 22 May 2012. In a rebuff to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zar-dari, US President Barack Obama refused to meet him on the margins of the Nato summit in Chicago as the two countries failed to strike a deal on reopening the Nato supply lines to Afghanistan.

Mr Zardari, who flew to Chicago with hopes of lifting his stature after a meeting with Mr Obama, was preparing to leave empty-handed as the two countries continued to feel the repercussions of a Nato airstrike last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, an incident for which the US President offered condolences but no apology.

As the two-day Nato su-mmit opened in Chicago Sunday evening, Mr Obama remained at loggerheads with Mr Zardari, refusing even to meet him without a deal on the supply routes, which both countries’ officials admitted would not be coming soon, the US media reported on Monday. White Hou-se deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Mr Obama could not meet Mr Zardari as he had a “full slate of summit meetings to attend”.

A deal to reopen the supply lines fell apart as Mr Obama began talks on ending Nato’s combat role in Afghanistan in 2013, the New York Times reported, adding that the failure to strike a deal ahead of the summit had injected new tension into the US-Pakistani relationship. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/obama-delivers-snub-zardari-chicago-886

Dawn – Zardari and Karzai in US for Nato summit

Zardari arrives in US for Nato summit

Washington, 19 May 2012. President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Washington on Saturday to attend the Nato summit in Chicago, DawnNews reported.

The president will address the two-day summit which will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations.

Pakistan was extended the invitation to the summit on Tuesday after Islamabad signaled it was about to end a nearly six-month blockade on supply routes to Afghanistan.

However, Pakistani officials claim the invitation for the summit was made without conditions.

On the other hand, Pakistan Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan had not given up its demand for an apology over the Salala incident. However, the US government had been reluctant to apologise and has stated the apology over the incident should be issued by Nato.

Rehman further said that a final decision on restoration of Nato supplies was yet to be taken as negotiations between both countries were still underway.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/zardari-arrives-in-us-for-nato-summit

Afghan leader in Chicago for key Nato summit

Chicago, 19 May 2012. Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Chicago on Friday ahead of talks with US President Barack Obama and other Nato leaders at a key summit for Afghanistan’s future, an alliance official said.

Obama will hold one-on-one talks with Karzai on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, at which Nato allies will chart the final two years of the war before 130,000 foreign combat troops are withdrawn in late 2014.

The summit will also seek consensus on the structure and financing of the estimated $4.1 billion annual cost of Afghan forces after 2014.

Obama last met Karzai during a surprise trip to Kabul earlier this month when the two leaders inked a deal cementing 10 years of US aid for Afghanistan after Nato combat troops leave in 2014.

The two-day summit, which will continue on Monday, will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/afghan-leader-in-chicago-for-key-nato-summit/

Dawn – US sees deal near, Pakistan haggling over money

Washington, 17 May 2012. The United States and Pakistan on Wednesday raced to conclude a deal to reopen key supply routes for the Afghanistan war before next week’s Nato summit, with Washington hopeful of an imminent deal but Islamabad insisting that the US pay more to repair relations and end the blockade.

Both sides said negotiations continued in Islamabad, a day after Nato invited Pakistan’s president to the Chicago summit in the strongest sign yet that the wary US ally was ready to reopen its western border to American and allied military supplies heading to neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan closed the routes after American airstrikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border. Since then, supplies have taken a far more expensive route through eastern Europe and Asia.

”We have had some progress,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

”While the Pakistani political leadership hasn’t yet authorised the reopening of the ground transportation routes, we understand that they did endorse the conclusion of the negotiations.”

Nuland declined to describe what details remained to be worked out, but American officials had previously spoken of lingering differences over security arrangements, customs fees and other taxes that would be paid to Islamabad for hosting the routes and guaranteeing safe passage.

But those issues appeared to have been largely ironed out by Wednesday, according to an American official, who said a final deal hinged only on the two sides formalizing a written memorandum of understanding.

The agreement should be concluded by Friday, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations.

Nuland told reporters, ”If we can get it done by Chicago, that will send a powerful signal of support from Pakistan to Afghanistan” and the international mission there. The Nato summit begins Sunday in Chicago.

But a Pakistani official offered a different assessment, saying the two sides remained at loggerheads over money. The gap in their estimations of how much money Islamabad should be paid remained ”huge” Wednesday, according to the official, who also asked for anonymity because the talks were continuing late Wednesday.

The official couldn’t cite any figures. ”It is a problem,” the official conceded, ”but we are trying to resolve it.” The official added that questions linked to security or customs procedures were secondary and were easily solvable after a financial agreement but said it was unclear when the memorandum could be finalised.

Haggling by Pakistan could reflect a last-ditch effort to get a higher price, or the widespread distrust of the United States back home and the difficult internal politics involved in securing a national consensus to reopen the routes.

Washington and Islamabad have suffered a debilitating year for their already strained relations. November’s airstrikes were preceded by a CIA contractor’s killing of two Pakistanis and the unilateral US raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound.

And tensions are compounded by the US suspicion that Pakistan supports the Taliban, making the Afghanistan war unwinnable.

Still, a picture of rapprochement seemed clearer Tuesday, when Nato invited President Asif Ali Zardari to its upcoming gathering and Pakistani diplomats said he was likely to attend. The summit will focus on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen as a key player in any political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The US has expressed regret for the airstrikes and quietly pressed Pakistan to reopen the routes over the last two weeks.

Washington and Nato stepped up the efforts in recent days, and a series of Pakistani statements suggested the supply line blockade would soon be lifted.

By keeping the routes closed, Pakistan’s teetering economy risks missing out on millions of dollars in international development and loans, as well military aid. It could also be excluded from discussions on Afghanistan’s future.

The blockade forced Nato to reorient its logistics chain to more expensive routes across Russia and Central Asia.

The Pakistani routes will be more important in coming months as Nato begins to pull out of Afghanistan, with a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/17/us-sees-deal-near-pakistan-haggling-over-money/

The Tribune – India announces cuts in oil imports from Iran; US energy coordinator meets Indian officials

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15. India today confirmed in Parliament that it has substantially reduced oil imports from Iran even as US Special Envoy for international Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual met top Indian officials to discuss alternate sources of crude supplies to this country.

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh told the Rajya Sabha that Indian companies imported crude oil to the tune of 18.50 million tonnes from Iran in 2010-11 and 17.44 million tonnes in 2011-12. The target fixed for 2012-13 was about 15.5 million tonnes subject to techno-commercial and other considerations.

The announcement assumes significance against the backdrop of the US continuing to nudge India to slash its oil purchases from Iran in view of its controversial nuclear programme. During her visit to New Delhi last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had commended steps taken by India to reduce its dependence on the Iranian oil but underlined New Delhi ought to do ‘even more’ in this regard.

In March, the US announced sanctions which threaten to shut out importers of Iranian oil from the U.S. financial system unless they make significant and continuing cuts to their purchases by the end of June. Japan and 10 European Union nations have been granted exemption while India and China remain at risk.

Pascual, who arrived here yesterday, led a US delegation, which met a composite Indian delegation led by Jawed Ashraf, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the External Affairs Ministry. The Indian delegation also included officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources, Ministry of Power and the Planning Commission.

The India side explained the long-term projections of India’s energy needs, including key suppliers of oil and natural gas and the possible external energy sources in Africa, North America and Southeast Asia. It was pointed out that India was currently importing crude oil from 30 countries spread across different continents. The US delegation was also told about the incentives being provided on renewable energy sources. In the context of these discussions, the possibility of export of Shale Gas in liquefied form from the US to India was also raised.

Pascaul is expected to visit Mumbai tomorrow for talks with ONGC and financial institutions.

India has already told the US that the quantum of crude oil imported by Indian refineries from various sources was decided by them on the basis of technical, commercial and other considerations.

India presently does not expect any shortage or gap in crude oil procurement by Indian refineries. At the same time, however, it is looking at Nigeria, Venezuela and Canada as part of the strategy to diversify crude oil imports in view of the difficulties being faced in buying it from Iran.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120516/main5.htm

The Hindu – Pakistan rethinking on NATO supply lines

Anita Joshua

Islamabad, 14 May 2012. As negotiations with the U.S. over reopening NATO supply lines through Pakistan entered an ‘either-or’ phase with the West obliquely linking it to an invitation for next week’s Chicago conference on Afghanistan, Islamabad on Monday hinted at a readiness to “move on” and “continue to be a facilitator” in the global war on terror.

Refusing to give a direct answer on whether the NATO supply lines would be reopened, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told the media that Pakistan wants to continue to be facilitator and an enabler; not a blocker. Maintaining that the objectives of Pakistan and NATO are identical, she sought to underline the fact that cooperating with the predominantly Western alliance involved more than just the U.S. but also some of its closest friends like Turkey.

Though she came for the press conference directly from a high-level meeting at the Presidency where the civil and military leadership put their heads together to evolve a response to the toughening postures of both the U.S. and NATO vis-à-vis the supply lines and financial assistance to Pakistan, Ms. Khar refused to divulge details on what transpired. However, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said there would be clarity on the issue within a couple of days.

Even with the U.S., Ms. Khar’s submission was that things were not as bleak as is being portrayed. “Both sides believe that we are currently in a positive atmosphere of dialogue trying to resolve rather than build on the issues.” Further, according to her, the world must realise that for 10 of the 12 years that Pakistan has been facilitating the war on terror, NATO supplies were allowed to move through the country into Afghanistan gratis. Only over the last two years, a nominal amount was being charged.

Given the criticism within the country regarding aligning with the U.S. in the war on terror, the Minister clearly made an attempt to change the narrative in the country by stating that “if you want to bracket Pakistan as a facilitator of the international community, then that is the right spot where Pakistan belongs in”.

Partnership approach

Referring to Parliament’s recommendations for engaging with the US, Ms. Khar said: “It is a big yes to the partnership approach”. Also, now that Parliament has spoken in favour of engagement, it has shown that those who were against aligning with the war on terror were just fringe elements as majority of the people wanted to fight terrorism.

Both Ministers were dismissive of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council — which has been spearheading protests against NATO supply lines — and Mr. Kaira went to the extent of suggesting that even protests against drone attacks were more in Punjab than in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas which bear the brunt of the Predator visits.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3418975.ece

Dawn – US “not impressed” with India’s efforts to cut Iran oil buys: envoy

New Delhi, 15 May 2012. The United States is not impressed with India’s efforts to cut its oil imports from Iran, a top US diplomat said on Tuesday, throwing into doubt whether New Delhi would be given a waiver from US financial sanctions before a June deadline.

As a major buyer of Iranian crude, India is crucial to US efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy until it agrees to curb its nuclear program, which the United States and other Western nations suspect is a cover to build atomic weapons.

The issue has become an irritant in ties between India and the United States.

Carlos Pascual, the US special envoy who has been negotiating with Iranian oil importers to cut their imports, met Indian foreign ministry officials on Tuesday.

“We are not too impressed today,” Pascual said when asked by Reuters how likely India was to get a waiver. Pascual was speaking before meeting the foreign ministry officials.

“We’re really going to talk about the broad developments of global energy. How we work together on these issues. It’s a great relationship,” he said.

The United States in March granted exemptions to Japan and 10 European Union nations. India and China, Iran’s biggest crude importer, remain at risk.

Washington has held up Japan as an example, saying it had cut imports despite having suffered an earthquake and tsunami that crippled its Fukushima nuclear reactor.

Japan cut volumes by almost 80 per cent in April compared with the first two months of 2012. The cuts, amounting to 250,000 barrels per day, are the steepest yet by the four Asian nations that buy most of Iran’s 2.2 million bpd of exports.

India’s crude oil imports from Iran declined by about 34 per cent in April compared with March, tanker discharge data showed last week.

Washington has not stated specifically what cuts it expects from each country, only that they must be substantial.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaned on India last week to cut its imports of Iranian oil further, and said Washington may not make a decision on whether to exempt New Delhi from financial sanctions for another two months.

Clinton, who was on a visit to India, said the United States was encouraged by the steps its ally had taken to reduce its reliance on Iranian oil, but that “even more” was needed.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/15/us-not-impressed-with-indias-efforts-to-cut-iran-oil-buys-envoy/

BBC News – US drone ‘kills nine’ in Pakistan’s North Waziristan

Saturday 5 May 2012. A US drone strike has killed at least nine suspected militants in the volatile tribal areas of north-west Pakistan, say Pakistani officials.

The drone fired missiles at a suspected militant compound in the Shawal area of North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border, officials said.

Drones often target Pakistan’s tribal areas, thought to be the hub of Taliban cross-border insurgent activity.

Pakistan said the drone strike was illegal and counterproductive.

Security officials in North Waziristan told the AFP news agency that the compound, which militants were using as a training centre, was completely destroyed.

The US does not normally comment on individual drone operations, which have killed hundreds of people in recent years.

In January, President Barack Obama confirmed for the first time that the covert programme targets militants on Pakistani soil.

Those killed in the drone operations have included al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, as well as civilians and other militants.

In US officials’ first detailed comments on drone strikes, President Obama’s counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, said last month that the attacks were helping to win the war on the militant network.

But he also conceded that there had been civilian deaths as a result of some strikes.

The frequency of the attacks rose after Mr Obama took office in 2008. More than 100 raids were reported in the area in 2010, and more than 60 took place last year.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday repeated its assertion that drone attacks were a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islambad says many analysts believe the drone strikes could only continue if there was tacit support from Pakistan’s leaders.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17967249