Sunday, April 14, 2019

MQM-PTI Ideological Partnership


Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday indicated that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and coalition partners Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) could contest the next elections as allies. "It seems that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf could join hands with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the next elections," said the premier during his speech in Islamabad at the stone laying ceremony of Hyderabad University. The prime minister said that the PTI and MQM-P have similar ideologies. "I always used to think that MQM's viewpoint — the things that they spoke of — was closely aligned with that of PTI," he said. "Our only problem was that of militancy which we both thought was wrong." MQM and PTI could contest next elections together: PM Khan ( April 04, 2019) https://www.dawn.com/news/1473898 Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday indicated that his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) might contest the next elections from the same platform. Addressing the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Hyderabad University at the Prime Minister Office, he went on to praise the two ministers belonging to the MQM. “Both Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Farogh Naseem are the finest members of the federal cabinet due to their conduct and knowledge,” PM Khan said. PTI, MQM may jointly contest next elections: Imran (April 05, 2019) https://www.dawn.com/news/1474003 MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and fellow party leaders on Saturday highlighted what they feel is the disproportionate division of resources in Sindh, urging Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene and invoke Article 149 of the Constitution in order to help the province's urban populace "get their long-deprived due share". Siddiqui, who is also the minister for Information Technology in the federal cabinet, slammed what he described as Sindh's "ethnocentric" government for allegedly hoarding the province's resources and powers. MQM-P urges PM to intervene, 'help' Sindh's urban centres get 'their due share' (April 13, 2019) https://www.dawn.com/news/1475861

Imran Khan explains MQM's Links with India , Indian R and A W and Kulbhushan Jadhav


General Pervez Musharraf's Secret Links with MQM (Meray Mutabiq GEO TV 2009)



Federal Minister Mr Khalid Maqbool on PTI Leaders Azam Swati and Shibli Faraz



Mayor Karachi Mr Waseem Akhtar on Mr Imran Khan and Pakistan Army


Imran Khan's allies Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, MQM and others at each others throats






LAHORE, May 14: Tehreek-i-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan has accused President Pervez Musharraf and MQM leader Altaf Husain of bloodshed in Karachi and called upon the opposition to unite on one-point agenda of getting rid of Musharraf and dictatorship. Addressing a press conference after presiding over a meeting of the Tehreek central executive committee here on Monday evening, he said the disturbance in Karachi was not unexpected because the issue had been raised in the National Assembly session only a day earlier, but the government did nothing to prevent the bloodshed. “Instead of taking steps for maintaining law and order in Karachi, it got the MQM rally arranged intentionally to sabotage the reception of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry which was expected to be much better than Lahore.” He said President Musharraf was not tired of talking about enlightened moderation on the one hand and had joined hands with “top terrorist” MQM leader Altaf Hussain on the other for remaining in power. “The hardened criminals of MQM set at liberty by the government continued firing bullets at the people but the police and the Rangers did not fire even a single teargas shell at them. Ten PTI men were among those who sustained bullet injuries and were under treatment in hospitals.” The PTI, he said, was consulting lawyers to lodge an FIR against Gen Pervez Musharraf and Altaf Husain for the Karachi killings. PTI to sue Blair for ‘harbouring’ MQM leader May 15, 2007 https://www.dawn.com/news/247030

 Imran Khan praises Altaf Hussain and MQM and this is after 12 May 2007 Massacre in Karachi


MQM Imran Khan Ideological Similarities 



Did Imran Khan visit MQM Head office 90 or Not 




KARACHI, May 26: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has announced that it will collect evidence about the “bad character” of Imran Khan and will submit it in the National Assembly for getting him unseated as MNA under Articles 62 & 63 of the Constitution. “We will also take every possible legal action if needed to unseat Mr Khan from the National Assembly,” MQM MNA Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi told a crowded news conference at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday. He was accompanied by Dr Farooq Sattar, Anwar Alam, Faisal Sabzwari and other MNAs, MPAs, and members of the MQM coordination committee. The press conference was part of a series of briefings being held by the MQM leadership to counter the allegations levelled by Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan and his threat to file a case against British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the United Kingdom for giving political asylum to MQM leader Altaf Husain who, according to Mr Khan, heads a fascist organisation. Mr Khan in his press briefings and statements has held President Pervez Musharraf and Altaf Hussain responsible for the May 12 bloodbath in Karachi. Mr Rizvi said the MQM was collecting evidence against Imran Khan and it would take all possible legal and constitutional steps to have him unseated from the National Assembly. He said the MQM always welcomed criticism on party policies or difference of opinion on principles but the character assassination of his leader could not be tolerated. Faisal Sabzwari disclosed that the MQM members in the Sindh Assembly would move a resolution condemning Imran Khan for character assassination of Altaf Hussain. “We will not only move a resolution in the provincial assembly but will expose Imran Khan at every forum. He had destroyed the career in cricket of many youths belonging to Karachi and people had not forgotten it,” he added. Reference: KARACHI: MQM drive against Imran in full swing May 27, 2007 https://www.dawn.com/news/248901

Imran Khan was in touch with not only MQM but Altaf Hussain as well even after 12 May 2007 Massacre


Mr Naeem ul Haq (Political Adviser to Imran Khan) on MQM's Ideology

 

Mayor Karachi Mr Waseem Akhtar on Imran Khan's Secret Alliance with Taliban and TTP



Mr Naeem ul Haq (Political Adviser to Imran Khan) and Zahra Shahid's Murder




Mr Naeem ul Haq (Political Adviser to Imran Khan) and Zahra Shahid's Murder





ISLAMABAD: After years of political animosity, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Altaf Hussain’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) appear to be coming closer as the two leaders held their first telephonic conversation and exchanged good will with each other. In a rare move, Imran Khan called Altaf Hussain on Saturday and appreciated the ‘bold’ stance taken by the latter on national issues, separate but identical statements issued by media offices of both the parties said. The two leaders agreed to bury their past differences and vowed to work together for the betterment of the country, the statements added. PTI and MQM have been considered staunch rivals in the past, at times holding public rallies and resorting to personal attacks against each other’s leadership. Recently, however, the two parties have come closer, mainly due to back-channel efforts by some common friends and political leaders in Pakistan, observers say. The second-tier leadership of the two parties prepared the ground that culminated in direct interaction between their leaders. During their conversation, both sides discussed common agenda points and vowed to work together to achieve their goals. Altaf Hussain has recently started taking a tough stance in public, on issues like unabated US predator attacks inside Pakistani territory, release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and Dr Aafia Siddiqui. The same issues take centre-stage in Imran Khan, and several right-wing parties’, political agendas. Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2011. Burying the hatchet: Imran calls up Altaf, agrees to work together https://tribune.com.pk/story/135283/burying-the-hatchet-imran-calls-up-altaf-agrees-to-work-together/ ISLAMABAD, May 19: Chairman of the Tehrik-i-Insaf Imran Khan has said that a legal team is being constituted to file a case against MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London for killing innocent people. Addressing a function organised by the Islamabad Bar Association, Imran Khan termed MQM a terrorist organisation and said it had never been a political party but was a group of ‘goondas’ prospering under the patronage of a dictator. On May 12, he said, the MQM has crossed all limits of terrorism in Karachi and killed innocent people with impunity. He said that Altaf Hussain was being sheltered by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had killed Muslims in the name of war on terrorism. Criticising the government’s unwise policies, he said while inflation soared, about Rs8 billion to Rs9 billion were being utilised for the construction of the new GHQ and millions of rupees were spent by the government to stage a rally in Islamabad.—Online Case to be filed against Altaf: Imran May 20, 2007 https://www.dawn.com/news/247885 

Who arranged MQM - Imran Khan - Altaf Hussain Meeting and Truce in London




MQM - Imran Khan Ideological Partnership, Jamaat-e-Islami and General Pervez Musharraf





KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on Sunday the whole nation knew as to who was providing funds to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. Commenting on Mr Khan’s remarks earlier in the day that the MQM should approach a court of law against the BBC which had reported that the MQM had allegedly got money from the Indian government, the coordination committee of the MQM said it was for the MQM to decide and not Mr Khan whether to sue the BBC. It said that Mr Khan needed the people of Karachi only for fundraising or at the time of election, as he never tried to know the problems of Karachiites. Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2015 MQM’s rejoinder to Imran https://www.dawn.com/news/1192639 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has called for the setting up of a technocratic government in the country for a period of two years, DawnNews reported. The demand came as the MQM chief expressed his concern over the present political crisis during a meeting with Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar in London. The statement comes amid rumours that differences have developed between Sharif brothers and Sarwar over governance issues and that the latter is planning to resign. Sarwar has denied the rumours saying there was no truth in reports that he was going to resign upon his return from London. Hussain also emphasised on what he believes as the need to divide the province of Sindh into several administrative units. He had earlier suggested that new provinces be created in all existing provinces of the country, including Sindh. Technocrats should govern country for two years: Altaf Hussain https://www.dawn.com/news/1133794 Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has sought formation of a technocrat government for two years, without derailing democracy, for “ruthless accountability” of those involved in looting and plundering the country. “If any of my brothers, sisters or relatives is found guilty they should not be spared. No leniency should be shown towards them,” he told reporters in London late on Monday night after meeting Punjab Governor Chau­dhry Mohammad Sarwar. According to an MQM press release issued on Tuesday, Mr Hussain praised Governor Sarwar and went on to say that he should be made prime minister in the technocrat government. “In my opinion, Chaudhry Sarwar is the only person in Pakistan who has the courage to speak truth.” The MQM chief said he did not support a demand by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek for the resignation of the prime minister. “Nawaz Sharif enjoys a two-thirds majority in parliament. If some people think that elections were rigged, an inquiry should be carried out to satisfy both sides. We can solve matters through dialogue,” he added. Altaf seeks formation of technocrats’ government Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2014 https://www.dawn.com/news/1133954 

 PTI, MQM, Musharraf have always plead the case of Technocrat Government



Alliance with Parties like MQM not Possible says Imran



MQM is a Mafia says Imran Khan



PESHAWAR, Sept 7: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has said that whether President Gen Pervez Musharraf remains in uniform or decides to doff it is a secondary issue because every government in Pakistan has sought protection of the military uniform. Speaking at the Peshawar Press Club's 'Meet the Press' programme here on Tuesday, he said the issue of uniform would be there as long as a people's government was not established in the country. Every ruler in the past had sought the help of the 'uniform' and compromised on principles, he added. He said that former prime ministers, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, had formed their governments with the help of the 'uniform'. The Jamaat-i-Islami supported Gen Ziaul Haq, who also was in uniform, for 11 long years, but now JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed was opposing a president in uniform to hoodwink the nation. Musharraf's uniform a secondary issue: Altaf September 08, 2004 https://www.dawn.com/news/369907 WASHINGTON, Aug 9: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar has urged opposition parties to stop forcing the president to divest his uniform. He was speaking at a gathering in Washington on the party’s 25th anniversary. The MQM’s leader said the present system was not ideal but “even an incomplete and moth-eaten democracy was better than no democracy.” He also urged the opposition parties not to waste their energies on the demand for abolishing the Legal Framework Order because “even removing the LFO will not ensure that there will be no threat to democracy in the future.” Dr Sattar said that in 1999, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had already removed the Eighth Amendment, becoming the most powerful prime minister in Pakistan’s history. “But in less than 10 months after he removed the Eighth amendment, the parliament was dismissed and Mr Sharif was sacked.” “LFO or no LFO, uniform or no uniform,” said Mr. Sattar, “democracy will remain weak so long as democratic institutions are not strengthened.” Mr Sattar said that the same religious leaders “saw no harm in accepting, even kissing, Gen Zia’s uniform. Then why this aversion to Musharraf’s uniform? If you believe in a principle, apply it equally to all.” “You cannot say that the LFO is OK for participating in elections, even for filing your nomination papers for the prime minister’s post, as Maulana Fazlur Rahman did. But when that process is over, it should be thrown out,” he added. Mr Sattar urged Pakistan’s religious parties to stop doing new “experiments with the country every day. In the present international scenario, the country cannot afford such experiments.” The MQM leader said that in a country where “prime ministers are tailored to meet the needs of the establishment and parliaments are made on order, you cannot have political stability.” He suggested three basic changes for bringing stability to the country: a consistent and sustainable fiscal development policy, constitutional and political reforms and devolution of power and resources. Mr Sattar said that unless the federation’s powers were decentralized and resources distributed equally, there would be no justice and no stability. He said the government took “a 180-degree somersault” when it dumped the Taliban after the 9-11 incident. “A similar decision is now needed to ban jihadi activities at home,” he added. The MQM leader also urged the government to resolve the Kashmir dispute peacefully because unless it is resolved “we will continue to waste our precious resources on unproductive activities.” MQM backs Musharraf on LFO, uniform August 10, 2003 https://www.dawn.com/news/134480

Curious Case of PTI/MQM Joint Leader Minister Farogh Naseem and 12 May 2007 Massacre in Karachi



Mr Imran Khan Explaining the Similarities between PTI and MQM (Geo TV 2007)





MQM, Altaf Hussain and Mehran Bank Scandal 





Islamabad: At a time when Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) formed a new team to record statements of two retired generals in Mehran Bank Scam (Asghar Khan case), Yousaf Memon Advocate made startling revelations about Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) which, according to him, was sponsored by the then Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg. In his statement, Yousaf Memon, who is cousin of MQM Pakistan chief Farooq Sattar, claimed that he came close to Younis Habib, key character in Asghar Khan case, in 1988-89, when he was zonal chief of HBL, Karachi. “He [Younis Habib] called me to deliver a message to Altaf Hussain from [General] Aslam Beg. I was actively involved in MQM and politics by that time as Farooq Sattar was my nephew. He said that General Aslam Beg wanted to meet Altaf Hussain,” Yousaf Memon revealed in his statement recorded by FIA which is all set to summon General (R) Aslam Beg and Lt General (R) Asad Durrani — two key accused in this case who doled out state money among politicians to pollute 1990 elections in Pakistan -- this week. The Supreme Court directed federal government to ensure implementation of the verdict of this case within a week, even though Premier Abbasi can summon cabinet meeting to decide next course of action against the accused. Yousaf Memon, who later joined Pakistan People’s Party, further revealed, “First such meeting [between Altaf Hussain and General Beg] was arranged at central avenue DHA [Karachi]. After courtesies were exchanged the discussion started on political scenario and it was discussed that then prime minister Benazir Bhutto was not running government property. In this regard they had planned a no-confidence motion against Benazir Bhutto government in National Assembly. It was decided that Younis Habib would provide funds for Altaf Hussain/MOM for their support in vote of no confidence. Altaf Hussain said that he needed transportation for his party. In this regard 20 Mehran vehicles and 1 Cultus were bought for MQM.” Afterwards second meeting was held at another house after 15-20 days, Yousaf Memon told FIA investigator. “During this meeting it was decided as to which steps would be taken once no confidence motion was successful. It was I who had brought Nawaz Sharif from Punjab House for the meeting. A final agreement was also signed. In order to keep a proof of this, Altaf Hussain had got the ceremony photographed and kept the two rolls with him. During this meeting asking prime minister Benazir Bhutto to get a vote of confidence was also discussed. President Ghulam lshaq Khan was contacted and it was decided that no confidence motion would be the option chosen. It was I who had typed the text of no confidence motion,” Yousaf Memon continued to reveal. Yousaf Memon, on directions of General Durrani, is accused of distribution Rs70 million among politicians. Yousaf Memon further told FIA that “MNAs present there signed the document and it was introduced in lower house of Parliament. A lot of horse trading was done but eventually the motion was defeated. During this whole process, Nawaz Sharif got wiser and he had realised that if the government did eventually fall, it would be Mustafa Jataoi who would become the prime minister and not he.” He further got recorded in his statement that during this process Altaf Hussain became jittery and tried to contact President lshaq Khan on telephone but the President did not talk to him and Colonel Ajaib, secretary to President, said that the President was asleep. After this General Beg was contacted who advised Altaf Hussain to leave Pakistan and stay in UK, where his stay would be made comfortable. “We were taken in British Airways fight and Saleem Wahidi travelled with us as our escort. He was in 1" class and we were in club class but he also sat with us for some time during the flight. Afterwards immigration was done in UK and a Pakistani High Commission vehicle (Mercedes 500 SEL) was there to receive us.” Yousaf Memon further revealed that they stayed in hotels and it was decided that they must agitate against the Pakistani government and it was suggested that they should either contact Saarc countries or OIC countries. It was upon this issue that differences arose between MQM leadership and him as leadership was in contact with India and therefore, he left UK. “I returned and I was directed to mark my attendance," daily in Nine Zero, the MOM HQ till Altaf Hussain returns. On August 22, Altaf Hussain returned and told that date he complied with the orders given to him. It was during this period that MOM (Haqeeqi) was created. He said that he fought elections against MOM and lost. Later on he joined Pakistan People's Party. He had best of relations with Younis Habib since that time and Rafiq Moon was their common friend he had a working relationship for distribution of funds 1989-90. “I knew during this time that these funds would be used during elections and I was also getting benefit from this activity as I was getting close to General Beg.” Yousaf Memon further said in his statement, “I knew at that time because of my law background that army chief could not enter political activity as per the constitution of Pakistan. I knew about existence of article 6 and its implications as I was a lawyer. I knew that army chief was indulging in political activities. I knew that I was becoming part of the activity and that it was unconstitutional. I also knew the consequences. My motivation was politics and not financial. I was getting close to leadership of the country and I expected this relationship to benefit me in later years as I could have become member of Senate etc. After assembly was dissolved, money started flowing through various accounts. Whenever money was put into some bank account I used to visit Islamabad and used to hand over the receipts to General Beg. My motivation was politics and not monetary as I have already mentioned.” He further revealed, “I was tasked to give money to Javed Hashmi. In the first step I invested Rs187 lacs with him in Cotton Ginning industry. It was my personal money. Later on, a meeting was arranged with Javed Hashmi, once General Beg and Nawaz Sharif had fallen apart over "doctrine of strategic defiance." Army wanted to have a pressure group in the National Assembly. I met General Beg and Younis Habib who gave me a task to take over Javed Hashmi. During this meeting Javed Hashmi also asked for making of a house as he needed to have a place with proper "drawing room" for getting people together and also asked for making funds available for alluring the politicians. Rs149 lacs were given to him for the purpose. He took this information to Shahbaz Sharif who took him to Nawaz Sharif. Upon getting the whole information, prime minister confronted General Aslam Beg.” Reference: Yousaf Memon accuses Gen Beg of sponsoring MQM May 16, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/317305-yousaf-memon-accuses-gen-beg-of-sponsoring-mqm by Zahid Gishkori . Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday claimed that reopening the Asghar Khan case would help identify the “celestial beings”, against whom former premier Nawaz Sharif and incumbent Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had said that their party would be up against in the upcoming general elections. Reopen Asghar Khan case to find who ‘aliens’ are: Imran MAY 10, 2018 https://dailytimes.com.pk/238064/reopen-asghar-khan-case-to-find-who-aliens-are-imran/

Thursday, March 14, 2019

India Saudi Relations, OIC and Pakistan


India and Saudi Arabia on Monday agreed to set up a "strategic partnership council" to deepen cooperation to combat terrorism. Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir discussed the proposal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during a brief visit to New Delhi on Monday, according to a statement issued by India's foreign ministry. Without naming any country, Swaraj said “an immediate irreversible and verifiable action to dismantle terror infrastructure is essential to fight the menace of terrorism.” Al-Jubeir called on the Indian leadership days after he visited Pakistan, where he held meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The minister had at the time assured Islamabad of Saudi Arabia's "support to seek peaceful settlement of all outstanding disputes between Pakistan and India". Reference: India, Saudi Arabia to set up council to deepen anti-terrorism cooperation March 12, 2019 https://www.dawn.com/news/1469002

 Saudi India Ties, Iran and Pakistan



"We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants," the Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir, boasted in 2007. A senior US official later bemoaned as "negative" the Saudi influence. As home to Islam's holiest sites, Saudi Arabia has longstanding ties with Pakistan. In the 1980s Saudi intelligence, along with the CIA, funded the anti-Soviet "jihad" in Afghanistan; since then the Saudis have given billions in financial aid and cut-price oil. But the close relationship has grown "increasingly strained" in the past two years, with King Abdullah and the ruling princes displaying a clear preference for the opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, over the president, Asif Ali Zardari, who is viewed with thinly veiled contempt. In January 2009 Abdullah told James Jones, then the US national security adviser, that Zardari was incapable of countering terrorism, describing him as the "'rotten head' that was infecting the whole body". Abdullah added that Pakistan's army was "staying out of Pakistani politics in deference to US wishes, rather than doing what it 'should'". Abdullah's preference for military rule was recorded by the Saudis' American guests: "They appear to be looking for 'another Musharraf': a strong, forceful leader they know they can trust." His views were echoed by the interior minister, who said Saudi Arabia viewed the army as its "winning horse" in Pakistan. The anti-Zardari bias appears to have a sectarian tinge. Pakistan's ambassador to Riyadh, Umar Khan Alisherzai, says the Saudis, who are Sunni, distrust Zardari, a Shia. Last year the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, told Hillary Clinton that Saudi suspicions of Zardari's Shia background were "creating Saudi concern of a Shia triangle in the region between Iran, the Maliki government in Iraq, and Pakistan under Zardari". Reference: WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia wants military rule in Pakistan Declan Walsh in Islamabad Wed 1 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/01/saudis-distrust-pakistan-embassy-cables US embassy cables: Saudi influence in Pakistan Wed 1 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/130876 


 Sushma Swaraj in OIC on Terrorism



NEW DELHI: Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to “act together” to combat global terrorism amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan triggered by the Pulwama terror attack. India on Friday made history exactly 50 years after it was blocked by Islamabad from attending the meet. Swaraj reached Abu Dhabi on Thursday night to attend the foreign ministers’ meet of the grouping of 57 countries. India has been invited as the guest of honour for the plenary meet. Reference: States giving shelter, funds to terrorists must be told to dismantle infrastructure: Sushma Swaraj at OIC meet Fight against terror isn’t a confrontation against religion: Minister in Abu Dhabi By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury Mar 02, 2019 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/states-giving-shelter-funds-to-terrorists-must-be-told-to-dismantle-infrastructure-sushma-swaraj-at-oic-meet/articleshow/68227135.cms ------ During a recent visit to the southern Punjabi cities of Multan and Bahawalpur, Principal Officer's discussions with religious, political, and civil society leaders were dominated by discussions of the perceived growing extremist threat in Seraiki and Baloch areas in southern and western Punjab. Interlocutors repeatedly stressed that recruitment activities by extremist religious organizations, particularly among young men between the ages of 8 and 15, had increased dramatically over the last year. Locals blamed the trend on a strengthening network of Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith mosques and madrassas, which they claimed had grown exponentially since late 2005. Such growth was repeatedly attributed to an influx of "Islamic charity" that originally reached Pakistani pseudo-religious organizations, such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Al-Khidmat foundation, as relief for earthquake victims in Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. Locals believe that a portion of these funds was siphoned to Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith clerics in southern and western Punjab in order to expand these sects' presence in a traditionally hostile, but potentially fruitful, recruiting ground. The initial success of establishing madrassas and mosques in these areas led to subsequent annual "donations" to these same clerics, originating in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The value of such donations was uncertain, although most interlocutors believed that it was in the region of $100 million annually. 178082: Extremist recruitment on the rise in southern Punjab MAY 22, 2011 https://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/the-cables/178082-extremist-recruitment-on-the-rise-in-southern-punjab/article2038018.ece

 Imran Khan, Musharraf, Amjad Shoaib and Yemen



ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has opposed the government’s decision to allow former chief of army staff (COAS) retd Gen Raheel Sharif to assume the command of a yet-to-be-formed, Saudi-led 39-nation military alliance of Muslim states. “We strongly oppose this decision and will soon raise the issue in the parliament,” PTI spokesman Fawwad Chaudhry told Dawn. He said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had tasked three parliamentarians of the party — Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari and Shafqat Mehmood — with preparing a strategy under which a privilege motion and a calling attention notice would be moved in the National Assembly so that a threadbare discussion could take place there on the issue. The PTI’s reaction came after an interview of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was published in some newspapers on Sunday in which he revealed that the government had issued issue a no objection certificate (NOC) to the former army chief to lead the military alliance. Reference: PTI opposes NOC for Raheel to head Saudi-led military alliance by Syed Irfan Raza March 27, 2017 https://www.dawn.com/news/1323049 ISLAMABAD: The government has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) regarding appointment of former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif as head of a Saudi Arabia-led military alliance comprising personnel from 41 Muslim countries. The NOC has been issued in view of an approval that was granted by the federal cabinet during its meeting held on Jan 10, according to a source. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday confirmed that the NOC had indeed been issued after approval by the federal cabinet. “The issue was not on the normal agenda of the federal cabinet’s meeting but it was approved through circulation,” the minister said while talking to Dawn. Reference: NOC granted to Raheel for heading Saudi-led military coalition January 19, 2019 https://www.dawn.com/news/1458413 LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has urged the government not to become part of the Yemeni conflict and said Pakistan should instead play its role in peaceful settlement of issues between the two Muslim countries. Mr Khan was speaking to journalists after inaugurating the PTI Business Club set up under the chairmanship of former Punjab governor and PTI core committee member Chaudhry Sarwar on Friday. The PTI chief said Pakistan was still facing consequences of the US-led war in the region and vehemently opposed the idea of Pakistan joining the war. He asked the prime minister why option of letting parliament or an all-party conference decide whether Pakistan should join war in Yemen had not been exercised. “Pakistan should play its role for peace in the region,” he added. Reference: Pakistan must not join Yemen war, says Imran Mansoor Malik 28, 2015 https://www.dawn.com/news/1172428


 PTI Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the Yemen issue



The word ‘neutral’ was introduced in the resolution on Yemen by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). There was an hour long debate in Parliament on the resolution following which the word ‘neutral’ was added to it. According to sources, the resolution on Yemen was presented in the joint-session by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and not Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on the objection of the PTI. Sources added that Pakistan has decided to play the role of mediator in the Yemen crisis. A Pakistani delegation will visit Saudi Arabia, Iran and Middle East countries. Iran will be asked to tell the Houithi tribe to halt its forward movement and make efforts for the restoration of the government in Yemen. Sources further said that there was no sectarianism in Yemen but if the war was not stopped the conflict could become sectarian. PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his party played a key role in formulating the resolution on Yemen which was passed unanimously by the joint-session of Parliament on Friday. Speaking to reporters, Qureshi said the proposal presented by the Foreign Office was not satisfactory. “We presented our own proposal and adopted those points from the government proposal which were positive and added points which were missing”. Reference: PTI introduced the word ‘neutral’ in Yemen resolution: sources April 10, 2015 https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/3232-pti-introduced-the-word-neutral-in-yemen-resolution-sources Senator Rehman Malik and PTI MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke to reporters outside the Parliament and asked the government to provide details of the Saudi request for military assistance. “A 2-3 point agenda of what discussions have been held should be presented and discussed in the assembly,” Malik said. “Till now there is no clarity in the position of the government,” said Qureshi adding that the country’s political parties were opposed to sending troops to Yemen. Reference: Parliament session on Yemen adjourned till Thursday April 8, 2015 https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/3149-parliament-session-on-yemen-adjourned-till-thursday

PTI leader Dr Shireen Mazari address in Joint Session On Yemen



ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari Thursday expressed concern over the impending sectarian conflict that was looming in Pakistan’s neighbourhood with the US-Saudi decision for military action in Yemen, urging Pakistan to remain neutral. She said, “A proxy war in Yemen is being waged and has all the hallmarks of spilling over not only into other parts of the Gulf region especially Bahrain but beyond into Pakistan and Afghanistan”. Mazari pointed out Pakistan already had a serious sectarian terrorism issue. “Reports coming in that the Pakistan government may provide/is providing assistance to Saudi Arabia in the latter’s partnership with the US over Yemen is a cause for serious concern,” she said.“Given our close ties to both Saudi Arabia and Iran and our own internal sectarian terrorism, Pakistan simply cannot afford to get embroiled in any Shia-Sunni conflict in the Gulf and Middle East regions. Pakistan must stay strictly neutral”, Mazari contended. She also pointed out that just when the new Afghan government was seeking a dialogue with all Afghan stakeholders for bringing peace into Afghanistan, the flaring up of a sectarian conflict in the Gulf region would have severe and negative repercussions for this peace process especially with President Ghani has already gave warning about an advance IS surveillance mission’s presence along the Afghan-Pakistan international border.Mazari demanded of the government to give a clear-cut statement on its policy on Yemen and the US-Saudi military action there. Reference: Mazari concerned over Saudi action in Yemen March 27, 2015 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/31564-mazari-concerned-over-saudi-action-in-yemen


1 - PTI Leader Shireen Mazari on Saudi Iran Conflict





2 - PTI Leader Shireen Mazari on Saudi Iran Conflict





3 - PTI Leader Shireen Mazari on Saudi Iran Conflict





4 - PTI Leader Shireen Mazari on Saudi Iran Conflict





Foreign Policy Expert Hafiz Saeed on Pakistan's Foreign Policy





PESHAWAR: Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed on Sunday accused the US and the ‘Jewish lobby’ of portraying the ongoing crisis in Yemen as a conflict between two major religious schools of thoughts. “The war in Yemen is neither a Shia-Sunni dispute nor a conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In fact the US and Jewish lobby are trying to depict the conflict a war between two sectarian groups,” he said while speaking at a ‘Pasban Harmain Sharifain Conference’ here on Sunday. Leaders of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League-N and other religious groups also addressed the gathering. The JuD organised the event to drum up support for Saudi Arabia which is leading an air assault to crush the uprising in Yemen led by the Houthi rebels. Without naming Iran, Hafiz Saeed said that a regional power, which was dubbing the US a ‘Great Satan’ and calling for the liberation of Baitul Maqdis from Israel, ‘was going to sign a nuclear treaty with it’. He said that ulema could play major role in educating people about what he said the new game plan in the Middle East. “We urge this regional power to stay away from making friendship with the US and become part of the Ummah,” he said, and alleged that America and its allies were hatching conspiracies to encircle Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and start proxy war there. Mr Saeed stated that private militias had been created in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen to incite civil war in the Middle East. The JuD chief alleged that Pentagon had chalked out a strategy to destabilise Muslim world by creating militias in Arab countries. Hafiz Saeed justified the Saudi-led military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen and said that Abdul Malik, who was leading uprising in Yemen, had “announced that Mecca and Medina were their targets”. Mr Saeed argued that a legitimate government in Yemen was overthrown and its president had sought help from Saudi Arabia. He criticised the parliament for passing a resolution opposing deployment of Pakistani troops in Yemen. Reference: JuD blames ‘Jewish lobby’ for Yemen crisis April 20, 2015 https://www.dawn.com/news/1177105 WikiLeaks says "Emphasize that Pakistan's support for disrupting financing to the Taliban and LeT obligatory pursuant to their obligations under UNSCR 1267 and successor resolutions, and is critical to achieving stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (S/REL USA, PAK) We are deeply concerned that Pakistan has failed to enact an AML/CTF law that meets APG/FATF standards. As you may realize the FATF is currently engaged in a &International Co-Operation Review Group8 exercise, that is likely to have very negative multilateral repercussions if the Parliament does not pass an adequate AML/CTF law. (S/REL USA, PAK) We stress your government's obligation, under UNSCR 1267, and successor resolutions to strictly enforce existing sanctions against the 142 Taliban, LeT leader Hafiz Saeed, LeT/JUD, al Rashid Trust, al Akhtar Trust and other individuals and entities on the UN 1267 Consolidated List. " Reference: US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia 'a critical source of terrorist funding' Sun 5 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/242073 US embassy cables: Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists raise funds in Saudi Arabia Sun 5 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/220186 One cable details how the Pakistani militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks, used a Saudi-based front company to fund its activities in 2005. Meanwhile officials with the LeT's charity wing, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, travelled to Saudi Arabia seeking donations for new schools at vastly inflated costs – then siphoned off the excess money to fund militant operations. Reference: WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists Hillary Clinton memo highlights Gulf states' failure to block funding for groups like al-Qaida, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba Declan Walsh in Islamabad Sun 5 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding

WikiLeaks: Saudi Arabia and UAE funding Terrorism in Pakistan




General (R) Talat Masood on Islamic Military Alliance



To underline the point, here is a report my journalist friend Zarrar Khuhro found for me. It was published on Jan 13, 2012, in the oldest and well-informed Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “Israeli Mossad agents posed as CIA officers in order to recruit members of a Pakistan-based terror group to carry out assassinations and attacks against the regime in Iran, Foreign Policy revealed on Friday, quoting US intelligence memos. “Foreign Policy’s Mark Perry reported that the Mossad operation was carried out in 2007-2008, behind the back of the US government, and infuriated then US President George W. Bush. “Perry quotes a number of American intelligence officials and claims that the Mossad agents used American dollars and US passports to pose as CIA spies to try to recruit members of Jundallah, a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist organisation that has carried out a series of attacks in Iran and assassinations of government officials. “According to the report, Israel’s recruitment attempts took place mostly in London, right under the nose of US intelligence officials. “‘It’s amazing what the Israelis thought they could get away with,’ Foreign Policy quoted an intelligence officer as saying. ‘Their recruitment activities were nearly in the open. They apparently didn’t give a damn what we thought.’” “According to a currently serving US intelligence officer, Perry reports, when Bush was briefed on the information he ‘went absolutely ballistic.’” But the report also conceded that there was little the US could do. And, in effect, did nothing. This happened at a time when the US may not have been geared up for regime change or disposed to even ‘cutting to size’ Iran. Look at all the rhetoric coming out of Washington today. It isn’t difficult to understand the kind of mood and environment that exists as we speak. Reference: Sanity demands neutrality by Abbas Nasir February 16, 2019 https://www.dawn.com/news/1464155/sanity-demands-neutrality


1 - Seymour Hersh on US Policy in Iran



Jundallah (not to be confused with Jandola, a Pakistani terrorist group) came into being to supposedly protect the rights of the Sunni Baloch in Iran. However, its close links with drug smugglers and the Taliban in Afghanistan make it anathema to Tehran, and its deadly campaign against the Iranian state has caused scores of casualties. But even more controversial are the allegations that it has enjoyed CIA support, at least in the recent past. In April 2007, ABC, the American network, carried a report by Brian Ross and Christopher Isham alleging that Jundallah was receiving covert American support. The story also alleged that the group was based in Pakistan. Other reports asserted that the then US Vice President Dick Cheney discussed Jundallah with Musharraf on a visit to Islamabad. These allegations tied in neatly with a report by Seymour Hersh, the prize-winning reporter. Published by the New Yorker in July 2008, Hersh wrote that congressional leaders had secretly approved a request for $400m from George Bush to finance covert operations against Iran in a bid to slow down or halt its nuclear programme. These efforts included clandestine operations, anti-Iran propaganda, and support for terrorist groups like the Mujahideen-i-Khalq. It is unclear whether the Obama administration has terminated this campaign. Obviously, no Pakistani official in his right mind would wish to be involved in a suicidal policy to help Jundallah in its attacks against Iranian targets. Despite the ups and downs in our relationship with Iran, we have tried to minimise differences, even at the time of tension when Pakistan supported the Taliban, even while they persecuted Afghanistan's Shia minority when they were in power. Nevertheless, all too often in Pakistan, the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Some arrested Jundallah militants in Iran have confessed they were trained at a secret camp in Pakistani Balochistan. Whether there was an element of official connivance is hard to say. Reference: Porous borders, angry neighbours by Irfan Husain October 24, 2009 https://www.dawn.com/news/498312 


2 - Seymour Hersh on US Policy in Iran




THE deadly blast in Iran's Sistan province, bordering Pakistan, last October 17 has just added another gory dimension to the saga of mayhem and murder already engulfing Pakistan and Afghanistan. The wave of terror has reached the shores of Iran, a relative island of tranquility until now. It's an open secret that Iran has long been in the cross-hairs of those who would like to redraw the map of the region around Iran and Pakistan. They have developed enormous stakes in it, especially since the occupation of Iraq. Ace investigative journalist, Seymour Hersch, reported in The New Yorker, last year in spring, about the elite Special Services Group (SSG) sleuths and saboteurs being active inside Iran for quite sometime. SSG at that time was led by General Stanley McChrystal, since anointed by President Obama to bail him out of the Afghan cul de sac. Washington has both long- term and short- term interests vested in Iran and these two have been running in parallel. The long-term interest is to ensure that Iran doesn't have nuclear power to threaten Israeli and American stakes—in that order, precisely—in the region. The short-term interest dictates, per se, that in order to guarantee the realisation of the long-term objective there should be a non-hostile regime—the euphemism for a caged ruling elite—in Tehran. It irks Washington enormously that the only piece missing on the chess-board it has been trying so hard to arrange for the region is Iran, which refuses to be boxed in. This looks all the more jarring to Washington's chess masters that a defiant Tehran continues to play 'catch-me-if-you-can' with them against the backdrop of a subdued Iraq, and Afghanistan half in the bag, half still outside of it, and a Pakistan whose surrender can be taken for granted; it has never been more than a phone-call-away. Reference: A new dimension to the saga of terror October 25, 2009 https://www.dawn.com/news/966187


3 - Seymour Hersh on US Policy in Iran




Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program. Reference: Preparing the Battlefield The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran. By Seymour M. Hersh July 7, 2008 Issue https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/07/07/preparing-the-battlefield The “redirection,” as some inside the White House have called the new strategy, has brought the United States closer to an open confrontation with Iran and, in parts of the region, propelled it into a widening sectarian conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda. Reference: The Redirection Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism? By Seymour M. Hersh March 5, 2007 Issue https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/05/the-redirection Israeli intelligence and military operatives are now quietly at work in Kurdistan, providing training for Kurdish commando units and, most important in Israel’s view, running covert operations inside Kurdish areas of Iran and Syria. Israel feels particularly threatened by Iran, whose position in the region has been strengthened by the war. The Israeli operatives include members of the Mossad, Israel’s clandestine foreign-intelligence service, who work undercover in Kurdistan as businessmen and, in some cases, do not carry Israeli passports. Asked to comment, Mark Regev, the spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said, “The story is simply untrue and the relevant governments know it’s untrue.” Kurdish officials declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the State Department. However, a senior C.I.A. official acknowledged in an interview last week that the Israelis were indeed operating in Kurdistan. He told me that the Israelis felt that they had little choice: “They think they have to be there.” Asked whether the Israelis had sought approval from Washington, the official laughed and said, “Do you know anybody who can tell the Israelis what to do? They’re always going to do what is in their best interest.” The C.I.A. official added that the Israeli presence was widely known in the American intelligence community. Reference: Plan B As June 30th approaches, Israel looks to the Kurds. By Seymour M. Hersh June 28, 2004 Issue https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/06/28/plan-b-2

Jundallah, Iran and USA



Iran had always alleged that Jundallah was financed by the US government to destabilise their country. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed in another report in July 2008 that US Congressional leaders had secretly agreed to former president Bush's $400 million funding request, which gave the US a free hand in arming and funding Iranian terrorist groups such as Jundallah militants. Reference: Rigi`s arrest a godsend for Pakistan February 24, 2010 https://www.dawn.com/news/858256 

 PTI Leader Mubasher Lucman on US/Saudi Role in Pakistan's Sectarian Violence




A US State Department official in a meeting urged President Asif Ali Zardari against accepting Iran’s offer of concessional oil for Pakistan and providing Iran with a foothold in Pakistan, a ‘Secret’ American diplomatic cable made available to Dawn reveals. The meeting between Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia during the Bush administration, and President Zardari took place on October 18, 2008 at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, during which Mr Zardari apprised the visiting official of the Iranian offer that the President “did not believe he could refuse.” “How could he go to the National Assembly and tell them Iran had offered the assistance and Pakistan had turned it down, he asked rhetorically,” the then US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson wrote in the cable dated October 22, 2008, referring to President Zardari. She added that, “Boucher reminded him of Ambassador Haqqani’s recent conversation with Deputy Secretary Negroponte in which the Deputy cautioned against providing Iran with a toehold in Pakistan.” Reference: Don’t provide Iran with a foothold, US told Pak May 24, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/631199 2008: Do not to allow Iran toehold in Pakistan: US May 23, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/631189/2008-do-not-to-allow-iran-toehold-in-pakistan-us

Defence Analyst Mr Ejaz Haider on The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace (Aina - 28th May 2018)



India-Pakistan: need for intelligence cooperation Amarjeet Singh Dulat & Asad Durrani JULY 14, 2011 (This is a joint paper by two former heads of intelligence — Amarjeet Singh Dulat of RAW, and Asad Durrani of the ISI — discussed in a Track II setting with current and former policymakers from July 1-4 in Berlin, at the 59th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs. It now appears simultaneously in The News International and The Hindu . ) https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/indiapakistan-need-for-intelligence-cooperation/article2224644.ece


Defence Analyst Mr Ejaz Haider on Kargil Fiasco (Waqt News 2013)






WASHINGTON, July 4: President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached an agreement on Sunday under which the freedom fighters who crossed into certain parts of occupied Kashmir would withdraw, US officials said. "It was agreed between the president and the prime minister that concrete steps will be taken for the restoration of the Line of Control," Clinton and Sharif said in a joint statement after three hours of talks. "The president urged an immediate cessation of the hostilities once these steps are taken," it added after the discussions. The officials said the joint statement meant the Kashmiri fighters would withdraw to the Pakistani side of the LoC. "Our understanding is that there will be withdrawal of the forces now," a senior official told reporters. He declined to say exactly when the forces would pull out but added: "We would like to see positive steps in the very near future." In their statement, Mr Clinton and Mr Sharif said they shared the view that the recent conflict was "dangerous and contains the seeds of a wider conflict." "They also agreed that it was vital for the peace of South Asia that the Line of Control in Kashmir be respected by both parties in accordance with their 1972 Simla Accord," it added. The statement finessed another issue - India's long- standing rejection of any outside mediation over Kashmir and Washington's resulting reluctance to play such a role, even though Mr Clinton had intervened with Pakistan in this instance. The White House said Mr Clinton had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for about 10 minutes on Sunday to brief him on the talks. The statement said Mr Clinton stressed that the best way for the two countries to settle their differences, including Kashmir, was to continue the direct talks that began when their prime ministers met in Lahore in February. "The president said he would take a personal interest in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of those bilateral efforts once the sanctity of the Line of Control has been fully restored," the statement said. It also said Mr Clinton, who cancelled plans to visit India and Pakistan last year after they conducted their nuclear tests, intended to "pay an early visit to South Asia."-Reuters Reference: Nawaz, Clinton agree on pullout by Mujahideen 10 July 1999 Dawn https://asianstudies.github.io/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/10jul99.html#nawa ISLAMABAD, July 9: The Pakistan government on Friday formally appealed to the Mujahideen to de-escalate the situation by withdrawing from the Kargil sector. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met 11 Mujahideen leaders immediately after the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) meeting and requested them to pull back. "Yes, 11 leaders of the freedom fighters held an important meeting with the prime minister in which they were requested to withdraw from Kargil," said the Minister for Religious Affairs and the Leader of the House in the Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq. Asked about the response of the Mujahideen, Zafar told Dawn that the prime minister had sought the Mujahideen leaders' support for reducing the heightening tension in the region. "But there is no timeframe as such which was discussed," the minister said while hoping that the Mujahideen would withdraw as quickly as possible. However, Raja Zafarul Haq said that the DCC decided to continue to offer all kinds of diplomatic, moral and political support to the freedom fighters to achieve independence from India. The DCC saluted the martyrs who had made the supreme sacrifice for the defence of their sacred cause and the honour of the country. The DCC also paid tributes to the armed forces of Pakistan for their courage and determination to defend the independence and the territorial integrity of the country and to meet and challenge any aggression against the motherland. Mujahideen urged to withdraw from Kargil By Ihtasham ul Haque 10 July 1999 https://asianstudies.github.io/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1999/10jul99.html#muja

Nawaz Sharif & US President Bill Clinton after Kargil Fiasco




Asked what he believes is the reason for his ouster from public office, Mr Sharif did not reply directly but steered the conversation towards foreign policy and national security. “We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it.” He continued: “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?” — a reference to the Mumbai attacks-related trials which have stalled in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court. “It’s absolutely unacceptable. This is exactly what we are struggling for. President Putin has said it. President Xi has said it,” Mr Sharif said. “We could have already been at seven per cent growth (in GDP), but we are not.” ------------------------------------ (October 06, 2016) ISLAMABAD: In a blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning, the civilian government has informed the military leadership of a growing international isolation of Pakistan and sought consensus on several key actions by the state. Second, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi antiterrorism court. Those decisions, taken after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, appear to indicate a high-stakes new approach by the PML-N government. On the US, Mr Chaudhry said that relations have deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network. On India, Mr Chaudhry stated that the completion of the Pathankot investigation and some visible action against Jaish-i-Mohammad were the principal demands. Then, to a hushed but surprised room, Mr Chaudhry suggested that while China has reiterated its support for Pakistan, it too has indicated a preference for a change in course by Pakistan. Specifically, while Chinese authorities have conveyed their willingness to keep putting on technical hold a UN ban on Jaish-i-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, they have questioned the logic of doing so repeatedly. At that point came the stunning and unexpectedly bold intervention by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Addressing Gen Akhtar, the younger Sharif complained that whenever action has been taken against certain groups by civilian authorities, the security establishment has worked behind the scenes to set the arrested free. Astounded onlookers describe a stunned room that was immediately aware of the extraordinary, unprecedented nature of the exchange. References: For Nawaz, it’s not over till it’s over by Cyril Almeida May 12, 2018 https://www.dawn.com/news/1407192/for-nawaz-its-not-over-till-its-over --- Exclusive: Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military by Cyril Almeida October 06, 2016 https://www.dawn.com/news/1288350/exclusive-act-against-militants-or-face-international-isolation-civilians-tell-military

Musharraf, Mullahs, Militants and USA





MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 8: Prof Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of Markaz Dawa Wal Irshad, the parent organization of Lashkar-i-Taiba, asked Islamabad to send its troops across the Line of Control to liberate Kashmir. "It is the duty of the armed forces of Pakistan to cross the bloody line for the liberation of their Kashmiri brethren," he told a "Takmeel-i-Pakistan conference" held here at Upper Adda under the aegis of the Lashkar. India, he said, was blaming Pakistan for being behind the Kashmir liberation movement but it had forgot that it itself had sent its troops into East Pakistan in 1971 in violation of international laws to dismember Pakistan. "If Indian troops can cross the international border then why the Pakistan troops cannot cross the so-called LoC?," he said. It is not an appropriate time for holding negotiations with India because Delhi has always deceived the Kashmiris and Pakistan, he said. "We are not opposed to dialogue but we cannot favor it at this critical juncture of the liberation struggle because we believe that it will, as usual, provide India an opportunity to gain time to continue massacre of the Kashmiris." He said talks should be held only after the withdrawal of the Indian troops from Kashmir, otherwise, he declared, the Mujahideen would evict them by themselves. This was the unanimous stand of all Mujahideen groups, he added. "If any other stand is taken, I am afraid the sacrifices rendered by the people of Kashmir and the Mujahideen will be wasted." Hafiz Saeed declared that all Mujahideen groups, including the Hizbul Mujahideen, would strengthen mutual coordination and cooperation to continue Jihad till the liberation of Kashmir. He rejected Indian allegations that the Lashkar was involved in the recent massacre in occupied Kashmir. He said he was ready to prove before any international court that no Mujahideen group was involved in the killings. Reference: Pakistan troops urged to liberate Kashmir by Tariq Naqash 12 August 2000 Dawn https://asianstudies.github.io/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2000/aug12.html#paki (Pakistani neocons & UN sanctions BY Khalid Hasan Dec 28, 2008 Daily Times) QOTD: Musharraf in America Sunday, 9 September 2012 http://takhalus.blogspot.com/2012/09/qotd-musharraf-in-america.html

Monday, February 4, 2019

Importance of Pakistan Israel Ties


The SSG was set up at the suggestion of the Americans as a force that would operate against the Russians if they overran West Pakistan. Cherat was chosen as the highly restricted site where the commandos were to be trained and based. The trainers were mostly Americans from the CIA, who came with their families, setting up a little America with all its gadgetry and attendant luxuries. Mitha’s sole instruction to his handpicked Pakistani officers was: “Be proud of your poverty.” He remained head of the SSG for six years and it was an SSG detachment that buried him with fullhonours, sounding the last post as it lowered this soldier’s soldier in his grave four years ago. Gen Mitha was retired when he was just over 48 years old because Gen Gul Hasan added his name to a list of officers whose retirements were announced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in his first speech as president on December 20, 1971. It was a most treacherous blow as Mitha was too good a soldier and too reverent of tradition and rules to have had any Bonapartist ambitions. He had no hand in the officers’ “revolt” at Gujranwala and the hooting down of Gen Hamid at a GHQ meeting, events that, ironically, pushed out Yahya. In fact, it was Gul Hasan himself who was Bonapartist, something Bhutto always knew. He only used Gul Hasan. According to Gen Mitha, it was Gul Hasan who saved Brig Zia-ul-Haq, as he then was, from being sacked. Zia was in Jordan. The year was 1971. Gen Yahya received a signal from Maj Gen Nawazish, the head of the Pakistan military mission in Amman, asking that Zia be court-martialled for disobeying GHQ orders by commanding a Jordanian armour division against the Palestinians in which thousands were slaughtered. That ignominious event is known as Operation Black September. It was Gul Hasan who interceded for Zia and had Yahya let him off. Mitha was treated very badly. His Hilal-i-Jurat was withdrawn in February 1972, something that also appears to have been Gul Hasan’s handiwork. He remained under surveillance through the Bhutto years. All doors of employment were closed on him and had it not been for the generosity of a friend living abroad, who asked Mitha to manage his farm for him, he would have been on the street. After he died, one of his friends wrote to his wife, “At the end of a tumultuous life, all he wanted was a room to sleep in, one to write and eat in – a space to walk, reflect and gaze across the fields to the distant hills.” That is not a bad epitaph for a soldier. References : 
General Mitha -- khalid hasan - A soldier’s life by Khalid Hasan http://baithak.blogspot.com/2005/11/general-mitha-khalid-hasan.html Unlikely Beginnings: A Soldier's Life by Aboobaker Osman Mitha The forgotten hero August 02, 2009 https://www.dawn.com/news/826674


Meet Mr Pervez Musharraf and Mr Amjad Shoaib




NOW, something a little different — or not entirely so, perhaps. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was in Washington last week. In an interview with The Washington Post and Newsweek, he was asked for a comment on reports that President Bush had told him that Israel should pull out of Palestinian-controlled areas that it had re-taken following the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister. Mr Peres replied: “I said we don’t intend to remain there. The president modified the State Department declaration to pull out ‘immediately’, and said (pull out) as soon as possible. I told him we understand your strategy. As a good Jewish boy, I would have never dreamed that I would pray for the safety of (Gen Pervez) Musharraf, the president of Pakistan. That is a most unexpected experience. But we understand and don’t want to have an agenda of our own.” Reference: Fears of a more combative society: WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK By Tahir Mirza DAWN - Opinion; November 1, 2001 https://www.dawn.com/news/1062232 


 Mr Pervez Musharraf with American Zionist Mr Jack Rosen



Rosen’s connections are by no means limited to the Western Hemisphere. He is a close friend, for example, of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whom he convinced to give a first-ever address to a Jewish organization in a speech before the American Jewish Congress in New York, in 2005. Israeli Foreign Ministry sources say that Rosen was the instigator and go-between for a series of clandestine meetings held that same year in Turkey, between then Foreign Ministry director general Ron Prosor, now Ambassador to the UN, and his Pakistani counterpart, which in turn led to a truly historic public meeting in Istanbul between the two countries’ foreign ministers. Reference: Jack Rosen: Turning U.S. Presidents From Friends in Need to Friends Indeed Jack Rosen, New York real estate millionaire, likes to help politicians when they most need it. Now he moves among presidents, princes and tyrants. by Chemi Shalev Oct 18, 2012 https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-the-most-influential-jew-you-never-heard-of-1.5193535  Soon after Khan took office in 2018, the rumours of a Pakistan-Israel thaw resurfaced. Jack Rosen, an American Jewish personality who had previously hosted Musharraf, broke years of silence on Pakistani affairs by writing an article praising Imran Khan and arguing why Pakistan deserved US support. Rosen’s critics immediately listed the numerous anti-Semitic and pro-Jihad statements by Khan and other officials of his party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) and wondered aloud why Rosen was lobbying for the new Pakistani prime minister. In the subsequent back and forth, Khan’s previous marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was cited as evidence of his tolerance of Jews. Ironically, Jemima has always insisted that she is a Catholic even though her father Sir James Goldsmith was Jewish by birth. Jemima has herself faced allegations of anti-Semitism, which she strongly denies. In October last year, the editor of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz’s English edition, Ami Scharf, fuelled gossip when he tweeted about a private jet possibly carrying Israeli officials to Islamabad from Tel Aviv. That claim was based on following the plane on one of the several flight path tracking sites and was strongly denied by the Pakistan government as well as Pakistan’s aviation regulators. Soon after, retired military officers close to Musharraf revived the arguments on Pakistani television channels in favour of recognising Israel as a means of depriving India of exclusive Israeli friendship. A PTI legislator advanced the case in a speech in parliament. But the government officially denied the likelihood of normalisation of ties with Israel vehemently. Reference : Imran Khan will continue Pakistan’s ‘one step forward, one step back’ approach to Israel by HUSAIN HAQQANI 6 February, 2019 https://theprint.in/opinion/imran-khan-will-continue-pakistans-one-step-forward-one-step-back-approach-to-israel/187684/

The WikiLeaks documents reveal that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was concerned for former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s well-being and wanted him to remain in power in 2007. The revelation was made in a secret cable message originating from the American embassy in Tel Aviv. It records a meeting between Mossad chief and US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns under the Bush administration. Mr Burns met Mossad chief Meir Dagan on Aug 17, 2007, to give his assessment of the Middle East region, Pakistan and Turkey. The Israeli spy chief said he was concerned about how long President Musharraf would survive. “He is facing a serious problem with the militants. Pakistan’s nuclear capability could end up in the hands of an Islamic regime.” Dagan observed that Musharraf appeared to be losing control and his coalition partners could threaten him in the future. He linked Musharraf’s retaining control over Pakistan to his dual president and commander-in-chief role. The cable says that if Musharraf cannot retain his army role, he will have problems. The Mossad chief referred to attempts on Musharaf’s life and wondered whether he could survive the coming years. Reference: Israelis wanted Musharraf to stay, says WikiLeaks November 29, 2010 https://www.dawn.com/news/587328 

Mr Amjad Shoaib on the Unity of Muslim Ummah and Islamic Terrorists


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow Air India to use its airspace in flights to and from Israel in what could indicate a warming of ties. But Air India said on Tuesday that while it had issued such a request, the regulator had yet to give it a positive answer. The new Israel-India route was announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Israel in July. In his January reciprocal visit to India, Netanyahu implied the route could pass over Saudi Arabia, which beyond significantly shortening flight time would be a public indication of a warming of ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic ties, like much of the Arab world. Riyadh has consistently kept mum on Israeli hints of covert ties with the kingdom. Reference: Netanyahu says Saudi to open airspace to India-Israel flights March 06, 2018 https://www.dawn.com/news/1393542 The government has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) regarding appointment of former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif as head of a Saudi Arabia-led military alliance comprising personnel from 41 Muslim countries. The NOC has been issued in view of an approval that was granted by the federal cabinet during its meeting held on Jan 10, according to a source. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday confirmed that the NOC had indeed been issued after approval by the federal cabinet. “The issue was not on the normal agenda of the federal cabinet’s meeting but it was approved through circulation,” the minister said while talking to Dawn. Reference: NOC granted to Raheel for heading Saudi-led military coalition January 19, 2019 https://www.dawn.com/news/1458413 As you know, terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Almi carried out the attack at Police training center in Quetta. Now this banned outfit has origins in South Punjab and interior Sindh. In South Punjab, areas like Jhang, Muzaffar Garh, DG Khan and Bahawalpur are hotbeds of LeJ terrorists while the same banned outfit has also facilitators and supporters in interior Sindh where many terrorist attacks have been conducted. However, Punjab’s chief minister has been refusing to allow Rangers to carry out operations in South Punjab while Sindh chief minister is reluctant to permit Rangers operation in interior Sindh. On the other hand, the international community blames Pakistan for terrorism but they never care how we are targeted by terrorist organisations. Our foreign ministry and civilian leadership have failed in presenting out case to the world. Reference: “Our leaders have failed us” – An interview with Lt. Gen (R) Amjad Shoaib BY MIAN ABRAR , (LAST UPDATED OCTOBER 30, 2016) https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/10/30/our-leaders-have-failed-us-an-interview-with-lt-gen-r-amjad-shoaib/ Israel's military chief of staff said in an interview on Thursday that his country was prepared to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to face Iran's plans “to control the Middle East". “We are ready to exchange experience with the moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to face Iran,” Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot said in an interview with Elaph, a Saudi-run news site. Asked whether information was shared with Saudi Arabia recently, he said “we are ready to share information if necessary. There are many common interests between us and them.” Israel's army confirmed the contents of the interview. Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic ties. Reference : Israel ready to share intelligence about Iran with Saudi Arabia, says military chief November 16, 2017 https://www.dawn.com/news/1370908 

 Mr Amjad Shoaib pleads the case of Israel



The crisis may bring into play the élite unit, operating under Pentagon control with C.I.A. assistance, whose mission it is to destroy nuclear facilities, past and present government officials told me. "They're good," one American said. "If they screw up, they die. They've had good success in proving the negative"—that is, in determining that suspected facilities were not nuclear-related. The American team is apparently getting help from Israel's most successful special-operations unit, the storied Sayeret Matkal, also known as Unit 262, a deep-penetration unit that has been involved in assassinations, the theft of foreign signals-intelligence materials, and the theft and destruction of foreign nuclear weaponry. Sayeret Matkal's most memorable operation took place in June, 1976, when Lieutenant Colonel Jonathon Netanyahu, brother of the future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, led a team that stormed a hijacked Air France airliner that was forced down by Palestinian terrorists at Entebbe International Airport, in Uganda, after taking off from Tel Aviv with two hundred and fifty-seven passengers. Jonathon Netanyahu was killed in the raid, along with two of the hostages, but the operation is still considered one of the most successful and audacious in modern history. Members of the Israeli unit arrived in the United States a few days after September 11th, an informed source said, and as of last week were training with American special-forces units at undisclosed locations. In recent weeks, the Administration has been reviewing and "refreshing" its contingency plans. Such operations depend on intelligence, however, and there is disagreement within the Administration about the quality of the C.I.A.'s data. The American intelligence community cannot be sure, for example, that it knows the precise whereabouts of every Pakistani warhead—or whether all the warheads that it has found are real. "They've got some dummy locations," an official told me. "You only get one chance, and then you've tried and failed. The cat is out of the bag." Some senior officials say they remain confident that the intelligence community can do its job, despite the efforts of the Pakistani Army to mask its nuclear arsenal. "We'd be challenged to manage the problem, but there is contingency planning for that possibility," one Bush military adviser told me last week. "We can't exclude the possibility that the Pakistanis could make it harder for us to act on what we know, but that's an operational detail. We're going to have to work harder to get to it quickly. We still have some good access." A senior military officer, after confirming that intense planning for the possible "exfiltration" of Pakistani warheads was under way, said that he had been concerned not about a military coup but about a localized insurrection by a clique of I.S.I. officers in the field who had access to a nuclear storage facility. Reference: Watching the Warheads The risks to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. By Seymour M. Hersh November 5, 2001 Issue Annals of National Security https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/05/watching-the-warheads 



"The Pakistanis have just as much of a vested interest as we do in making sure that that stuff is looked after, because if they"—I.S.I. dissidents—"throw one at India, they're all cooked meat." He was referring to the certainty of Indian nuclear retaliation: India's nuclear warheads are more numerous, more sophisticated, and more powerful than Pakistan's; its Army is twice as large; and its population is more than seven times as large. The skeptics among intelligence and military officials, however, worry that there may not be enough reliable information about the location of all elements of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal. The C.I.A., they note, provided effective information on the warheads in the late nineteen-eighties and early nineties, when it worked closely with the Pakistani military in Afghanistan. At that time, the United States was a major supplier of arms and military technology to Pakistan. The agency recruited informants inside the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and the National Security Agency found a way to intercept the back-channel communications of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the German-educated metallurgist who had run Pakistan's nuclear laboratories since the nineteen-seventies and is known as the father of the Pakistani bomb. But those assets no longer exist. "We lost our interest in that area, and we do not have the same level of contact or knowledge that we once did," a former high-level C.I.A. officer said. "Today, there is a whole set of information that, when it comes down to it, we don't have. We can't count warheads. We never had the capacity to count. What we did have was a capacity to produce unusual material"—on the general state of the Pakistani arsenal. "The idea that you know where the warheads are at any given moment is not right," he said. "As the operation approaches and the question 'How certain are you?' is asked, it becomes more difficult. The fact is, we usually know hours later. We never could do it in real time." Other officials expressed concern about what any team sent to Pakistan could really accomplish without risking significant casualties. "How are you going to conduct a covert commando operation in the middle of the country?" the former high-level State Department official said. "We don't know where this stuff is, and it would take far more than a commando operation to get at it." Reference: Watching the Warheads The risks to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. By Seymour M. Hersh November 5, 2001 Issue Annals of National Security https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/05/watching-the-warheads 

 Why Mr Imran Khan Opposes Israel



ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Monday warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cannot escape November 2 show, because evidences of Panama Leaks have surfaced to ground him. Talking to media here, he said the government will not be able to stem November 2 tsunami, and called upon PM Sharif to resign or face accountability. Lashing out at the controversial news report, he said, “Nawaz Sharif gave a message to Indo-Israel lobby to support and secure him and his corruption.” On this occasion, the PTI chairman termed the controversial report as an attempt to defame Pakistan Army. He underscored Line of Control firing and shelling kick-start when a movement begins to get off the ground against corruption of his government. The PTI called upon Pakistan Army to grapple with Motu Gang after it had done away with Chhotu Gang. He also alleged that ministers from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are threatening and blackmailing him in order to protect their corruption, adding instead of launching a thorough probe into Panama Leaks, the PML-N ministers are waging a defamation campaign against Shaukat Khanum Hospital. Imran Khan also claimed the government will not be able to contain masses pouring into the federal capital on November 2 and challenged that PM Sharif will not find a place to hide himself. Reference: Nawaz Sharif seeks help from India, Israel: Imran Khan October 24, 2016 Samaa Digital https://www.samaa.tv/news/2016/10/nawaz-sharif-seeks-help-from-india-israel-says-imran-khan/ Zac Goldsmith's relationship with 'Taliban apologist' Imran Khan raises big problems for the would-be Mayor 11-Apr-2016 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/zac-goldsmiths-relationship-with-taliban-apologist-imran-khan-raises-big-problems-for-the-would-be-a6978781.html


Imran Khan's Party and Israel 



Kasuri defends Israel contacts: Move to create diplomatic space September 13, 2005 https://www.dawn.com/news/156471 Kasuri ‘to meet Israeli minister’ September 01, 2005 https://www.dawn.com/news/154828 2005: When Pakistan and Israel explored closer bilateral ties October 30, 2018 https://www.dawn.com/news/1442182 Former Foreign Minister Kasuri, others join PTI December 20, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/681931 

Pakistani Journalists, Israel, India and Facts





India will buy nearly $2 billion worth of weapons technology from Israel in what's being described as the “largest defence contract” ever signed by the military exporting giant. The deal will see state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries provide India with an advanced defence system of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technology, the company said in a statement Thursday. The “mega” missile agreement is “considered to be the largest defense contract in Israel's defense industries' history”, the company said. The Israeli firm will also supply a naval defence system including long-range surface-to-air missiles for India's first aircraft carrier, which is still under construction. Comment was not immediately available from India's defence ministry. Israel Aerospace Industries said some components will be assembled in India, in line with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to reduce reliance on costly imports. Modi's government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encouraged tie-ups between foreign and local companies under a 'Make in India' campaign. Reference: India, Israel ink nearly $2bn weapons deal April 07, 2017 https://www.dawn.com/news/1325487

Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, India, Isreal and Imran Khan




Declaring that Pakistan and the United States have entered a new “strategic partnership” for economic gains and peaceful settlement of the 18-year-old Afghan conflict, leading US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said that he will request President Donald Trump to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan soon to cement the bilateral relations further. The senior senator made the announcement while addressing a press conference at the US embassy shortly after meeting PM Khan on Sunday. Mr Graham also claimed that the prime minister had endorsed the Trump administration’s plans that the US should keep its presence in Afghanistan and continue the reconciliation process. “After meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan, I would urge President Donald Trump to meet Mr Khan as soon as practical. I would also urge him (the president) to meet the prime minister sooner or later and push a joint agenda for peaceful resolution of Afghan conflict,” he added. Reference : US senator wants Trump to meet PM Khan (Dawn January 21, 2019) https://www.dawn.com/news/1458800