US Senator Says Pakistan Is A Partner For Terrorists

[Firdousi]

US Senator Says Pakistan Is A Partner For Terrorists

US Senator Dana Rohrabacher has said that Pakistan is a partner to terrorists rather than a partner to the United States.

He declared the Taliban as a terrorist group which is involved in bloodshed and called on Washington to chase it and target the Taliban fighters.

Meanwhile, a number of analysts have said that the only option to bring peace in Afghanistan and eliminate the terrorist organizations is that Pakistan continues to mount pressure on Pakistan.

"Pakistan is a reliable partner for terrorist groups not for the United States of America. Pakistan has made a name by giving shelter to the killers," the senator said.

Rohrabacher termed Pakistan a country that issues deceptive policies, saying that Pakistan is sheltering those groups which are involved in shedding the blood of thousands of Afghans.


"On May 18, Pakistan, US and China agreed to find a diplomatic way for ending the violence and bringing the Taliban to the talks table. But the agreement was not respected. Some of our agents who had contact with Mansour say that Mansour was not against the peace process. As our minister of interior said, the Taliban were supposed to enter peace process in the future, therefore we believe that the drone attack has badly harmed the peace process," said Sartaj Aziz, advisor to Pakistani PM on Foreign Affairs.

This comes at a time that a video that went viral on social media shows the Taliban at a gathering inside a mosque announcing their allegiance to newly elected Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah. The gathering seems to be small.

There is a perception that Pakistan continues to support terrorism and Taliban will push the country into international isolation and Pakistan does not have an option except to positively respond to the call of the international community and fight terrorism.

"In the past the US in someway underestimated the Pakistani policies on war against insurgents, but now the US seems to be cautious of the policies and want to take measures against these policies," Afghan MP Nadir Shah Bahr said.

[Firdousi]

US won’t tolerate terrorist safe havens in Pakistan: Ex-envoy

Security & Crime
ByLalit K Jha On May 28, 2016 - 12:31
James B. Cunningham, in an interview with the Atlantic Council, hoped that Pakistan, in particular its spy agency ISI, would understand the change in the American approach.

“I hope that this is the beginning of a message that we will not tolerate any more the strategic challenge that is posed by the leadership of the Taliban being in Pakistan and having a safe haven there,” he observed.

It was the beginning of a new phase in the effort to bring the Taliban into a political discussion,” Cunningham said, suggesting ISI officials might have been involved in setting Mansour up.

The official account is that the Obama administration had informed Pakistan of the strike after it took place. In places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, conspiracy rumours would circulate for some time, he added.

According to the former diplomat, the raid would force Pakistan to rethink the wisdom of providing safe heavens to terrorists. “I would hope so. I have seen some commentary from Pakistani observers that this may encourage a rethinking of the policy that the ISI has been pursuing.

“That is what is necessary. That’s what we, the United States, have been arguing for years; that’s what we need to find a way to accomplish. We have a core strategic objective here, which is to bring the conflict to an end.

“In order to do that we need to make clear to the Taliban leaders that they will not prevail by terror and by military means. And we, the international community, need to make clear to the ISI that we are no longer going to tolerate the kind of policy that they have been pursuing,” the former top American diplomat said.

Cunningham argued that to really get to a peace discussion, the Taliban had to come to the conclusion that the option of military force and terror would not get them back to the establishment of the emirate.

The status quo needed to be disrupted and that meant finding a way to impact the safe havens in Pakistan, he argued.

[Firdousi]

U.S Commander Says He Has Enough Air Power To Step Up Afghan Strikes
Friday, 27 May 2016 17:27
Last Updated on Friday, 27 May 2016 19:10
Written by Mir Aqa
usa-27-may-16

The top commander of U.S. air operations in the Middle East said that if the U.S were to step up its air attacks over Afghanistan, he has the planes in place to do it.

According to U.S media reports, Lt. Gen. Charles Brown was quoted as saying in a Pentagon teleconference from is headquarters in Qatar that "it's a task that we can handle with the forces that we have on hand."

The Washington Examiner reported that before this could happen, President Barack Obama would need to order a change in the rules of engagement.

Unlike in Iraq and Syria, where the U.S-led coalition is enabling local fighters with daily airstrikes in support their offensive operations against Islamic State positions, in Afghanistan, U.S commanders are limited to conducting airstrikes that fall into three narrow categories: in self-defense, to attack Daesh or al-Qaeda, or to prevent Afghan forces from being overrun.

According to the article, the Pentagon justified the drone strike against Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour as a defensive strike - because Mansour was deemed an imminent threat to U.S and NATO forces.

The Pentagon reportedly said the death of Mansour removed "an obstacle to peace," but his replacement Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, has reportedly vowed not to take part in peace talks with the Afghan government and threatened more violence.

The Washington Examiner said members of the U.S Congress and military experts are calling for Obama to lift the ban on targeting the Taliban, or as former U.S Central Command chief and CIA Director David Petraeus recently put it, "take the gloves off."

"I hope this strike against the Taliban's top leader will lead the administration to reconsider its policy of prohibiting U.S forces from targeting the Taliban," said Sen. John McCain in a statement issued hours after the announcement of the drone strike against Mansour.

Brown, the three-star general in charge of U.S. Air Force Central Command, stressed that while he has the capability to expand the scope of airstrikes, it's not his call, read the article.

The Pentagon said this week that commander of the U.S forces in Afghanistan Gen. John Nicholson will submit recommendations to Obama as soon as next week about whether to expand the air war in Afghanistan, as well as whether to further delay a planned drawdown of U.S troops.

[Firdousi]

European Union to slap economic sanctions on Pakistan over admission of support to terror groups
May 18, 2016 World 0 Comments

European-Parliament


Brussels (Belgium): Senior European Union officials are alarmed over statements made by Pakistan Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah in which he has admitted that Pakistan is involved with terror groups like the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and the Jaish e Mohammad (JeM).
The minister made these comments in an interview to the BBC’s Urdu Service and they have been extensively reported across Europe and especially in Brussels which recently witnessed horrific terror attacks at the hands of Islamic terrorists.

The European Union has been cracking down on militant groups and the comments made by the law minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province has both shocked officials and leaders

to the point that they have started a “a process to slam economic sanctions on Pakistan ” if the linkage to terror groups as admitted by Rana Sanaullah turn out to be accurate.

The EU has asked its representatives in Pakistan to investigate the comments made by Rana Sanaullah questioning “how can you prosecute a group with whom the state itself has been involved with?”

These comments once verified and confirmed by the EU’s Pakistan representatives will trigger a process by which economic sanctions, including a ban on aviation landing rights, could be imposed on Pakistan.

In what is being seen as “immediate and effective” action by European governments, highly placed sources in Brussels said, “Post the Brussels attacks, everything has changed in Europe. Thirty two persons were killed on March 22 by Islamic militants in Brussels in twin blasts at Zaventem International Airport and another attack at Maelbeek Metro Station – close to several EU institutions “.

In this changed scenario, the EU cannot accept the comments made by the Pakistani

minister, and to ” begin with, it will ban landing rights for Pakistani Airlines to the European Union “.

EU sources who are involved with coordinating the security crackdown and arrests in Belgium, France and Germany told ANI that these comments of state support to proscribed terror groups like the JuD and JeM by a senior Pakistani Minister are ” nothing short of self admission of guilt and need to be taken at face value “.

Sources added, “these are not media reports which we can brush aside, but comments made by an individual, who is perhaps, is involved with these groups and, we need to take them very seriously “.

The European Union is one of Pakistan’s leading trading blocs and in the past has been liberal in it’s outlook towards Pakistan’s support to terror groups.

However, post the Brussels attacks of March 22 in which over 340 persons were injured and 32 killed, the situation has completely changed.

This comment by Rana Sanaullah is the first official comment linking Pakistan to terror groups and within hours of the comment the EU has galvanised itself into action to

start the process of “determination of veracity of these official comments which will trigger economic and aviation sanctions on Pakistan “.

Officials also said that the admission that the Pakistani state was involved with terror groups will bring to sharp focus the legitimacy of Pakistani origin migrants in European countries. They will come in for closer scrutiny during travels and when they apply for naturalisation and visas. (ANI)

[Firdousi]

Wow, I am now really very surprised and happy with this new American approach toward Pakistan. Drone attacks on Baluchistan, no fancy airplanes, harsher policy, threats of more drone attacks,.. even a non-elected American candidate, Trump, has said that if he is elected he will be much more harsh on Pakistan.

Once again this proves me right: the world is isolating Pakistan. Iran, Afghanistan and India are strengthening ties. Putin refused to visit Pakistan few weeks ago just to not upset India, UE wants to impose sanctions on Pakistan. Relationship with USA is deteriorating, GCC unhappy with Pakistan for their unwillingness to join their offensive in Yemen.. well, Pakistan will become North Korea 2.0 very soon, Inshallah.

You brought this upon yourselves, buddies.