Islamabad, Feb 26 (IANS) Pakistan's biggest worry right now is that "India will soon possess the much-vaunted nuclear triad", said a Pakistani daily which observed that Pakistan is nowhere near reaching that level.

An editorial "The NCA meeting" in The News International said that Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions are three-fold: It wants to maintain a large enough stockpile to act as a deterrent against India, it wants a civil nuclear deal with the US so that it can import nuclear fuel and technology and it wants to convince the world that the command-and-control structure in place safeguards against our technology falling into the wrong hands.

Wednesday’s meeting of the National Command Authority tried to make some progress on all three fronts.

"Regarding the deterrent, our biggest worry right now is that India will soon possess the much-vaunted nuclear triad -- the ability to launch nuclear weapons by land, air and sea.

"Since Pakistan is nowhere near reaching that level, the NCA decided to reiterate its call for a Strategic Restraint Regime with India," said the daily.

It added that this would have the effect of cooling down the nuclear arms race, and lead directly to Pakistan’s second ambition of reaching a civil-nuclear deal with the US and countries like France.

"This is why India has adamantly opposed the Strategic Restraint Regime. India wants to maintain its status as the only country yet to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty that has been given a civil-nuclear deal by the US; and should we show our intentions are responsible by creating this regime, India is worried it could lead to a similar deal for us."

It said that to advance Pakistan’s third goal of demonstrating the safety of its nuclear arsenal, the NCA also called for the ratification of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.

"However, even if we ratify the treaty, as most of the world has already done, we will be unlikely to convince the West that our nuclear technology will not fall into the hands of militants."

It went on to say that regular alarmist stories in the international press, accompanied by the memory of our illicit nuclear transfers in the 1990s to the pariah state of North Korea, have combined to ensure that regular demonstrations of the security and safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal go ignored.

"Add to that Indian lobbying against Pakistan and there is no chance of our being accorded a similar status as our neighbour."

Pakistan worried that India will soon have nuclear triad: Daily

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Islamabad, Feb 21 (IANS)

However, integration -- as well as peace and normalisation -- will remain a pipedream unless the visa regime in the subcontinent is liberalised, a Pakistani daily said in its editorial.

"There was no better way of improving relations between Pakistan and India than trade," Dawn online quoted Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale as saying while speaking at a programme in Lahore recently.

"This is quite true, while calls for an integrated and connected South Asia are also imminently sensible. But what are the respective governments doing to encourage trade or even people-to-people contact? Not much apparently," the daily said.

For example, the exercise of getting a visa for the other country by a citizen remains a test of endurance and commitment, it said.

"In Pakistan, citizens can apply for an Indian visa through courier services, which saves a trip to Islamabad. But the process is both lengthy and bureaucratic, with applicants having to secure 'sponsorship’ letters from their Indian hosts as well as attaching a thick file of paperwork."

While in India, those desiring to visit Pakistan have to come to New Delhi to lodge a visa application with the Pakistan High Commission, it said.

If one is lucky enough to get a visa, the modes of transport to cross the border are relatively limited. For instance, the Thar Express -- the train service that links Sindh and Rajasthan and which has been running for 10 years now -- continues to suffer from inadequate infrastructure.

"Both governments can easily remedy this situation by easing visa procedures and making them less complicated, increasing the options for cross-border travel and reopening deputy high commissions in Karachi and Mumbai, respectively."

Once people can freely meet and trade, and work with each other, the animosities of old can give way to a relationship based on trust and good neighbourliness, the daily said.

Bolster regional integration, trade to improve India-Pak ties: Pakistan daily

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A policy paper issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to coincide with the 'Mother Language Day' in Pakistan referred to the multi-ethnic societies in Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as Guatemala and recommended ensuring that "children are taught in a language they understand", Dawn online reported.

In Pakistan, the continued use of Urdu as the language of instruction in government schools, even though it is spoken at home by less than eight percent population, has also contributed to political tensions, it said.

The paper said the post-independence government in the country adopted Urdu as the national language and the language of instruction in schools. This became a source of alienation in a country that was home to six major linguistic groups and 58 minor ones.

The failure to recognise Bengali, spoken by vast majority of population in the erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), was one of the major sources of conflict in post-independence Pakistan, leading to student riots in 1952.

The riots gave birth to the Bengali Language Movement, a precursor to the movement for the secession of East Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh.

The policy paper argued that being taught in a language other than their own can negatively impact children's learning, it said.

Language can serve as a double sword, "while it strengthens an ethnic group's social ties and sense of belonging, it can also become a basis for their marginalisation."

"Education policy must ensure that all learners, including minorities' language speakers, access school in a language they know," Director of Unesco's Global Education Monitoring Report, Aaron Benavot, said.

The paper said that at least six years of instruction in the mother tongue was needed so that gains from teaching in the early years were sustained.

In many countries, large numbers of children are taught and take tests in languages that they do not speak at home, hindering the early acquisition of critically important reading and writing skills.

Their parents may lack literacy skills or familiarity with official languages used in school, which can then reinforce gaps in learning opportunities between minority and majority language groups.

The Unesco recommended that curricula need to address issues of inclusion to enhance the chances of students from marginalised backgrounds to learn effectively.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. (File Photo: Xinhua/PID/IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 20 (IANS) Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on Saturday urged to take parliament into confidence over the Pathankot air base attack probe.

Syed Khursheed Shah, leader of opposition in National Assembly, said: “India is levelling baseless allegations on Pakistan over Pathankot terror attack and the Prime Minister must bring real facts before the nation,” Geo TV reported.

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Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf talking to the media during a press conference in New Delhi on November 17, 2012. (Photo: PP Sarkar/IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 20 (IANS) A Pakistani court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former president Pervaiz Musharraf in a murder case.

A session judge on Saturday issued the warrant and directed authorities to produce Musharraf before court on March 16 in the murder of fundamentlist Ghazi Abdul Rasheed during the seige of the Lal Masjid here in 2007, The News International reported.

The court also dismissed Musharraf's plea for permanent exemption from appearing in the case.

The former president has never appeared before the court during 55 hearings of the case.

The three-day standoff in July 2007 at the Lal Masjid claimed scores of lives, including of students and security personnel.

The chief cleric's brother, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed was among those killed in the operation.

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Pathankot: Soilders inside the Pathankot Air Force base that was attacked by militants; on Jan 5, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 20 (IANS) A team of Pakistani investigators is likely to visit India next month for collecting evidence relating to alleged involvement of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists in the Pathankot airbase attack, the media reported on Saturday.

“The investigation team’s visit is expected,” a senior diplomat told Dawn on Friday, adding that dates for the visit were yet to be finalised.

The registration of an FIR by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab police on Friday has, however, paved the way for the visit of the six-member investigation team constituted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif weeks after the attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force on January 2 that resulted in the death of 14 people - six attackers, seven security personnel and one civilian.

The investigation team will visit the site of the attack and collect evidence related to Indian claim that the terrorist strike was planned in Pakistan and executed by a group of four who had crossed the border into Pathankot.

The investigators will also meet officials of India’s National Investigating Agency investigating the attack.

India, a diplomatic source said, was ready to receive the Pakistani team and facilitate it in investigations.

The decision regarding cooperation with Pakistan was taken at a meeting in Delhi presided over by Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in which issues relating to the visit of the Pakistani team were discussed.

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Ahmedabad, Feb 19 (IANS) Pakistan's marine security agency captured at least seven Indian fishing boats and 40 fishermen off Gujarat's Jakhau port in the Arabian Sea.

National Fish Workers' Forum secretary Manish Lodhari said of the seven boats captured late on Thursday night, six are from the Okha port and one from Porbandar. He apprehended that many more boats might have been captured than reported so far.

Pakistan marines had captured two Indian fishing boats and 12 fishermen on January 7, half a dozen boats and over 50 fishermen on January 25, 10 boats and 68 fishermen on December 20 and over a dozen boats and 60 fishermen in October last.

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Pathankot: Soilders inside the Pathankot Air Force base that was attacked by militants; on Jan 5, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 19 (IANS) A Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan police on Friday registered a First-Information Report (FIR) against the alleged attackers of the Pathankot airbase in India and their abettors.

FIR number 06/2016 was registered in the CTD police station Gujranwala in Punjab province, a CTD spokesman said.

A formal investigation was launched following the registration of the FIR, he said, adding that a joint investigation team will probe the attack and those involved will be brought to trial in accordance with law, Dawn online reported.

According to the FIR, Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval informed authorities that the four attackers had come from Pakistan and had "probably crossed the border adjacent to the Pathankot general area".

The NSA is cited as saying that while in India, they made phone calls to cell phones and belonged to a proscribed organisation.

The attack occurred on January 2, when a heavily armed group attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. A total of 14 people were killed - six attackers, seven security personnel and one civilian.

The gun battle lasted for 17 hours.

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Islamabad, Feb 19 (IANS)

An editorial "Indian objections to F-16 sale" in the Dawn on Friday said that the sale of F-16 aircraft has appeared to annoy India more than it helps Pakistan's overall counter-insurgency efforts. It should not.

"But the very fact that it does - that New Delhi appears to feel it necessary to protest the American sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan - demonstrates the extent to which the Pakistan-India relationship needs to be protected from reactionaries in India," it said.

The daily said it may be true that the use of F-16s is not central or fundamental to the Pakistani counter-insurgency effort in Fata. "But neither are the additional aircraft vital for Pakistan's overall deterrence efforts against India."

"What is troubling though is that Indian authorities appear to insist that the Pakistan-US relationship has some automatic implications for the Pakistan-India context. It does not.

"Eight new aircraft does not change the strategic - or operational balance - any more than a similar addition of similar aircraft by India would."

It noted that much as Pakistan - and possibly India - is trying to restart dialogue between the two countries, it appears that the old approach continues to dominate.

"The Pakistani state's deterrence against armed conflict with India has neither been shaped nor determined by US arms transfers.

"Much as Pakistan achieved deterrence capability against India while US sanctions were in effect against Pakistan, the same logic applies today: US transfers to Pakistan will not change the latter's fundamental ability to protect itself against Indian hegemony."

The daily went on to say that perhaps what Indian authorities ought to consider is another reality: can Pakistan really ever defeat terror - the kinds that threaten the Pakistani state and also regional powers - if it does not have all the necessary tools at its disposal?

"India wants to not only dictate to Pakistan what the latter's national security interests ought to be but also the manner in which they ought to be fought - and the resources with which they should be fought.

"Pakistan has every right to the F-16s and doubly so when it comes to the possibility of using them to combat perhaps the foremost threat to regional stability."

It added: "What Indian officials really ought to be directing their energies to is achieving an immediate resumption of the bilateral dialogue. Pakistan and India deserve better than the old approach of endless complaints and no forward movement."

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Lahore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, at Lahore, Pakistan on Dec 25, 2015. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Islamabad, Feb 19 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf is likely to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Washington next month on the sidelines of a nuclear summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, a media report said on Friday.

Sharif and Modi have both accepted President Obama’s invitation to attend a nuclear summit he is hosting in Washington on March 31 and April 1, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

“The chances are strong, very strong,” said a senior official.

“But you know the history of India-Pakistan talks, you cannot be certain about an event until it has happened,” the official added.

It will be the first time that both Indian and Pakistani premiers will be attending the nuclear security summit, which President Obama initiated in 2010.

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New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) India on Thursday termed the US supply of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan as "unfortunate" and said it disagreed with the rationale that the fighter jets will be used to fight terrorism.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, however, said that ties with the US were not "single-issue relationship".

Answering questions from media persons here, Swarup said India’s concerns on the issue were frankly conveyed by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar to the US Ambassador Richard Verma.

"Obviously, this decision of the US is very unfortunate and it will certainly convey a negative sentiment and I do not see that you know make this a single point agenda with the US.

"We have said that we are concerned and we do not agree with their rationale. They are saying that the F-16s will be used to fight terrorism.. We do not agree with this rationale," he said.

The Pentagon had said on Tuesday that the supply of additional F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan had taken into account the regional security situation. It had also said that the US looked at its relationships with Pakistan and India as separate and the capability will help Islamabad in its counter-terrorism effort.

India had last week summoned the US ambassador to lodge its strong protest against the move by the Obama administration to sell eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft worth $699 million to Pakistan in the face of US lawmakers' opposition to the deal over Islamabad's alleged support for terrorist groups.

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Islamabad, Feb 18 (IANS) Within days of Pakistan becoming the first Muslim country to give Hindus the right to register their marriage, a lawmaker in the national assembly has sought amendment in the Hindu Marriage Bill.

The bill was passed on Monday by lawmakers in Sindh province -- home to the majority of Pakistan's three million Hindus.

Pakistan Muslim League-N member Ramesh Kumar Vankwami on Wednesday won the support of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights for amending the bill already cleared by a National Assembly committee.

Vankwami had been demanding the removal of a clause in the draft of Hindu Marriage Bill that stated that a marriage would be dissolved if any of the spouses converted to another religion.

"“The clause can be misused to forcefully convert married Hindu women the same way young girls have been kidnapped and forced to convert to other religions", ” he pleaded with the committee.

Clause 12 of the bill hit the basic human rights of the Hindus living in Pakistan, he said.

"Senator Farhatullah Babar supported annulling "the repressive" clause. “It amounts to promoting forced conversions not only of young unmarried girls but also of married Hindu women. It is a grave human rights violation of the Hindus",” said Babar.

"Vankwami's argument was that Hindu men and women cannot marry a co-religionist or outside their religion until they are 18. “That is the age the custodianship of their parents ends",” he said.

The senate committee members pointed out that other religious communities had no fixed minimum age for marriage, leaving it to their reaching adulthood.

"“We better leave that matter to the discretion of the members of the Hindu community",” committee chairperson Nasreen Jalil said.

The Hindu Marriage Bill requires married couples to obtain a marriage registration certificate. A couple can be fined for not doing so under the draft law which, when passed, will apply retroactively to existing marriages.

The bill comes at a time of increased violence against Pakistan's minorities. Some Hindus have fled to India in recent years citing discrimination and religious persecution.

Pakistan was created in 1947 after India was partitioned at the end of the British rule. Today, Hindus are said to make up more than two percent of Pakistan's population of 182.1 million.

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Islamabad, Feb 18 (IANS)

Both the sides are in contact on the issue, but no date has yet been fixed, Foreign Office Spokesperson Muhammad Nafees Zakria said here.

On January 14, India and Pakistan agreed to reschedule talks between their foreign secretaries while an investigation into a deadly attack on a military base in Pathankot was being carried out.

India has demanded action against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad that it suspects of carrying out the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base.

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Islamabad, Feb 18 (IANS) The status of minorities in Pakistan is a particularly precarious one, a Pakistani daily said Thursday, observing that with the passage of a bill in Sindh province, the Hindu community can finally rely on institutional protection from the violence and deprivation they have suffered for decades.

An editorial "Minority rights" in the Daily Times on Thursday said that in a landmark move, Sindh has become the first province to give those belonging to the Hindu minority the right to formally register their marriages.

As per the law passed by the Sindh Assembly, parties to the marriage have to be 18 or above, should be able to give consent, and have at least two witnesses present. The law will be applied retrospectively.

"Married couples have to register themselves, or risk paying a fine. Sikhs and Zoroastrians will also be able to register their marriages under this law."

The daily said that the passage of the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016 is a significant boon for the beleaguered Hindu community of Sindh and Pakistan at large.

"It is shocking to consider that it took almost 70 years after Pakistan came into being for such a bill to be passed. After the 18th Amendment, issues pertaining to minority rights became a provincial subject but Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Balochistan have passed legislation putting the matter back in the basket of the federal government, whereas Punjab still has to pass any bill on the matter," it added.

The editorial went on to say that it is no revelation "the status of minorities in Pakistan is a particularly precarious one".

"The fact that there was no legal recognition of Hindu marriages for so many years reflects the fact that discrimination suffered by the minorities was not simply societal but also institutional.

"Hindu women are targets of rape and abduction, which frequently result in forced conversions of said women. They are then forced to marry their rapists, even if they are previously married. Previously, since no law recognised their previous marriage, they could not prove their married status and a discriminatory justice system that already disadvantages minorities almost always took the side of the Muslim perpetrators."

The daily pointed out that due to the absence of such a law Hindu women, again, have also had to face more legal hurdles in matters related to inheritance, as widows could not legally prove their claims on their deceased husbands’ property.

"It is hoped that with the passage of this bill, the Hindu community can finally rely on institutional protection from the violence and deprivation suffered by them for decades.

"As far as the federal government is concerned, a draft bill is being considered. However, a clause of that bill is causing controversy as it holds that the marriage will be voided if one of the spouses converts. This clause is highly unnecessary and leaves the door open for continued abduction and forced conversion. Leaving it in will void the purpose of formalising Hindu marriages. Hence this clause must be removed before the bill is passed."

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Islamabad, Feb 17 (IANS) No lessons appear to have been learnt from the investigations into the 2008 Mumbai attacks, an influential Pakistani daily said Thursday, nonetheless pinning hopes on Pakistan-India talks.

An editorial "India-Pakistan talks" in the Dawn on Wednesday said that the start of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) has now been delayed by more than a month, but comments by the Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale suggest that officials from both sides are trying to create the right environment for this to begin.

"While not mentioning any preconditions for the start of the CBD, Bambawale did reveal that the foreign secretaries and national security advisers of Pakistan and India are trying to determine when the talks can begin, a timeline presumably linked to progress on the investigations into the Pathankot air base attack," said the daily.

It wondered at what stage have the investigations reached? "After early and seemingly rapid movement, the trail appears to have gone cold - or at least news of further progress has been missing."

The daily observed that the relative restraint that both sides showed in the face of immediate accusations and recriminations over the Pathankot attack will only matter if it can lead to meaningful cooperation.

"There are still some basic questions about the Pathankot attack that have not been definitively answered. Who were the attackers? Did they cross the international border? Who were the architects and planners of the attack?

"Each of those questions needs only a factual response, but a legal one so that justice can be pursued on both sides of the border."

It went on to say that neither India nor Pakistan seems keen to publicly put all speculation to rest immediately.

"Perhaps behind the scenes there are disagreements over what amounts to actionable intelligence and which parts of the public allegations are speculative, but that would suggest that politics is interfering with forensic investigation.

"Given the resources of the two countries and the importance of what took place in Pathankot in early January, a month and a half ought to have been enough for at least the basic facts to be mutually established and shared with the public in both India and Pakistan.

"Worryingly, it does not appear that lessons have been learned from the investigations into the Mumbai attacks of 2008."

It suggested that perhaps what is needed is a further dose of direct prime ministerial intervention.

"After all, had it not been for the boldness of prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi, the CBD was unlikely to have materialised."

The editorial went on to say that in making the decision to resume full-fledged talks, the two prime ministers rightly realised that the India-Pakistan relationship cannot be reduced to a single issue for either side.

"Discussing terrorism to the exclusion of all other issues was unlikely to bring peace, a fact that (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi eventually realised. Similarly, notwithstanding the centrality of the Kashmir dispute, the Pakistani attempt to cast terrorism as a side issue was never going to succeed.

"The Pathankot attack has not undone the logic of the CBD; far from it, the attack has reinforced the need for India and Pakistan to engage each other."

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Islamabad, Feb 17 (IANS) A bomb hoax at the Karachi University caused panic on Wednesday, leading to its evacuation, Dawn reported. Police found no bomb or explosive.

The police came to know that three bombs were placed in the campus premises after which the bomb disposal squad was called, Superintendent of Police Gulshan Farhad Ahmad said.

After the attack on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bacha Khan University on January 13, educational institutions in Pakistan have been on high alert.

The university has more than 27,000 students and over 4,000 teaching and non-teaching staff.

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Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS) Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday said he never said that there was no presence of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, also known as Daesh, in Pakistan.

He clarified that he said decision-makers of Daesh have no presence in the country, Geo Tv reported.

The interior minister said there are 45 different terrorist organisations operating in Pakistan.

He added that it is the same people from these terrorist organisations that break away and take on the name of Daesh.

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Pathankot: Soldiers inside the Pathankot Air Force base that was attacked by militants; on Jan 5, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS) Pakistan would approach India to allow a special investigation team to visit Pathankot to gather relevant information about the terrorist attack at an airbase in the Punjab town, Radio Pakistan reported.

Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday made the remarks after Pakistan earlier offered to send an SIT to probe the Pathankot attack that left seven security personnel killed.

Indian security personnel also killed six militants in the January 2 attack on the airbase, which is merely 50 km from Pakistani border.

The foreign office would formally contact India to seek permission for the visit of the team as answers to many questions and links can be identified there, he said.

Nisar said the investigation team has held many meetings and its work was proceeding.

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Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS)

A military court passed the sentence over the weekend in Kohat city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. He has been shifted to the Peshawar Central Prison and has a right to appeal, Dawn reported on Tuesday.

The convict, 31 and a teacher at a Mumbai management college, reportedly confessed to illegally entering Pakistan from Afgha­nistan for espionage.

Dawn quoted unnamed officials as saying that Ansari had seven Facebook accounts as well as around 30 email IDs. He was reportedly found to be in possession of "sensitive documents".

Last month, the Pakistan defence ministry informed the Peshawar High Court that Ansari was in army custody and would face court martial.

After that, a two-member bench on January 13 disposed off a habeas corpus petition filed by Fauzia Ansari, the Indian's mother, against his alleged illegal detention.

Ansari was arrested in Kohat in November 2012. Until last month, his whereabouts remained unknown.

Ansari's mother claimed he was in touch with some Pakistani friends who had suggested to him to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan without visa.

She claimed he had become friends with a Pakistani woman through social media and went to Pakistan to meet her.

Ansari's lawyer earlier sent an application to the Pakistan Supreme Court's Human Rights Cell, which forwarded the case to the Commi­ssion of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.

The Commission had on April 10, 2014 directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home Department to set up a joint investigation team to trace Ansari.

It also told the police to register an FIR about his disappearance.

Indian Lover Sentenced in Pakistan for Espionage

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New Delhi: JNU students stage a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Feb 16, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS) The "new, ugly face of Modi's India" can be seen in the Jawaharlal Nehru University protest row, said a Pakistani daily which urged JNU students, India's civil society and opposition parties to "fight back".

An editorial "JNU protests" in The News International on Tuesday said: "The new, ugly face of Modis India can be seen in the reaction to the row over protests at the Jawaharlal Nehru University."

The fracas started when students at the university held a protest to mark the third anniversary of the execution of Afzal Guru, convicted of an attack on the Indian Parliament House.

"...the protestors were immediately tarred as being pro-Pakistani, supporters of terrorists and anti-India."

The daily said that in a "stunning suppression of dissent, police have even arrested the head of the JNU students union for participating in the protest".

"Leaders of Congress, including Rahul Gandhi, are being similarly smeared. Perhaps the worst reaction came from (Indian) Home Minister Rajnath Singh who accused Pakistans Hafiz Saeed of being behind the protest. It now appears he came to this ludicrous conclusion based on a tweet by a fake Hafiz Saeed account."

"Instead of taking back his remarks, Singh is now doubling down and asking his critics to prove a negative by claiming they cant show Hafiz Saeed wasnt behind the protest. This is the reality when an ultra-nationalist like Modi comes to power. It is up to dissenters to prove their loyalty and show they are not agents of foreign forces," it added.

The editorial went on to say that by falling over a fake tweet, the Indian government has only damaged its own credibility.

"...this is about more than just Pakistan. The BJP government has shown it has no respect for Indias secularist traditions. The official narrative is that anyone who doubts the course of justice was properly followed in the Afzal case can now be jailed for voicing that opinion. This narrative...makes a mockery of the concept of academic freedom.

"We have already been through beef bans and pots of ink being thrown by Modis opinions. Now they are coming for the academia. The students at JNU, and Indias civil society and opposition parties will have to fight back."

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Islamabad, Feb 16 (IANS) A member from Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) was elected as the first-ever mayor of capital city Islamabad, the media reported on Tuesday.

The elections for electing a mayor were held at the Jinnah Convention Centre on Monday between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. Polling took place through a secret ballot, an Election Commission of Pakistan official said.

According to results, Sheikh Ansar Aziz on Monday managed to secure 49 votes out of a total 77, while the opposing candidate from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) secured 26 votes.

Aziz told The Nation daily that his top priority as mayor of Islamabad will be the development of rural and backward areas.

"The urban Islamabad does not need any immediate upgrade. My priority is to provide facilities to its outskirts," said Aziz, who is an architect by profession.

"I am determined to revolutionise rural settlements."

PML-Ns other nominees, Chaudhry Riffat Javed, Syed Zeeshan Naqvi and Azam Khan, were elected as deputy mayors.

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Pathankot: Soilders inside the Pathankot Air Force base that was attacked by militants; on Jan 5, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 15 (IANS) Foreign secretary level talks between Pakistan and India are not conditional to Punjab's Pathankot airbase attack probe, Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawaly said on Monday.

The Indian envoy said India and Pakistan are in contact to hold foreign secretary level talks in the near future, Dawn online reported.

"I can not give any particular date for the secretary level talks but foreign secretaries from both countries are in constant contact," said Bambawaly.

After a series of high-level contacts starting with an ice-breaking meeting in Paris between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his counterpart Narendra Modi and climaxing with the latter's surprise trip to Lahore, Pakistan and India had agreed in December to resume the bilateral dialogue after a hiatus of two years.

The resumed dialogue was named Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and it was agreed that the foreign secretaries of the two countries would meet on January 15 to decide about the timetable and modalities of the process.

In the attack on the airbase on January 2, India lost seven security personnel and blamed the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for it.

It linked the resumption of the foreign secretaries’ meeting to action by Pakistan against JeM.

Later, in a high-level meeting presided over by Sharif and attended by army chief General Raheel Sharif, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan's commitment to cooperate with India on the Pathankot incident.

Sharif had said the government wants to send a team of special investigators to the airbase for further investigation, and to probe any possible involvement of Pakistan based individuals.

A special investigation team set up by Pakistan to probe the assault found no evidence implicating the JeM leader, Pakistani security officials said last week.

The attack was claimed by separatist group United Jihad Council, an alliance of Kashmiri militants.

The airbase is a mere 50 km from the Pakistani border, and is a major forward operational airbase of the Indian Air Force.

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Islamabad, Feb 15 (IANS) India's response to the sale of F-16 fighter aircraft by the US "does not make sense", said a Pakistani daily on Monday.

An editorial "An end to cordiality" in The Nation called it "a bizarre move" and said that India has reacted strongly against the sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan, and protested by summoning the US Ambassador and expressing its disappointment.

"Indias response to this sale does not make sense considering the accusations that are hurled over from across the border do not feature air strikes in any capacity.

"The much-larger neighbours defence capabilities are much better than those on this side. The fact that the F-16s will be sold to Pakistan irks India primarily because it feels that any show of solidarity with Pakistan will undermine the assertions of cross-border terrorism," said the daily.

It observed that both countries "going out of their way to impede each other is only proof that the bid to improve ties is not genuine".

"India and Pakistan have seemingly forsaken the path to reconciliation; Pakistan must have understood that its inability to charge Masood Azhar would be seen as an affront while India knows that finding fault with every deal Pakistan makes is not endearing in the slightest," it added.

The daily went on to say that the US has responded indirectly by questioning whether the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan is secure.

"The timing of this statement coming directly after Indias rancour can only mean that this is an attempt at appeasement. Contradictory statements on the part of the US have become the norm in the case of Pakistan and India.

"The sale of the F-16s is a show of belief in Pakistans attempt in defeating terrorism in the country. However, the US also knows that Pakistan wants to be included in the Nuclear Suppliers Group; in part because of the waiver granted to India. Indias membership would make it the only country in the group to have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Chiding Pakistan over the security of its nuclear weapons is a reminder that an entry into the NSG is a distant reality," it said.

The editorial said that the attitude on display from the Indian side is a clear indication of how things will be going forward.

"The investigation following Pathankot was a catch-22 situation for Pakistan; investigate the way India wanted, without allowing complete access to Pakistani investigators which would never bring up enough evidence to get a conviction in a Pakistani court, or convict Masood Azhar and talk to India on the backfoot."

It added that no amount of careful diplomacy can be used to change the relationship until Pathonkot is forgotten or the perpetrators are brought forward; until then Pakistan can expect more protests of this kind from India.

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Islamabad, Feb 14 (IANS) A clause in the draft Hindu marriage bill, which states that a marriage will be annulled if either spouse converts to another religion, has triggered vehement contest between its opponents and supporters in Pakistan.

Seeking an end to the controversy, Senator Nasreen Jalil, chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, has called a meeting of the panel to discuss the matter, Dawn online reported.

The draft legislation has been passed by the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

Senator Jalil said: "We would like to discuss the matter. If there is a consensus, the committee will forward its recommendations to the speaker of the National Assembly to get the clause deleted."

At its meeting on February 8, the National Assembly Standing Committee witnessed serious opposition from Mohammad Khan Sheerani, the Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), to the clause.

But Shugufta Jumani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Ali Mohammad of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) clearly said if any of the spouses embraced Islam, the marriage should be terminated.

Clause 12(iii) says a marriage would be annulled if either spouse converts to another religion.

The patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, said the matter was related to the basic human rights of Hindus in Pakistan.

“There are fears the clause will be misused for forced conversions of married women the same way young girls are being subjected to forced conversions," he said.

He referred to the kidnapping of teenage Hindu girls who were then presented them in courts with a certificate that she had married after converting to Islam.

PPP Senator Taj Haider opposed the idea in the law.

"I do not understand how the marriage will be annulled if any of the partners converts to Islam," Haider said, adding the clause will also discourage cross-marriages.

Civil society activist Kishan Sharma, who is also the chairman of REAT Network, an independent civil society organisation, said this clause was added by the CII and it was not a part of the original draft.

“The key concern is that only one option of dissolution of marriage has been included in the law and that too where the partners might be willing to live together despite different faiths."

“As societies change, attitudes of individuals also change and even now we see youths belonging to Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities deciding their fate to live together," Sharma said.

"But stopping this change through laws will only add to discontent and frustration in society," he said.

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Islamabad, Feb 13 (IANS) Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain has urged people of the country not to observe Valentine’s Day, saying that it was not a part of Muslim tradition but of the West, the media reported on Saturday.

“Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided,” Hussain said on Friday while addressing an event.

He said the drawbacks of western culture had adversely affected one of our neighbouring countries.

On Thursday, local council bodies in Peshawar and Kohat also banned Valentine's Day celebrations on Sunday.

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By Sushil Kumar

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) Expecting that the world would take a "serious note" of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Headley's revelations on the devastating 26/11 Mumbai attack that claimed 166 lives, security and legal experts believe they "conclusively established Pakistan's role in terror attacks on India". They, however, believed that there would be "a little impact" on Pakistan of what Headley tells a court in Mumbai via video conferencing from a jail in the US.

"As for whether these revelations would have any impact in the larger context of the world then I would say yes. Let the whole world know about it so that we (India) can have more support of the world community," former Indian Army chief General Ved Malik told IANS on the phone from Panchkula in Punjab, where he has settled down after retirement.

"We know that we have to fight our battle but we need to have international support as it also matters," he added.

Headley, a Pakistani-American, in his deposition before Special TADA Court Judge G.A. Sanap, has made startling revelations, among others that the Pakistani terrorists who attacked several buildings and establishments in Mumbai in November 2008 were recruited and trained by the Pakistani Army and spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

He has also listed a series of potential targets like Mumbai's Siddhi Vinayak temple and the naval air station, as also the National Defence College here.

At the same time, Gen. Malik said Pakistan would remain in denial in spite of Headly's revelations.

"It's not going to take us anywhere as far as the question whether Pakistan would actually take any action against those responsible for Mumbai attacks as they have been in denial and would continue with the same stand," he said.

According to Rear Admiral Raja Menon (retd), Headley's revelations "are substantive" but Pakistan "will continue denying that it was ever involved in terror acts either in India or elsewhere in the world".

"They would say that Headley is saying what he was required to say as he is jail. But this does not take away the fact that the (Pakistani) state is involved in terror acts," he added.

Another security expert, Brigadier Arun Sahgal, said Headley's testimony "carries a greater credibility and to say that he would say what he is required to say is wrong as he is not in an Indian jail".

India must turn the revelations "into a major political campaign all across the world and expose Pakistan further".

Senior Supreme Court lawyer K.T.S. Tulsi described Headley's revelations as "an exculpatory statement which has higher credibility in a court of law".

"This deposition is undeniable, and the world has to come together and exert more pressure on Pakistan to stop this practice of terror," Tulsi told IANS.

He, however, did not expect much from Pakistan after Headley's disclosure, saying for the country, it would be a "business as usual".

"I don't think anything new will happen or Pakistan will do something new in the case that India has presented before it. It's going to be a business as usual with Pakistan," Tulsi maintained.

Security analyst Brigadier S.K.Chatterji (retd) echoed these views.

"David Headley's deposition corroborates the Indian point of view that Pakistan has been indulging in terror acts against India," Chatterji told IANS.

"There is nothing new in the statement given by Headley. Pakistan has been known to be a terror state," he said, adding: "It just reinforces our case against Pakistan."

(Sushil Kumar could be contacted at sushil.k@ians.in)

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Washington, Feb 13 (IANS) The Obama administration has approved the sale of eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft to Pakistan worth $699 million in the face of US lawmakers' opposition to the deal over Islamabad's alleged support for terrorist groups

The US State Department has approved the sale, the Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said Friday as it notified US Congress of the possible sale.

"We support the proposed sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan, which we view as the right platform in support of Pakistan's counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations," a US government official cited by DefenseNews said.

"These operations reduce the ability of militants to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven for terrorism and a base of support for the insurgency in Afghanistan, which is in the national interests of both Pakistan and the United States, and in the interest of the region more broadly."

The official, DefenseNews said, confirmed that there had been Congressional objections to the sale, but said that contrary to recent "erroneous reports", "concerns were raised in regard to financing the sale, not the transfer itself."

According to the DSCA's statement, the proposed sale will "facilitate operations in all-weather, non-daylight environments, provide a self-defense/area suppression capability, and enhance Pakistan's ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations."

According to the DSCA, Pakistan is not expected to have difficulty absorbing these additional aircraft into its air force. The sale is also meant to increase the number of aircraft available to the Pakistan Air Force to sustain operations, meet monthly training requirements and support transition training for pilots new to the Block-52.

The pending sale to Pakistan includes: eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft - two C and six D and models with the F100-PW-229 increased performance engine; 14 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; eight AN/APG-68(V)9 radars; and eight ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suit.

The approval of the sale came days after Senate Foreign Relations committee Chairman Bob Corker wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry objecting to subsidised sale of up to eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

Citing Islamabad's relationship with the Haqqani network, an extremist group that has a history of destabilizing Afghanistan, Corker in a Feb. 9 letter to Kerry notified the Obama administration of his intention to block the F-16 deal.

"After years of pressuring the Pakistanis on this point, the Haqqani terrorists still enjoy freedom of movement, and possibly even support from the Pakistani government," he wrote.

"This is highly problematic given the Haqqani's clear involvement in killing the very Afghan army and police we have worked for years to train," Corker added.

Asked about Corker's charges, US State Department spokesperson Mark Toner Thursday suggested "US security assistance to Pakistan actually contributes to their counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations."

Corker, following a recent trip to Afghanistan, said he would shelve the funding needed to finance the deal. However, he offered to lift his hold on the sale of the warplanes itself.

"If they wish to purchase this military equipment, they will do so without a subsidy from the American taxpayer," Corker was quoted as saying in the letter by Foreign Policy magazine.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

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Mumbai, Feb 13 (IANS) Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Headley told Special TADA Court Judge G.A. Sanap that post-26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, he had surveyed sensitive military establishments in Pune, here on Saturday.

When asked by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam what military establishments he referred to, Headley readily said it was the (Indian Army's) Southern Command Headquarters.

"The intentions here were similar to the nuclear establishments (BARC). The ISI wanted to recruit military officers and get 'classified information' from them," Headley told during his deposition on the sixth day.

He surveyed and video graphed the Southern Command HQ Building between March 16-17, 2009, preceded by recce of Chabad Houses in Goa on March 15 and earlier Pushkar between March 11-13 that year - nearly four months after the terror attacks were executed in Mumbai on November 26-28, 2008.

The Pune assignment was carried out at the behest of Major Iqbal of the ISI, to whom the videos were later handed over.

Headley has been giving his deposition from a jail in the US at an undisclosed location via video-conferencing continuously since last Monday, barring February 10 when it was adjourned owing to certain technical uplinking issues on the US side.

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Islamabad, Feb 12 (IANS) It may very well be plausible that officials from within the ISI facilitated the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, a Pakistani daily said and noted that Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley's testimony has really not revealed as much as the Indian government would have been hoping.

An editorial "Revelations" in the Nation on Friday said that in an video testimony to an Indian court Headley corroborated the Indian version of speculation surrounding the 2008 Mumbai attacks because, according to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) facilitator/terrorist, the ISI orchestrated the whole attack, handling each LeT member from this side of the border.

It said that the testimony should not be accepted as fact immediately, however, for a number of reasons.

"Primarily, Headleys intentions will always be subject for debate, because here is a man who first conspired against the Indian state and its people, supposedly at the behest of the ISI if his version is to be believed, and now speaks from a US prison after being granted amnesty by India for his part in the attack in exchange for information."

"The Headley case perfectly captures the Pakistan-India relationship in the recent past. The Indian government blames ISI while the Pakistani side points fingers at RAW in its turn," said the daily.

It said that the US would have been perfectly aware of the testimony Headley would give and "the uproar it would result in on the Indian side of the border, it let it go through which is essentially accusing Pakistan of fostering terror on home soil while simultaneously congratulating Pakistani efforts on eradicating terror in the country in a separate statement in the same day".

In his latest interview, Headley has really not revealed as much as the Indian government would have been hoping, the daily said, adding: "Apart from pinning Ishrat Jahan as an alleged LeT operative, Headleys assertions are a repeat of what he stated to the Indian National Investigation Agency in 2012."

"Hafiz Saeed may indeed have had a large role to play in the attack, and given that LeT is a product of our own misguided policy of strategic depth, it may very well be altogether plausible that officials from within the ISI facilitated the 2008 attack," the Nation said.

"But this is a far cry from the institutional and governmental support that India claims was behind the attack."

The Mumbai terror strike took place at multiple locations, leaving 166 people dead and over 300 injured on November 26-28, 2008.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. (File Photo: Xinhua/PID/IANS)

New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Following Pakistani-American terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Healdey' deposition in which he revealed Pakistan's role in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, India on Friday said it was for Pakistan to expose the conspiracy and bring the perpetrators to justice.

David Headley's testimony is in relation to the Mumbai terrorist attack and the testimony is self-explanatory, external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said in reply to a question at a media briefing here.

We have always maintained that it is up to Pakistan to investigate and expose fully the conspiracy in Pakistan behind the Mumbai terrorist attack and to bring all concerned to justice, he said.

Headley's deposition once again confirms this if any confirmation was needed after Ajmal Kasab's confirmation, Swarup said.

As far as we are concerned this is a sworn testimony that he is giving that is admissible in a court of law and we will go by what he has to say, Swarup said.

Ten terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the horrifying November 2008 attack that left 166 people dead and hundreds injured.

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Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf talking to the media during a press conference in New Delhi on November 17, 2012. (Photo: PP Sarkar/IANS)

Islamabad, Feb 11 (IANS) Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf was on Thursday taken to a Karachi hospital after he fainted and his condition turned critical, media reports said.

Musharraf was at his home with family when he fainted. He was rushed to the P.N.S. Shifa Hospital in Karachi, Dunya News reported.

Musharraf, 72, has had health issues earlier too, the report said. In 2014, he was taken to a hospital for a heart condition the day he was due to appear in a court.

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Islamabad, Feb 10 (IANS)

An editorial "Media under siege" in the Daily Times said that an attack on City 42 television channels office in Lahore by unidentified armed men has "further panicked journalists, who are already living under the shadow of fear due to constant threats from the terrorists".

So far the police are clueless about the perpetrators of the attack.

"In the wake of similar attacks on media offices and personnel in Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi, this emerging onslaught on the media is becoming more common, with the obvious aim of further stifling its freedom.

"It seems part of a broader agenda to put the mainstream media under siege. The journalist community and political parties leaders have condemned the attack and demanded the arrest of the culprits as soon as possible," the daily said.

The editorial observed that the "attack prompted the lawmakers of the Punjab Assembly to move a joint resolution while the journalist community staged a protest demonstration to press for their demands to be provided security".

Noting that the profession of journalism has always been a challenging job in Pakistan, the daily said: "Nowadays, media houses are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. It is the states responsibility to provide protection to journalists inside and outside their workplaces."

It went on to say that Pakistan has "already become notorious for increasing incidents of killings of journalists and is considered one of the most dangerous places for media persons in the world".

"Not only the government but media managements should also take stringent measures as the scale of the threat is very large and the personnel of the law enforcement agencies by themselves cannot ensure the security of all media outlets."

It said that coordinated efforts by the authorities and managements may be the best way forward for the security of media offices and journalists.

"Stronger preventive measures and protection must be undertaken while reviewing existing security protocols for possible loopholes. In an environment of fear, the media cannot play its due role, which is critical in countering the terrorists narrative," the daily added.

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Islamabad, Feb 10 (IANS) Workers of the Pakistan's state-owned airlines announced that they have called off strike against a government privatisation plan after they were invited for talks to listen to their demands.

The nearly one-week strike brought the flight operation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a complete standstill, affecting thousands of passengers. Hundreds of international and domestic flights were cancelled during the strike.

Two PIA employees were also killed when the law enforcement agencies clashed with the protesting workers in Karachi last week.

The government planned PIA's privatisation as it runs into losses mainly because of over-staffing.

The government was involved in talks with the leaders of the employees that led to the end of the strike, chairman of employees' Joint Action Committee, Sohail Baloch said in Karachi Tuesday evening.

He asked the PIA employees to offer their full cooperation in resuming the flight operation of the national flag carrier. Baloch said a delegation of the union will soon meet officials to sort out issues, adding that the government has assured its every possible cooperation.

As the PIA employees ended strike, normal flight operation started on Tuesday, PIA spokesman Daniyal Gilani said.

--Indo-Aisan News Service
ahm/

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Islamabad, Feb 9 (IANS) Pakistan's National Assembly (NA) committee has approved a draft law on Hindu marriages, paving the way for registering marriages in the minuscule religious minority of the country, the media reported on Tuesday.

Five Hindu MNAs were on Monday specially invited to the deliberations of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice on the Hindu Marriage Bill 2015, Dawn online reported.

Though delaying tactics continued almost to the last, the committee adopted the bill unanimously after making two amendments to fix the minimum age of the marrying male and female at 18 and making the law applicable to the whole country, instead of just the federal territory.

Committee chairman Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk regretted the long-drawn tactical delay in framing family law for the Hindu community.

“It was unbecoming of us Muslims in general and the political leaders in particular. We were required to facilitate the legislation, not obstruct it,” he said.

After the 18th Amendment, the issues of religious minorities and their family matters became provincial subjects but the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies passed resolutions allowing the federation to legislate Hindu marriage law.

A similar resolution is pending in the Punjab Assembly while not much has been done in this regard by Sindh Assembly.

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Islamabad, Feb 8 (IANS)

In her capacity as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate, Queen Maxima encourages universal access for individuals and enterprises, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by diverse responsible and sustainable institutions, Radio Pakistan reported.

The Special Advocate works in partnership with stakeholders globally to raise awareness, encourage leadership, and foster action towards financial inclusion.

During her three-day visit, the Queen will have meetings with Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif besides other engagements with a range of stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

Prime Minister Sharif had also met the Queen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Inclusive finance for development is one of the key priorities of Pakistani government's economic development policies.

Pakistan has taken a number of important measures in recent years, including the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), in order to promote the key objectives of financial inclusion.

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