A welcome meeting

If the DGMO meeting can be parlayed into diplomatic activity, then we may look forward to a more peaceful 2014.

The long-awaited and much-anticipated meeting between the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan has taken place. The state of the ceasefire, along the Line of Control (LoC), in the last year has been reduced to tatters and it was in urgent need of refurbishment. Alleged breaches of truce on both sides — India alleges 150 by Pakistan, Pakistan alleges 416 by the Indians — necessitated urgent work and a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was the catalyst. Pakistan had requested that there be diplomatic representation at any meeting of the DGMOs that takes place, the Indians demurred, and in the end, it was the military men who shook hands. Those adept at the arcane art of interpreting body language will have noted the generally positive positions of both men.

The outcome of the meeting produced no surprises and is all the better for that. Both sides pledged to uphold the 2003 LoC ceasefire accords and there was a commitment to ensuring that the ceasefire held. The principal victim of the ceasefire violations was the nascent peace process that has been in the diplomatic equivalent of an intensive care unit and close to a diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state — not far removed from being dead. Cooling temperatures on the LoC is a necessary requisite for any reboot of the bilateral talks.

Having a set of protocols worked out that would prevent a flare-up in the event of an inadvertent crossing of the LoC by a wandering civilian is a step forward. Such incidents have in the past been inflated out of all proportion. The ‘hotline’ between the two sides will be ‘re-energised’ and there will be two flag meetings a year between brigade commanders to follow up on the DGMO meeting at Wagah. These may appear small advances in terms of the bigger picture, but the devil is in the detail. If the DGMO meeting can be parlayed into diplomatic activity, then we may look forward to a more peaceful 2014.

Boxing Day shoppers up 8% as Britain begins annual bargain hunt

Shoppers queue for the Boxing Day sale at Harrods department store in London on Thursday. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON: Britons were out in force for the Boxing Day sales with eight per cent more shoppers than last year, despite heavy rainfall that left parts of the country under water and without power, figures from retail data company Springboard showed on Thursday.

Shopping centers saw a 22 per cent rise in the number of bargain-hunters coming through their doors, while high street stores saw 3.4 per cent more shoppers as of 10am, the data showed.

Some stores opened as early as 6am in London’s main shopping district in the West End and Oxford Street, where over a million people were expected to turn out according to retailers.

Many shops started Britain’s traditional “January sales” online on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as British shoppers increasingly demand earlier and deeper discounting.

Britain’s economy has been growing robustly and unemployment has fallen steadily but many Britons still face a squeeze in living standards due to stagnating wages and rising utility bills.

Department store John Lewis JLP.UL reported record sales for the week before Christmas on Thursday and said that for the first time it expected the majority of British shoppers to use smartphones rather than desktop computers to make online purchases.

It said its sales in the week to December 21 were up 4.2 per cent on last year at 164.4 million pounds ($270 million), surpassing the 160 million-pound mark for the first time.

The department store will release its five-week trading update on January 2.

The retailer also said that on Christmas day, three in four shoppers used their smartphones or tablets rather than traditional desktops to shop on their site, marking a shift from previous years.

“The tipping point has now passed and we expect mobile to be the way the majority of people shop online from now on,” said Mark Lewis, online director at John Lewis.

Bangladesh cable operators seek ban on Pakistani TV channels

Bangladeshi's to be deprived of Pakistani television. Image courtesy: Batool Nasir/Design by Essa Malik/Express

DHAKA: The Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (Coab), a body of cable operators in Bangladesh, threatened on Thursday that they would take all Pakistani television channels in Bangladesh off-air, Thedailystar.net reported. 

The ban, if enacted, will be yet another step towards a complete breakdown in fast deteriorating ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

It has been reported that the ban on Pakistani channels will be put into effect due to rising tension between the two countries following JI leader Abdul Quader Molla’s hanging.

Pakistani investors who have invested into Bangladesh also face uncertainty after the incident.

Bangladesh’s commerce secretary was quoted as saying “We will decide in a day or two about the participation of Pakistani stalls in the trade fair”. He assured the youth that the demand for suspending trade relations with Pakistan had been conveyed to higher authorities.

Earlier this week, many protestors gathered around the Pakistan High Commission office in Dhaka to protest against Pakistan’s reaction to the hanging – particularly the National Assembly’s resolution condemning Molla’s killing.

UN experts urge US, Yemen to explain erroneous drone strikes

Local security officials said on December 12 that 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen were killed in an air strike after their party was mistaken for an al Qaeda convoy. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

GENEVA: United Nations human rights experts told the United States and Yemen on Thursday to say whether they were complicit in drone attacks that mistakenly killed civilians in wedding processions this month.

The independent experts questioned the legitimacy of drone attacks under international law and said the governments should reveal what targeting procedures were used.

Local security officials said on December 12 that 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen were killed in an air strike after their party was mistaken for an al Qaeda convoy.

The officials did not identify the plane in the strike in central al-Bayda province, but tribal and local media sources said that it was a drone.

Stressing the need for accountability and payment to victims’ families, the UN statement issued in Geneva said that two attacks, on two separate wedding processions, killed 16 and wounded at least 10 people.

“If armed drones are to be used, states must adhere to international humanitarian law, and should disclose the legal basis for their operational responsibility and criteria for targeting,” said UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns.

The United States has stepped up drone strikes as part of a campaign against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), regarded by Washington as the most active wing of the militant network.

Yemen, AQAP’s main stronghold, is among a handful of countries where the United States acknowledges using drones, although it does not comment on the practice.

Heyns urged Yemen and the United States to disclose whether they were responsible, and if so, what targeting standards were used, how many civilians were killed, and whether they plan to provide compensation for the victims’ families.

“Yemen cannot consent to violations of the right to life of people in its territory,” he added. Juan Mendez, UN special rapporteur on torture, voiced concern about the legitimacy of the airstrikes.

Each state was obliged to undertake due investigation into the reported incidents, including their effect on civilians, he said.

“A deadly attack on illegitimate targets amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if, as in this case, it results in serious physical or mental pain and suffering for the innocent victims,” Mendez said.

Pakistan, whose resolution against drones was approved in the United Nations General Assembly, announced on Thursday that it plans to table a resolution in UN’s human rights council after a fresh drone strike killed four suspected militants in North Waziristan late on Wednesday.

High cost of technology: Pakistan condemns North Waziristan drone strike

File photo of a drone. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

ISLAMABAD: Condemning Wednesday’s drone strike in North Waziristan, the foreign office on Thursday said that the cost of using drone technology and the fundamentally flawed method under which it operated was not justified, and that Pakistan will now table a resolution in the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In a formal statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the subsequent weekly briefing, the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said that there was an across the board consensus within Pakistan, there was a fast building international consensus  against drone strikes, even in the case when the strike is on a high value target.

“Generally the concept is that any technology is not worthy of use if in the process of killing five militants kills one innocent human being. That is the cost of the technology,” Aslam said in the briefing.

The statement, repeated during the briefing, read that “drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations.”

Asked if a high value target was killed in the attack, as others have this year including the assassination of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud and a senior Haqqani Network leader, Aslam said that importance of the target does not justify using a flawed method. “Using a method which is fundamentally flawed and illegal even for a positive purpose cannot be justified. Therefore, this is not our policy that if some high value target is killed, we would show leniency against such attacks.”

Having secured international support against drone strikes in a resolution approved in the United Nations General Assembly just days before Wedensday’s strike, Aslam was asked what next could Pakistan do?

“Well , we have repeatedly said that our next step will be tabling a resolution at the Human Rights Council forum in Geneva.”

Ties with US after Afghan exit

Asked about the prospective relationship with the US once interests in Afghanistan end after the 2014 exit, Alsam said that the two War on Terror allies have built up a relationship more than just Afghanistan, which will continue beyond 2014.

“We have bilateral collaboration in economic, energy and other sectors. As discussed last week, there are big energy projects which are on the table for discussion. We have defense collaboration, training programs and exchange of students with the US,” she explained.

“In Afghanistan, we don’t know as yet what would be the shape of US presence and what kind of collaboration Pakistan –US would have. It depends upon the events in Afghanistan and what kind of presence US would have after 2014.”

Positive signs with India

With the Director Generals of Military Operations from Pakistan and India having a face to face meeting earlier this week, Aslam noted that this was a positive step forward.

“They [DGMOs] agreed on the need to maintain peace and tranquility on the Line of Control (LoC) and to stay in touch with each other so that incidents and situations are not allowed to blow up and they are controlled at the local level.”

Asked whether there had been an agreement for joint patrols along the LoC, Aslam neither denied nor confirmed this. “Pakistan and India agreed on a mechanism for travel between the two parts of Kashmir. There are crossing points and the bus service .We do not consider movement of Kashmiris as illegal. But there are smugglers and drug traffickers.”

“Trans-national crimes is an issue and states have to work together to stop that.”

She also welcomed the statement by Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid which pointed to dialogue as the only way forward.

“It has been our policy all along and this policy has been backed by practical steps by the successive governments in Pakistan that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve the outstanding issues between our two countries. We believe that dialogue and resolution of issues is the only way to create durable peace in this region.”

Kishenganga arbitration

On the Permanent Court of Arbitration award on the Kishenganga hydro electric project, the FO spokesperson distanced herself from the statement of the Minister of Water and Power to claim victory.

“I think it is not the question of claiming victory. I would not say that it was victory for Pakistan or India.”

The spokesperson said that a verdict has been given and that now efforts were needed for its effective implementation.

“We have to now implement it in letter and spirit. In seven years we will see how things work out. I won’t subscribe to this attitude of claiming victory or loss on every issue.”

Prisoners in Indian jails

Asked about Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, Aslam explained that some prisoners were sentenced on one charge and made to serve the sentence and when that sentence was near completion, the sentence of a different charge starts.

“I know that many Pakistani prisoners are in India who after the completion of sentence in their primary cases are again put in jail and served separate sentences on other grounds.”

She explained that normally sentences are served simultaneously, but in the case of Pakistani prisoners, “after completion of one term, they are again sentenced.”

“That’s why people are languishing in Indian jails for long times. This is a humanitarian issue on both sides because nobody should be punished for a crime longer than what he deserves.”

Aslam explained that the bilateral commission regularly discusses this issue. “We are trying to resolve it.”

New power plant

The spokesperson defended the joint Pakistan-China nuclear power plant in Karachi, explaining that cooperation is exclusively for peaceful purposes and is fully covered under IAEA safeguards.

“The cooperation between Pakistan and China in civilian nuclear programs helps Pakistan in overcoming shortages of electricity and it serves the interest of the Pakistan as you are aware that nuclear energy is a part of our energy mix.”

Aslam further explained that Pakistan has 40 years of experience in maintaining and safeguarding civilian nuclear power plants. “They have been operated with safety and security. Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), an autonomous regulatory body regulates the safety and security of civilian nuclear materials and facilities. It works closely with IAEA and benefits from the recommendations and guidance it receives from the agency.”

The spokesperson pointed out that Pakistan was party to the convention on nuclear safety as well as the two international conventions of early notification and assistance. “We realise that the expansion of nuclear power calls for a higher level of responsibility. We are cognisant of our responsibilities and are fully committed to ensuring safety and security of these power plants that we acquire for nuclear energy. We fully abide by the safeguards of IAEA.”

She alleged that the media campaign against the nuclear plant was being “spearheaded by those who are themselves responsible for spreading nuclear technology outside the NPT and IAEA mandates.”

COACH SAYS HE NEEDS TO FEEL LIKE THE TEAM'S MAIN MAN

Villas-Boas thinks Bale performs better without CR7

In an interview to Portuguese newspaper 'O Jogo', André Villas-Boas made it clear that Bale performs better when Cristiano Ronaldo isn't on the pitch: "We've seen this season that Bale is a bigger player for Real Madrid when Cristiano Ronaldo isn't playing."

Regarding the Welshman, he said: "He's already a world-class footballer. The question is whether he can reproduce his Tottenham form playing alongside the world's best player. When there are two quality players like them on the pitch, they have to share the team's chances.

Villas-Boas thinks that he performed better when he was the main man on the pitch: "At Tottenham, Bale adapted to a playing style that allowed him to adopt a starring role, one which made him his team's most important player. In doing so, he saw more of the ball and increased his goalscoring chances."

Walt Disney may stop sourcing goods from Pakistan

The loss to textile business could run into millions of dollars, thousands of workers would be unemployed and small and medium-sized enterprises would shut down. PHOTO: FILE

FAISALABAD: Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Secretary Munir Qureshi has stated that US-based Walt Disney Company is developing a strategy to eliminate Pakistan from the Permitted Sourcing Countries list.

This strategy was being prepared in consultation with the stakeholders to address concerns of US companies, he said, adding Pakistan, on its part, was striving to get its World­wide Governance Index (WGI) ranking upgraded by 2014.

Speaking to members of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) here on Wednesday, Qureshi pointed out that the US was a major export destination for Pakistan and elimination of Pakistan from the Permitted Sourcing Countries list would lead to a huge loss of export earnings.

Walt Disney Company claims to be the world’s largest provider of licences, since consumer products of Disney brand are being produced by thousands of independent vendors working in thousands of manufacturing facilities around the world.

As part of an ongoing review of its policies and procedures, Walt Disney Company has made changes to its sourcing guidelines that will improve management to meet the challenges associated with a complex global supply chain.

Underlining the adverse impact of such a move, PTEA Chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mahmood said the revision in Disney’s policies would have implications for textile exports from Pakistan.

“This decision has the potential of triggering a snowball effect as Marvel, the subsidiary of Walt Disney, will follow suit,” he cautioned.

Likewise, other major retailers such as WalMart, Target, Sears, Kmart, Macys and Gap may also be forced to stop sourcing their products from Pakistan.

The loss to textile business could run into millions of dollars, thousands of workers would be unemployed and small and medium-sized enterprises would shut down, Mahmood said. “If European textile brands follow suit, the loss will be exponential.”

Textile exporters are estimated to lose export orders worth $150-200 million per year and 25,000 people may lose their jobs.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Vice President Azhar Majeed Sheikh said Pakistan had been fighting the war on terror since 2001 as a frontline ally of the US and had continued to pay a heavy price in terms of both economy and security.