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NATO’s message to Zardari: It’s vital to reopen supply routes
Over 120 schoolgirls, 3 teachers poisoned in Afghanistan
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Special to the tribune
Egyptians turn up to elect Mubarak’s successor
Pak doc gets 33-yr jail for helping CIA trace Osama
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NATO’s message to Zardari: It’s vital to reopen supply routes Washington, May 23 "He (Zardari) got the message that it was important that the ground lines of communication, which are the shortest way to get supplies in and out of Afghanistan, be opened and opened soon," US Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, told reporters at Council on Foreign Relations, a prestigious American think tank. Daalder said NATO members and its allies look forward to a decision to that effect in the very Zardari, he said, was invited by NATO to attend meeting of the ISAF countries, in part because of Pakistan is a central contributor to the mission and to their goals in Afghanistan. "He did attend; he made very strong, supportive statement for our efforts in Afghanistan, including on reconciliation side," he said. "We are in a very active and in-depth set of dialogues with Pakistan to find ways in which we can cooperate to deal with the problems that exist in order to make sure that our strategy in Afghanistan will succeed," the Diplomat said. "That's we are trying to open the ground lines of communication. That's why we have and will continue to find ways to cooperate in dealing with the terrorist threat. That is a commitment that remains strong today, tomorrow, till 2014 and after 2014," Daalder said. — PTI Zardari’s visit a disgrace: Imran Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Chicago to attend the NATO Summit brought nothing but disgrace to the country, stated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said on Wednesday. Speaking to a press conference, Khan said that despite the death of 40,000 Pakistanis and the loss of Rs 70 billion in a “strangers’ war”, Pakistan’s sacrifices are still not being given any consideration. Senate sub-panel approves $1bn to Pak for 2013 Washington: A key Senate sub-committee has approved $1 billion to Pakistan for the fiscal 2013. The $52.1 billion Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Bill for the year 2103 was passed by the Senate Appropriations Sub-committee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, during its meeting on Tuesday. — PTI
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Over 120 schoolgirls, 3 teachers poisoned in Afghanistan Taliqan, May 23 The attack occurred in Takhar province where the police said radicals opposed to education of women and girls had used an unidentified toxic powder to contaminate the air in classrooms. Scores of students were left unconscious. Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), says the Taliban appear intent on closing schools ahead of a 2014 withdrawal by foreign combat troops. "A part of their Al Farooq spring offensive operation is to close schools. By poisoning girls, they want to create fear. They try to make families not send their children to school," NDS spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said. Afghanistan's Ministry of Education said last week that 550 schools in 11 provinces, where the Taliban have strong support, had been closed down by insurgents. Last month, 150 schoolgirls were poisoned in Takhar province after they drank contaminated water. Since 2001 when the Taliban were toppled from power by the US-backed Afghan forces, women have returned to schools, especially in Kabul. They were previously banned from work and education. But there are still periodic attacks against students, teachers and school buildings, usually in the more conservative south and east of the country, from where the Taliban insurgency draws most of its support. — Reuters
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Special to the tribune As diplomats from the UN and six major powers engage in fresh talks with Tehran over Iran's nuclear ambitions, a leading Indian analyst has described Iran's political leaders as "rational" and "sophisticated", adding that their aim is to get to a point where they have demonstrated capability to become a declared nuclear weapons state with a modest delivery capability.
Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran's assessment comes as Iranian officials meet in Baghdad with diplomats from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China over future limits to Iran's nuclear efforts. The six powers have been pressing Iran to restrict enrichment to 20 per cent purity, as well as surrendering its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium that can be used to make nuclear weapons. In return, they have promised to withhold further UN sanctions and provide fuel for a modest nuclear reactor that can be used for medical purposes. Saran, who is currently a visiting Fellow at King's College, London, was asked for his assessment of Iran's nuclear ambitions and capability. He responded, "There is no doubt that they are building up to a point where everyone knows they have that capability. But at this point of time, there is no intention to take that final step - that is some distance away. But they certainly believe that in terms of the hostility they face from the US, a hostility they face from being a Shia island in a sea of hostile Sunni states, I think they certainly believe that demonstrating this capability gives them a slightly higher level of deterrence than otherwise would be the case." Asked if an Israeli attack on Iran was likely in the next 12 months, he said, "From all that what I can see happening around, I do not think that is a real possibility. I also believe that the Israelis are rational people and I cannot see how Israel's interests are in any way advanced by such an attack. If the purpose of this attack was to destroy Iranian capability to go in for a nuclear weapon, they will not be able to achieve that. Unless you have an Iraq-style massive invasion and you really are able to sanitise every possible base for building of nuclear weapons. In any case you cannot do anything about what is in the head ... this is the worst way of trying to ensure that Iran does not go ahead to acquire a nuclear weapon capability." Commenting on the evolution of India's nuclear doctrine following the 1998 tests, Saran said, "The doctrine adopted was that there should be no first use, but India would develop a retaliatory capability which is able to survive a first strike — but have enough assets to be able to inflict unacceptable massive damage on the adversary as a retaliation to the attack. In that context what becomes very important is the survivable forces that were spelt out in the doctrine and that is a triad of forces. You should be able to have land-based capacity, air-delivered capacity and, thirdly, you must have submarine-based capacity." The hurdles n
Iran, in terms of hostility it faces from the US and being a Shia island in a sea of hostile Sunni states, believes that demonstrating nuclear capability gives it a slightly higher level of deterrence n
“Israelis are rational people and I cannot see how Israel's interests are in any way advanced by an attack on Iran,” says India’s former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran
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Egyptians turn up to elect Mubarak’s successor Cairo, May 23 The two-day exercise kicked off this morning amid tight security and is the final phase of a tumultuous transition overseen by the increasingly unpopular ruling military council. The historic presidential election is being contested by candidates with both Islamist and secularist leanings who have promised radically different futures for the country. A total of 13 contenders are in the fray, but the race boils down to five major names. — PTI
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Pak doc gets 33-yr jail for helping CIA trace Osama
Islamabad, May 23 Shakil Afridi was accused of running a CIA-sponsored fake vaccine programme in Abbottabad, where Osama was killed last year on May 2 in a covert US operation. His programme was aimed at obtaining DNA samples from any of Osama's family members residing in the compound. A Pakistani commission investigating the US raid that killed Osama had called for Afridi's trial on charges of high treason. Official sources said Afridi was awarded jail term under the tribal laws, known as Frontier Crimes Regulations . — PTI
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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has got the message at the just concluded NATO Summit in Chicago that it is important to reopen ground lines of communication to Afghanistan, a top US diplomat said.
"He (Zardari) got the message that it was important that the ground lines of communication, which are the shortest way to get supplies in and out of Afghanistan, be opened and opened soon," US Ambassador to NATO, Ivo
Daalder, told reporters at Council on Foreign Relations, a prestigious American think tank.
Millions of Egyptians queued outside polling stations and cast ballots to pick their first post-Mubarak President today, in what marks the culmination of a mass uprising that uprooted an entrenched autocratic ruler and inspired millions across the Arab world.
