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US warns Pakistan of action against Haqqani Network
Dawn: In a move that has blocked the disbursement of the next tranche of Coalition Support Fund (CSF), the United States has told Pakistan that it would not be certifying to the Congress that its (Pakistani) counter-terrorism operation in North Waziristan damaged the Haqqani network.
This was conveyed by the US Department of Defence to the Pakistani mission in Washington as well as to the authorities in Islamabad, according to a highly placed source.
The Foreign Office did not immediately reply to a question about the US communication, but a senior official based at the FO, speaking in private, said they had been informally told about the decision.
The US move is politically more damaging for Islamabad than its financial impact, which is significant nevertheless for being an important source for narrowing the current account deficit. More importantly, it coincided with the deterioration in ties with Afghanistan because of Kabul’s allegations that Islamabad continued to harbour Taliban bases from where attacks were being launched.
The US decision is also likely to sour ties in the run-up to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s scheduled visit to White House in October.
The US has been reimbursing Pakistan for operations and maintenance costs incurred in direct support of its operations in Afghanistan since 2001. So far $13 billion has been reimbursed to Pakistan under this arrangement.
The CSF arrangement was supposed to end with the completion of the drawdown in Dec 2014, but the US government late last year extended the programme for another year through legislation which envisaged additional conditions, including a requirement for certification by the defence secretary that military operations in North Waziristan have significantly disrupted the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani network in Pakistan.
The certification has to be made by the US defence secretary to congressional committees after every six months.
The last tranche of $337 million was received by Pakistan last month. The non-certification will affect the disbursement of the next installment.
It comes at a time when the US is discussing the future of CSF post-2016.
Doubts have been expressed in the past by both the US and Afghanistan that the Haqqani network has been spared in the Operation Zarb-i-Azb. But it’s the first time that the US has taken such a harsh step.
It also shows how seriously the Americans take the continuing threat posed by the Haqqani network, whose current chief Sirajuddin Haqqani earlier this month took over as Taliban’s deputy chief during the succession in the insurgent group that followed the disclosure about Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death.
Pakistani military has, however, been insisting that “terrorists of all shades” were targeted in Zarb-i-Azb launched in June last year.
The operation is in its final phases and the ground offensive for clearing Shawal valley is expected soon.
The military has over the past few days stepped up air strikes against terrorist targets in Shawal, killing dozens of terrorists and “damaging their (terrorist) infrastructure, including an ammunition dump”.
Despite differences over the Haqqani network, the US has been appreciative of the North Waziristan operation.
Some US officials have, however, been cautious in media comments regarding their assessment about the impact of operation on the Haqqani network as they say: “We welcome Pakistan’s public commitment that the operation is and would be indiscriminate.”
But they wouldn’t be more specific about their assessment.
They further say that it is important that terrorist safe havens do not re-emerge in the area.
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Iranian official: Only vulnerable points of Afghanistan’s border will be walled and fenced
An Iranian security official has said that the entire border of Iran with Afghanistan will not be fenced, rather barriers will be created only at vulnerable points.
Iranian army has announced that the plan to create barriers at the border with a four-meter concrete wall, barbed wire and fence will be implemented within three years.
“In some northwestern and eastern borders, there are threats from the other side of the borders that we are countering,” said Qassem Rezaei, Iran’s deputy police commander.
He added that drug trafficking, human trafficking, and even terrorist infiltration may take place through these borders.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior of Iran Ahmad Vahidi has announced that over 1.3 million illegal foreign nationals have returned to their country in the past year.
He added that illegal citizens should leave Iran as they are not allowed to stay.
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi on Sunday met with WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Balkhy, and called for the organization’s cooperation including in the establishment of clinics in remote areas and training of specialists.
According to a statement released by his office, Hanafi pointed out that since the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan regained power, there has been progress in various fields, including the fight against drug production and trafficking, the roundup and treatment of drug addicts, the eradication of corruption and nationwide security.
He asked the WHO to hand over Afghanistan’s seat to the representative of the Islamic Emirate and restore Afghanistan’s membership in meetings of the executive board and leadership meetings of the Mediterranean region.
Hanafi also called for the cooperation of international organizations in providing alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers and in providing assistance to flood victims.
While stressing that the eradication of polio is one of the priorities of the Islamic Emirate, Hanafi asked the WHO to activate polio diagnosis laboratories and supply vaccines, establish a cancer treatment center, prevent malnutrition among children and provide safe drinking water.
According to the statement, WHO official Balkhy said in the meeting that the health issue is non-political and one of the priorities of the organization.
She pointed to the achievements of the Islamic Emirate in various fields and expressed hope that better conditions will be provided for Afghans in the health and education sector.
Balkhy explained that WHO, together with other international organizations and the European Union, has a three-year project that includes the establishment of health centers in different provinces of Afghanistan.
She also expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Islamic Emirate in the fight against polio and added that she will discuss the issue of providing alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers with the WHO and other relevant organizations.
The 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Gambia on Sunday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to respect Afghan girls and women’s right to education and work.
In a declaration, OIC described the right to education and work as the fundamental rights of Afghan girls and women, and called for more communication with the IEA authorities on these issues.
Additionally, the participants emphasized the need for more efforts to address the challenges related to ethnic groups, drugs, terrorism, and social issues to ensure inclusive governance and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“We also emphasize the need to make more efforts to address the challenges associated with ethnic groups, terrorism, drugs and social aspects for inclusive governance to achieve sustainable stability,” the declaration said.
Delegations from the 57 OIC member states attended the conference, organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation under the theme “Enhancing unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development.”.
The summit was also attended by an IEA delegation.
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