Pakistan: A 'sovereign' state

ISI’s functions to be discussed in US

WASHINGTON, July 27: The government’s attempt to change internal functions of the ISI comes amid intense pressure from Washington to rein in the so-called rogue elements in the agency.

Diplomatic sources told Dawn that this issue would figure prominently in the talks Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would be holding in Washington during his visit that begins officially on Monday.

According to the sources, while the Americans trust the senior Pakistani leadership, they believe that there are people within the ISI who still back militants, almost seven years after Pakistan joined the US-led war on terror.

The Americans also blame the so-called rogue elements in the agency for facilitating cross-border movement of the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants into Afghanistan.

In an article on the prime minister’s visit on Sunday, Washington Post noted that the US administration’s patience with Pakistan’s inability to end cross-border infiltrations into Afghanistan was running out. The newspaper said that the prime minister and his aides “should expect a testy reception on both ends of the Pennsylvania Avenue,” meaning the White House and Congress. “I’m not sure they’re ready for what they’re walking into,” said a senior administration official while talking to the Post.

Pakistan’s new civilian leadership, like its military predecessor, rejects all insinuations about the ISI’s alleged role in the militancy as incorrect but appears willing to discuss with the Americans measures for reforming the ISI. One of the proposals, that may also be included in a detailed notification expected to be issued in Islamabad soon, calls for taking away two major functions from the agency: internal security and coordination in the war on terror....
more on the following link

ISI’s functions to be discussed in US -DAWN - Top Stories; July 28, 2008

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Difference between 1-man rule n democracy

US has intensified Fata strikes: WP

Ecerpts only. Source: Dawn

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, March 27: The United States has escalated air strikes against Al Qaeda fighters operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas fearing that the new government in Islamabad may object to future strikes, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
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Officials interviewed by the Post for the article said Washington wanted to inflict as much damage as it can to Al Qaeda’s network now because President Pervez Musharraf may not be able to offer much help in the months ahead.
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The Post noted that neither the US nor the Pakistani authorities officially confirmed US missile attacks on Pakistani territory, which would be an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty.
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Thomas H. Johnson, a research professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, told the newspaper that policy makers in Washington were aware that “Musharraf’s days are numbered, and so they recognised they may only have a few months to do this. Musharraf has . . . very few friends in the world -- he probably has more inside the Beltway (Washington) than in his own country.”

The report claimed that after months of prodding, the Bush administration and the Musharraf government this year reached a tacit understanding that gave Washington a freer hand to carry out precision strikes against Al Qaeda and its allies in the border region. The issue, however, is so sensitive that neither side is willing to discuss openly, the report added.

According to the Post, the goal of the new US strategy is partly to try to get information on senior Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, by forcing them to move in ways that US intelligence analysts can detect.

“It’s not a blitz to close this chapter,” a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper. “If we find the leadership, then we’ll go after it. But nothing can be done to put Al Qaeda away in the next nine or 10 months. In the long haul, it’s an issue that extends beyond this administration.”

The report said that the Bush administration’s effort to uproot Al Qaeda also has benefited from shifting loyalties among residents of the border region. Some tribal and religious leaders who embraced foreign Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters as they fled from Afghanistan in 2001 now see them as troublemakers and are providing timely intelligence about their movements and hideouts.

Experts interviewed by Post, however, warned that the new US strategy could backfire if missiles take innocent lives.

“The [tribal] Pashtuns have a saying: ‘Kill one person, make 10 enemies,” said Mr Johnson. “You might take out a bad guy in one of these strikes, but you might also be creating more foot soldiers. This is a war in which the more people you kill, the faster you lose.”

look mush tunay kia haal ker diya mulk ka... may Allah guide u....

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Mush Improved Pakistan's Image - There is no threat to Pakistan's Sovereignty :) See urself

"US yearns for Pak capitulation"

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has given them bases and logistic support as well as intelligence sharing but what the US is now demanding from Islamabad has shocked the Defence and Foreign Ministries and the initial reaction has been a rejection of what are highly intrusive demands for the US military and auxiliary personnel in Pakistan.

This scribe has learnt of the latest set of 11 demands the US has put to the Government of Pakistan through the Ministry of Defence. As one goes down the list of the demands, they become increasingly untenable.

The first demand is for granting of a status that is accorded to the technical and administrative staff of the US embassy. The second demand is that these personnel be allowed to enter and exit Pakistan on mere National Identification (for example a driving licence) that is without any visas.

Next, the US is demanding that Pakistan accept the legality of all US licences, which would include arms licences. This is followed by the demand that all these personnel be allowed to carry arms and wear uniforms as they wish, across the whole of Pakistan.

Then comes a demand that directly undermines our sovereignty – that the US criminal jurisdiction be applicable in Pakistan to US nationals. In other words, these personnel would not be subject to Pakistani law. Full Story by Shireen Mazari

We, the ppl of Pakistan who rejected mush in recent elections, demand the same from america... if they accept all these for pakistani citizens, then we have no objection... but mush is not qualified to even have a look at these demands in order to accept or reject them, since he does not have mandate now... ppl have voted against him... so US shld had put these demands infront of newly elected govt... so tht there could b a chance of a NO or reciprocity... US wants all such things done before the elected govt. takes charge
btw i found a link at pkpolitics to a case where reciprocity was demanded from US :) see this...
NAPLES (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Washington must let him open a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air base on Ecuador's Pacific coast.

"If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United States."

Well done Rafael...

See our i.e. Pakistani response US wish list confirmed

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Saturday while commenting on The News story "US yearns for Pak capitulation" said: "Foreign governments make proposals from time to time to secure facilities and privileges for their personnel in the event of temporary assignment or transit.

"Only those proposals are considered that are in line with our domestic laws and international instruments such as the Vienna Conventions on Privileges and Immunities. Nothing is accepted that is not consistent with our national interest and impinges upon our sovereignty."

Ok i m convinced my FO... i m convinced tht we r a sovereign state... plz dont repeat this again n again... but i must say... ecuador was asked to do far less than all this and they clearly showed they want all this on equality basis... all diplomatic negotiations take place on equality basis... in our case :) there will not be any negotiations since we r a 'sovereign' state and it is a threat to our 'sovereignty' to negotiate on US orders... n as u said we'll not do anything which is not consistent with our national interest and impinges upon our sovereignty.

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