Moscow, Russia does not consider Iran an enemy, but opposes the country's development of nuclear arms, a Russian minister has said. Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said Iran was Russia's neighbour, and that Moscow treats its neighbour "carefully", Xinhua reported. However, he stressed that Russia was committed to a non-proliferation regime. "Russia is not interested in the emergence of new nuclear missile threats on the perimeter of its borders. This is a fundamental stance of Russia, and this is a matter of principle for us," Antonov said. Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has warned against a possible military scenario in Iran. He said there was still potential to settle the Iranian nuclear issue through negotiations. "All possibilities for negotiations have not been used yet. It is necessary to reach an agreement and we're dealing with it," Ryabkov said. "Diplomacy is better than a war. Talks are better than bomb strikes," he said. He said a meeting between Iran and six international mediators -- Russia, US, France, Britain, China and Germany -- will likely be held in April, but the date and the place have not been fixed ...
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Islamabad, Pakistan is likely to re-open the NATO supply routes that it had blocked in protest against the November 26, 2011 deadly air raid on its border posts in Mohmand Agency. Pakistan's top civil and military leadership has arrived at a consensus on lifting the almost four-month-long blockade later this month after the Pakistan Parliament approves new terms of engagement with the United States, but under 'tough conditions'. It is, however, unclear what 'tough conditions' Pakistan is considering for unblocking the supply routes. A much-awaited joint session of Parliament is expected to convene on March 17 to debate and approve new rules of engagements with the US. An official told The Express Tribune that the meeting reviewed the recommendations finalised by an all-party, bicameral parliamentary panel. "There was a general consensus among the participants that we now have to reopen the Nato supply routes. For once, we have conveyed our principled position to the US regarding our red lines and we believe that it is very well received in Washington," the official added. Presidential spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting was convened to ...
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Brussels, NATO forces would not end combat operations in Afghanistan until the security transition to local forces completed by the end of 2014, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said. Rasmussen, after a meeting with NATO defence ministers, said Thursday that the coalition was sticking to its previously agreed roadmap, which was declared in November 2010 in Lisbon, to wind up operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Xinhua reported. "That decision and that roadmap still stand. We are all committed to the principle: in together, out together," he said. "Until we reach that point, the role of our forces will gradually change from combat to support, based on security and the realities on the ground," said Rasmussen. "But let me stress: we will conduct combat operations throughout the transition period." ...
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Islamabad, The Pakistan government will decide the new terms of its engagements with NATO and allies in the war on terror at a joint session of parliament during February, a minister has said. A joint session of parliament would be summoned in the first week of February to finalise the new terms of engagements with NATO and allies regarding the war on terror, Geo News quoted Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan as saying Friday. The government would also bring pending legislations in the joint session as a round of consultations with allied parties has already been completed, said the minister outside the Parliament House. On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office denied reports about reopening of the NATO supply routes to Afghanistan that had been closed last November following an air strike by NATO helicopters, in which 24 soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed. Pakistan Wednesday had declined to host US Special Envoy Marc Grossman, touring the region for consultations with the US allies about talks with the Afghan Taliban, until a parliamentary review of bilateral relations was ...
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Islamabad, The withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan should be properly planned and executed to ensure that the law and order situation does not go out of control, a Pakistani think tank has said. Though the main focus of the discussion at a roundtable organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) Tuesday was the situation in Afghanistan, the participants also expressed optimism over the improvement in Pakistan- India relations, Dawn News reported. Participants also discussed the volatile Pakistan-US relations and US relations with Iran. Shaheen Akhtar, senior research analyst at the IRS, said that for long-term stability in Afghanistan, NATO forces would have to plan their withdrawal in a very responsible manner. "It has to be ensured that a power vacuum is not left in Afghanistan, which will give rise to non-state actors in the country," he said. Some of the speakers said Afghanistan had become a battleground for a "proxy war" between many powers and the growing Indian influence could not be ignored by Pakistan. Most of the speakers stressed direct dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the issues between the two countries. George ...
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Kabul, A soldier of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in an insurgent attack Friday, increasing the number of casualties to four since Thursday, an official statement said. "An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today," Online news agency quoted the NATO-led ISAF statement as saying. It, however, did not identify the victim's nationality citing ISAF ...
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Islamabad, The government would take a decision regarding NATO supplies passing through the country on the basis of recommendations of the parliamentary committee on national security, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Addressing journalists at a ceremony to pay tribute to security personnel who were killed in the war against terror, Malik said: "We have left the matter to the parliamentary committee, which is led by Senator Raza Rabbani, and the government will implement its recommendations, whatever these will be." Malik said militants had been defeated in Swat and Malakand areas as a result of the efforts made by security personnel in the war against terror. The defence committee of the cabinet had decided to stop NATO supplies following the attack on two Pakistani checkposts on the Pakistan-Afghan border, Associated Press of Pakistan quoted the minister as saying. As many as 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed Nov 26 when NATO helicopter gunships attacked their checkposts in Mohmand Agency. The killing triggered an outrage in the country and Islamabad decided to cut off NATO supplies. It also boycotted an international conference that focussed on Afghanistan's ...
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Islamabad, Pakistan has rejected the findings of a joint US-NATO inquiry into the November 26 airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, saying the bombardment went on long after it reported its troops were under fire. According to a CNN report, in a letter to the US Congress, Pakistan said its troops came under fire at well-identified border posts and that NATO commanders knew helicopter gunships were firing on Pakistani forces ‘within the first fifteen minutes’ - yet the attack continued for more than another hour. “This attack was the most recent example of the losses Pakistan has suffered fighting alongside the United States to combat terrorism and extremism,” the letter states. “The strike has strained ties between Washington and a key ally in the region, and an apology by the US Department of Defence to the people of Pakistan would not be inappropriate,” the letter added. The inquiry, headed by a US Air Force general Stephen Clark, found that both the American and Pakistani forces were to blame for the deaths, citing poor information and insufficient coordination between forces on the ground, The Nation reports. Clark also said that the Pakistani ...
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Islamabad, Pakistan has rejected an investigation report by the US into last month's NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, a media report said Friday. Geo News reported that Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) rejected the findings of the US-NATO probe. A statement termed the report as biased as well as lacking in key facts. The Nov 26 airstrike on two border checkposts in Mohmand Agency left two dozen soldiers dead, sparking outrage in the country. A probe by the Pentagon has concluded that the NATO attack was unintentional and stressed that "inadequate coordination" between the US and Pakistani security forces was to be blamed for the air strikes. The alliance forces have "acted in self defence", the Pentagon said Thursday. "The investigating officer found that US forces, given what information they had available to them at the time, acted in self defence and with appropriate force after being fired upon," Xinhua quoted a Pentagon statement as saying. ...
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Brussels, The NATO has defended its mission in Libya, saying it saved lives and was strictly in line with the UN mandate. "We took every precaution to minimise the risk to civilians with solid intelligence, a very strict target selection and precision-guided munitions," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Tuesday. "And we repeatedly warned civilians to stay away from military installations and equipment." "Our mission for Libya saved countless lives and we have regularly informed the UN on its conduct in full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973." Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin had Monday called for a probe into the death of civilians killed in NATO air strikes during the military campaign in Libya. His remarks came after The New York Times claimed that up to 70 people were killed in Libya during NATO's eight-month military operation. Lungescu said NATO took claims of civilian casualties very seriously, and was looking at such evidence carefully. However, any such claims were the responsibility of Libya's new government, she said. "There is now a legitimate government in Libya, and the primary responsibility for looking into such claims ...
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Baghdad, The NATO’s training mission in Iraq is on the verge of being closed because the alliance failed to win assurance from the government that its forces would not be liable for persecution. Iraq officials said they had been informed that NATO troops would withdraw by the end of this month after failing to reach a consensus on the issue. A NATO official, however, said no decision has formally been made regarding the withdrawal of troops, The Telegraph reports. NATO’s military advisers were supposed to remain in Iraq until 2013 to train the country’s police and armed forces though the former played no role in combat missions. The United States would withdraw the remaining combat troops at the end of this month because Iraq failed to win parliamentary support for offering them legal immunity. Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is, however, trying to strike a deal with NATO to retain foreign troops in the country to train the country’s air and naval forces in defend against a potential attack. Both sides had earlier spoken about ‘protection privileges’ proposal but failed to finalize the details of the agreement. Analysts have predicted that ...
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Islamabad, The US has reassured Pakistan of an "early conclusion" of the investigation into the NATO air strike on two Pakistan Army border posts which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, the foreign ministry said here. US Ambassador to Islamabad Cameron Munter Friday called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and discussed the current status of bilateral relations between the two countries, Xinhua reported citing a ministry statement. Khar said relations between the two countries must be based on mutual respect. "The recent incidents have led to a re-evaluation of our terms of engagement," she told Munter. "The US ambassador assured the foreign minister of an early conclusion of the investigation into the tragic incident on November 26 and to work together with the government of Pakistan to normalise the relationship at the earliest," the statement said. The NATO strike in Pakistan's Mohmand Agency near the Afghan border caused a rift between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan ordered the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Balochistan province and cut NATO supply lines through its territory to Afghanistan. ...
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Islamabad, At least 30 NATO oil tankers and containers were torched in a rocket attack at a terminal in Pakistan Thursday night, state-run television network PTV reported. There were no reports of any casualties. Unidentified people attacked with rockets the private container terminal at Kharot Abad area near Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, Xinhua said. Firing also followed the rocket attack. More than 35 NATO oil tankers and containers were parked at the terminal when the attack took place, said local media reports. No one was killed or injured in the attack, the reports said. Six fire engines were dispatched to the site after the attack was reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Thousands of NATO supply convoys are stranded in Pakistani territory following the government's decision to block the supply lines via Pakistan in protest against the NATO air strike which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers Nov 26. ...
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Islamabad, The international community must condemn the Nov 26 NATO attacks on Pakistani posts so that such incidents do not take place in future, said a Pakistani minister. NATO airstrikes on two Pakistan Army checkposts in Mohmand Agency Nov 26 left 24 soldiers dead, sparking outrage in the country. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan Sunday urged the international community to condemn the NATO attacks in a befitting manner. Talking to PTV, she said Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices in the war against terror. She added that the international community should condemn the attacks on Pakistani posts to avoid such incidents in future. She asked all the political parties to shun petty differences and work for strengthening democracy and protecting sovereignty and stability of Pakistan, reported Associated Press of ...
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Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said her country and Pakistan should learn lessons from the cross- border NATO attack to jointly tackle terrorism. Clinton also said that Washington is committed to undertaking a full probe into the attack that had killed 28 Pakistani soldiers. Expressing regret over Pakistan’s withdrawal from a US-backed meeting on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, she, alongwith Germany and Afghanistan, called on Islamabad to reconsider. A diplomatic official in Afghanistan has called on the US to “act expeditiously” to avert Pakistan’s boycott of a meeting, The Daily Times reports. “If they made a mistake, they have not only to apologise but they have to do something more than that, compensation or something else because that’s pretty serious,” the diplomatic official said. The European Union’s envoy to Kabul Vygaudas Usackas,said the Bonn talks would focus on the Afghan transition process and NATO''s long-term international engagement, and hopes for integration and ...
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Islamabad, Pakistan has set a Dec 11 deadline for the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase, used to launch drone attacks, following a NATO airstrike that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday in Karachi: "The US will vacate the airbase by Dec 11." Islamabad Saturday asked the US to vacate Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province. NATO helicopter gunships had targeted two border posts in Mohmand Agency Nov 26, killing 24 soldiers and sparking outrage in the country. The US has been using the airbase for nearly a decade for military operations in Afghanistan and drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions, said Xinhua. The prime minister said Pakistan had sent a formal letter to the US to vacate the airbase. Islamabad has stopped the passage of NATO supply through the country to protest the NATO attack. It has also decided not to attend next week's Bonn Conference on the future of Afghanistan. Gilani said Afghan President Hamid Karzai called him Tuesday and asked for a review of the Bonn Conference boycott decision. But "Pakistan cannot put at risk its own security for Afghanistan", he added. "I had told ...
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Islamabad, Pakistan's shock and response over the NATO airstrike that killed 24 soldiers "at what is essentially the result of our double game is overcooked", a daily said Thursday, adding Islamabad may have gotten "slightly carried away" by deciding not to attend the Bonn conference on Afghanistan. An editorial in the Daily Times said that Pakistan is making the most of a bad situation by cutting a formidable figure over the Nov 26 NATO attack on two Pakistan Army checkposts in Mohmand Agency. It said that "officials in Islamabad and the khakis in Rawalpindi are on the same page when it comes to castigating the US for this breach of territorial lines". Islamabad has also decided to boycott next week's Bonn conference that would discuss the future course of action in Afghanistan. The editorial said that anything related to the Afghan situation directly impacts Pakistan and the Bonn conference is vital in this regard. "For Pakistan to back out, while sending a clear message of no nonsense, might be a decision taken in the heat of the moment. Sombre reflection would have been better, as officials in Pakistan should have asked themselves if it is more advantageous to ...
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ISLAMABAD : The Pakistani government on Monday denied press reports alleging that its forces were the first to open fire on Saturday before NATO aircraft bombed their border posts, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. The incident happened on early Saturday morning when NATO helicopters and fighter aircraft crossed the border from Afghanistan and carried out several airstrikes in the Mohmand Agency of Pakistan's tribal areas, killing 24 Pakistani troops and injuring 13 others. NATO and U.S. officials claim they were returning fire after being fired upon from across the border. But Major General Athar Abbas, Director General of the Pakistani military's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), insisted that no one in Pakistan was firing at NATO forces in Afghanistan. "NATO forces should present proof if they were claiming that firing was started from the Pakistani side," he told local television. "No fire was opened from our side and we responded only after the martyrdom of our soldiers." Abbas emphasized that NATO-led forces suffered no casualties and that the multinational alliance cannot claim they were pursuing terrorists because the area where the incident took place had ...
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