Bharat Rakshak

PESHAWAR: At least 37 people were killed and more than 80 injured in a blast near Khan Raziq police station in Qissa Khawani bazaar of Peshawar, Geo News reported.

SAHIWAL: Federal Railway Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafiq Sunday said that if Taliban wanted to hold talks, then they should give up arms, get under the banner of Pakistan flag and accept the constitution of Pakistan, Geo News reported.

Talking to media at the railway station here, Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that the government stands firm on holding talks with Taliban, but because of its numerous groups it was difficult to make out as to who would represent Taliban in talks.

Pakistan is likely to decide soon on extending the Most favoured Nation (MFN) status to India as the Nawaz Sharif government has given a written assurance to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in this regard while seeking a $6.64 billion loan from it last month. What has not happened for decades might fructify soon due to the IMF conditionality imposed on Pakistan. {Pakistan has brazenly violated almost all bilateral and multilateral agreements; both written and oral.}

The government has told the IMF that it was taking steps to eliminate the negative list on trade with India and for grant of MFN status as part of its new policy to promote trade and economic ties in the region.

“The Pakistan government is expected to take a decision on this issue soon as majority of the hurdles have been removed and concerns of the stakeholders have been addressed in the last few months on various issues. This will help give a positive twist to overall sentiment and give a big boost to trade and economic ties between the two nations,” India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, S. M. Muneer, told The Hindu on Saturday.

Concerns addressed

Mr. Muneer, one of the most influential and strong proponents of free trade between the two countries, said, “ It is in the interest of the people of the two nations that MFN is granted to India and overall trade sentiments takes an upturn.” One of the major concerns for Pakistan was the agriculture and textiles sectors, where it was felt that India had a commanding lead and imports from India would wipe out local industry. However, it seems those concerns have been addressed and now the opinion seems to be strongly moving in favour of giving India the MFN status and moving towards a liberal trade and visa regime. {Various reasons have been attributed at different times for withholding MFN status to us. Duplicitous Pakistan can be trusted only at one's own peril}

Officials also indicated that the government is likely to take the matter to the Cabinet and then formally announce the grant of MFN status to India as a part of confidence-building measures. Officials said during the negotiations for the $6.64 billion bailout package, Pakistan had clearly given an undertaking that it would take positive steps to grant MFN status to New Delhi.

Interestingly, India had granted the MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1996.

Last year, the PPP-led government decided to switch over from a positive list of about 1,900 tradable items to a negative list of about 1,206 items, thereby allowing about 5,000 items to be traded. Pakistan’s assurance on December 31 last that it would grant MFN status by doing away with the negative list has not materialised. The bilateral trade stood at $2.35 billion in 2012-13, as against $1.93 billion in the previous fiscal.

The Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, which the Finance Minister submitted to the IMF on August 19, spelt out the major contours of the trade policy with the primary focus on normalisation of trade relations.

ISLAMABAD: Sticking to his demand for the establishment of a Taliban office, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan Saturday asked if Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) could be taken for peace with India, why could the same not be done in the case of the Taliban for internal peace and stability.

pankajs wrote:Saad Rafiq asks Taliban to give up arms for talks

Federal Railway Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafiq Sunday said that if Taliban wanted to hold talks, then they should give up arms, get under the banner of Pakistan flag and accept the constitution of Pakistan, Geo News reported.

MIRAMSHAH:

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid has said Pakistan government was not sincere in holding meaningful dialogue as it took dictates from the US and, therefore, it cannot be trusted.

“Nawaz Sharif is deceiving us as well as the Pakistani nation,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location.

The TTP spokesperson said it would negotiate with the government only if it withdrew army from the tribal areas, stopped drone strikes and released their prisoners.

“Nawaz has demanded that Taliban should disarm before initiating peace dialogue and show allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said, adding that these demands were not included in the All Parties’ Conference (APC) announcement.

SSridhar wrote:pankajs, thanks.

The TTP spokesman is correct. The All Parties Conference did not have these three conditions. I am sure the dimwit Khan would force the issue for Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan had always demanded talks with India without any pre-conditions. Dimwit would use that analogy too as he has already said about CBMs.

Peshawar, Pakistan (CNN) -- At least 40 people were killed and about 100 were wounded after a bomb exploded at a bazaar in Peshawar, officials at a Pakistani hospital said.

A car carrying 220 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives detonated in the city's historic Qissa Khawani bazaar, destroying at least 10 shops, several vehicles and leaving a huge crater, said Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal unit.

The Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-i-Taliban, condemned the attack and denied any involvement.

<snip>

The death toll is expected to rise, as most of the wounded are critically injured, said Dr. Arshad Javed, chief executive of Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

SSridhar wrote:Pakistanis could face travel ban because of polio virus - DT

CRamS wrote:Any guesses for which Indian journalist he was referring to?

SSridhar wrote: Khawaja Saad Rafiq must remember what happened to another Khawaja who was close to the Taliban. This Khawaja is imposing unacceptable three conditions on the Taliban.

The Taliban have made it unambiguously clear that they would never give up arms. They have their own flag and they do not accept the man-made constitution of Pakistan. They accept Shariah and only that as interpreted by them. In fact, TNSM Chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad (the sky-lift operator, Mullah Radio's father-in-law) had clearly said it should be written in Pashto in his own hand. So, what is this new Khawaja on the block talking about ?

shravan wrote:Samaa TV got the footage during prayers from inside All Saints Church when today's blast took place. Exclusive. Watch.

Eyewitness: Blast took place when the prayers were offered in the All Saints Church, targeted last week by suicide bombers #Peshawar

SSridhar wrote:

CRamS wrote:Any guesses for which Indian journalist he was referring to?

At least one of them must be Sidharth Varadarajan of The Hindu

CRamS wrote:Perhaps, but this should give you a clue. Look at alacrity with which "needless controversy" is being dispelled.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/i-hea ... eststories

Karan M wrote:We'll never, ever compromise on J&K border: Manmohan at UN

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has a message for Pakistan as far as the Jammu and Kashmir is concerned: Forget it.

In some of the bluntest, uncompromising message ever put across by an Indian Prime Minister at the UN, Singh laid down the line in the sand — the lakshman rekha so to say — saying "There must be a clear understanding of the fact that J&K is an integral part of India and there can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India."

The tone and body language of national security advisor Shivshankar Menon, who briefed the media on the hour-long talks, bespoke an engagement that, if not frosty, was weighed down by the issue of terrorism, with India refusing to even examine other matters unless the terrorism issue was addressed. Even the usual cliches about the meeting between cordial or constructive was absent.

When a Pakistani journalist asked about the broader dialogue, Menon's crisp reply was: "That stage has not come yet."
....
Evidently, the Pakistani side tried hard to raise issues of trade and the usual raft of disputes such as Siachen and Sir Creek. The Indian side was unmoved beyond the issue of terrorism.

There was some recrimination too. While India raised the issue of Pakistan's Punjab government, controlled by Sharif's party and led by his brother Shahbaz Sharif, funding a terrorist organization like Jamaat-ul-Dawa, Pakistan harked back to India's alleged activities in Balochistan.

This counternarrative found expression in a question from a Pakistani journalist who asked whether India took cognizance of Pakistani complaints that India was also an epicenter of terrorism. "No," Menon said shortly, and then added, "I wish we could say the same about Pakistan."

‘Army’s secret Division would have prevented Samba-like encounters’

Among the examples of Infowar carried out by the TSD were the securing of numerous videos showing the maltreatment of locals in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir by Pakistan army personnel, and the humiliation that locals had to daily endure, besides their economic hardship. "We showed the valley that life was hell on the other side, and this hurt the pro-Pakistan groups who painted a rosy picture of the other side," an officer claimed.

Tweeting about Sharif's informal meeting with journalists, well-known Pakistani TV anchor Hamid Mir said Sharif had not said anything demeaning about the Indian PM. However, Hamid told a Pakistan channel that Sharif did not seem hopeful of his meeting with Singh. "Unka ye khayal hai ki Manmohan Singh kamzor hai aur Rahul Gandhi ne unke saath kal jo kiya hai, uske baad Manmohan Singh sa'ab ki credibility India may kaafi kharab ho gayi hai. Wo ab position mein nahin hai ki Pakistan ke saath koi bada breakthrough kare (He is of the view that Manmohan Singh is weak and after what Rahul Gandhi did yesterday his credibility in India has been hurt. He is not in a position to make a big breakthrough with Pakistan)," Mir said.

According to Mir, Sharif is now waiting for the new government in India next year to do business.

CRamS wrote:Perhaps, but this should give you a clue. Look at alacrity with which "needless controversy" is being dispelled.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/i-hea ... eststories

Anindya wrote:Indian, Pak commanders to meet to defuse LoC tension

Pakistan harked back to India's alleged activities in Balochistan.

This counternarrative found expression in a question from a Pakistani journalist who asked whether India took cognizance of Pakistani complaints that India was also an epicenter of terrorism. "No," Menon said shortly, and then added, "I wish we could say the same about Pakistan."

PESHAWAR: A drone strike in North Waziristan tribal region's Datta khel area on Monday killed two persons and injured another, DawnNews reported.

A US drone fired two missiles at a house situated in Mohammad Khel village of Datta Khel tehsil in North Waziristan tribal region.

The number of casualties was expected to rise.

The identities of the victims could not be ascertained till the filing of this report as access to media and journalists is restricted in the area.

sanjaykumar wrote:Written by ahem a Pakistani Indian, Sahir, music by the South Asian Khayyam, sung by oppressed minority Jagjit Kaur (hence the dard in her voice); Raag Pahadi (developed by those wicked Hindoos).

sanjaykumar wrote:It would be instructive to see those videos from POK and the reality of their Pakjabi overlords.Infowar is of course a key component of governments. India has a most potent propaganda department which renders Pakistan hopeless.Written by ahem a Pakistani Indian, Sahir, music by the South Asian Khayyam, sung by oppressed minority Jagjit Kaur (hence the dard in her voice); Raag Pahadi (developed by those wicked Hindoos).

Question:Yeh kaha jaata hai ki donon Vazeer-e-Azam ki mulaqaat mein donon mulqon ke daakhili haalaat ka asar tha, aur khaas taur par Bharatiya Vazir-e-Azam par. Jab ki BJP is mulaqaat ki mukhaatib kar rahi thi aur Prime Minister ke liye badi mushkil thi. Kya aap samajhte hain ki is mahaul jis mein jismein guftagu hui hai, uska asar aapko vahan dikhaayi diya donon taraf, aur khaas taur se Indian Prime Minister par?
Aur savaal aapse yeh karna hai ki kya Balochistan ki situation discussion mein aayi jiske baare mein aapko evidence Sharm-al-Sheikh mein Pakistan ke then Prime Minister ne diye the interference ki?


National Security Advisor: I think we are two sovereign states dealing with each other. And the principle on which we at least act is not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. We are neighbours. And as the Prime Minister has said, you can choose your friends, you cannot choose your neighbours. You have to deal with these issues that we face in the relationship, and we will continue to do so.
Balochistan was mentioned. I think Prime Minister has made it clear in the meeting and also in other contexts that there is no question of India interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs in any way. If there is any evidence of this, we have not seen it. We will be happy to look into it if it were given to us.

KJoishy wrote:Why is "dehati aurat" an insult? Badmaash Ganja needs to meet a dehati aurat to realize how street smart they are. I only wish MMS was like a dehati aurat, he would have taken Pak to task long time ago.

National Security Advisor: I do not think that is really a factor. When Prime Minister Vajpayee went to Islamabad for instance, it was how many months before an election? It was three months before an election and less than a month before the campaign started. I do not think that is a factor. The fact is that we are neighbours; that is not going to change. We have a relationship: that is not going to change. And that is something we have to deal with. So, I think we have dealt with it in good times and bad, and we will go on doing that. So, we will make the effort certainly.