Fiery response: Kabul fends off terror sanctuary charge

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry insists the problem originates from Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: 

Afghanistan hit out at Pakistan on Friday for allowing ‘terrorists’ training centres and sanctuaries on its soil a day after Islamabad cautioned Kabul against permitting militants to take shelter across the border during any military operation in the Waziristan tribal region.

The problem of ‘terrorism and extremism in the region’ originates from Pakistan, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Shakeeb Mustaghni said.

On Thursday, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam urged Afghanistan not to allow militants to enter its territory in the wake of airstrikes in the tribal region. In a statement issued on Friday, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said, “Pakistan has hideouts and training centres for terrorists and extremists for years and attacks have been launched into Afghanistan from there that have caused casualties.” Afghanistan, the ministry added, has always called for ‘sincere and practical’ cooperation with Pakistan to fight terrorism and extremism. The Dari version of the statement was received by The Express Tribune in Islamabad.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were strained after Islamabad protested against the execution of 23 security personnel by Pakistani Taliban on Afghan soil.

Bilateral cooperation: ‘Chinese investment in energy is welcome relief’

CM Shahbaz Sharif. PHOTO: APP/FILE

LAHORE: 

“The Chinese government has promised an investment of $20 billion in Pakistan’s energy sector. The Pakistani government appreciates this gesture,” Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday.

He said besides the investment, the Chinese government had promised an economic package of $30 billion, the biggest foreign investment in Pakistan’s history.

He said Chinese companies would also invest in transport and infrastructure sectors. He was talking to lawmakers who called on him.

The chief minister said his recent visit to China was part of the government’s plan to secure foreign investment. He said investment in energy sector was a much-needed relief to Pakistan’s economy.

He said the Chinese investment would boost economic ties and open more avenues for cooperation.

He said controlling the energy crisis was essential for promotion of trade and economic activities and stability of the national economy.

He said the government was striving to produce low-cost electricity and focusing on power generation through coal, which was cheaper than thermal power.

Minister of State for Religious Affairs Pir Aminul Hasnaat, MNA Tehmina Daultana, MPAs Irfan Daultana, Khalid Ghani Chaudhary, Maulana Ilyas Chinioti and Muhammad Taufeeq Butt were present on the occassion.

‘Efforts being made for promotion of information technology’

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday that promotion of information technology was among the top priorities of the government.

He was talking to a delegation led by Pakistan Software Houses Association for Information Technology Chairman Saleem Ghouri.

Matters regarding promotion of IT and the Asia Pacific ICT Awards 2014 were discussed.

The chief minister said the government recognised the need to improve the information technology structure and had set up a university in Lahore to provide IT education.

He said Arfa Karim Software Technology Park had been set up for the same purpose. He said prominent foreign companies associated with the IT sector were working at the software technology park.

He said the government hoped to make Lahore the centre of IT development.

He said school textbooks were being made available online under the e-learning programme. He said the government was aiming to increase the scope of the programme.

He said work had been started on a Knowledge Parks City in Lahore was also being done.

He said international IT universities had been invited to set up their campuses at the city.

Shahbaz Sharif said that holding the Asia Pacific ICT Award 2014 in Pakistan would help promotion of IT industry in the country.

Minister for Finance Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, MPA Ayesha Ghaus Pasha and the Punjab Information Technology Board chairman were also present.

Ukraine says Russia has sent in troops, Obama appeals to Putin

Armed men patrol near the regional parliament building in the Crimean city of Simferopol March 1, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS

SIMFEROPOL / KIEV: Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of sending thousands of additional troops to the southern Crimea region, which has a majority ethnic Russian population, and said it had placed its military in the region on high alert.

Russia said unidentified gunmen sent by Kiev had attempted overnight to seize the Crimea region’s Interior Ministry offices and that people had been wounded in the attack. It accused Kiev of a “treacherous provocation”.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk urged Moscow to cease what it called provocative actions, echoing a warning by US President Barack Obama who said any military intervention following the overthrow of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich would have costs for Moscow.

Armed men wearing combat uniform with no identification markings control two airports in Crimea, which hosts Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and have taken over the regional parliament in what Kiev described as an occupation by Moscow’s forces.

“It is unacceptable when armored Russian military vehicles are out in the centre of Ukrainian towns,” Yatseniuk said at the start of a government meeting in Kiev.

“We do not give in to provocative actions, we do not use force and we demand that Russia stop its provocative actions and return the troops to base.”

Russia says any movements by its military in Crimea are in line with agreements with Ukraine in the lease of the naval base in the port city of Sevastopol and accused Kiev of trying to destabilize the Black Sea peninsula.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Kiev-backed gunmen had attempted to take over the offices of the Crimean Interior Ministry. It said people had been wounded but gave no details. There was no confirmation of such an action from other sources.

“With decisive actions by self-defense groups, the attempt to seize the interior ministry building was averted. This confirms the desire of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilize the peninsula,” it said in a statement.

Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, said on Friday that Russia was following a scenario like the one before it went to war with fellow former Soviet republic Georgia in 2008 over two breakaway regions. The regions are now fully beyond the control of Tbilisi.

Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh told Saturday’s government meeting that Russia had “recently” brought 6,000 additional personnel into Ukraine and that the Ukrainian military were on high alert in the Crimea region.

Several military transport planes and about 10 military helicopters had entered Ukrainian airspace on Friday without permission, he said

South Korea proposes regular family reunions with North

A visitor (L) looks towards the north through a pair of binoculars near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-hye made a formal proposal to North Korea on Saturday to hold family reunions regularly, uniting families separated since the 1950-53 Korean war, a sign Seoul is seeking to improve relations with the North.

The reunions used to be held roughly annually, but until this February had not taken place since 2010 when tensions between the two Koreas spiraled after the South said the North sank one of its naval vessels.

The latest family reunion was held between February 20-25 at the Mount Kumgang resort just north of the border and a total of 813 family members met in tears and joy.

“I propose to North Korea to make family reunions regular in order to ease the deep sorrow of the separated families as soon as possible. North Korea too has separated families and I believe it also has to relieve their pain and agony,” said Park in a speech marking the March First Independence Movement Day.

“There is not much time left for these elderly Koreans. The event in which separated families reunite should not be a special occasion any more, said Park.

“One people and one reunified Korean peninsula is the completion of the March First spirit and will contribute to the peace of North East Asia and the world.”

This year commemorates the 95th year of the declaration of the nation’s independence from Japanese colonization on March 1 1919.

There have been 19 family reunions since the first in 1985,during a previous thaw in relations between Seoul and Pyongyang, but the events have never been regular and have ebbed and flowed with the state of Korean relations.

Last Thursday, days after the six-day family reunion came to a close and annual US and South Korean joint military exercises began, North Korea fired four short-range missiles over the sea off its eastern coast.

The North has denounced the joint military exercises as a preparation for war while Seoul and Washington have said the annual drills are defensive in nature.

Russian parliament approves use of 'stabilising contingent' in Crimea

A woman holds a sign during a demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Kiev, on Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday secured a vote in upper house of parliament for the use of Russian troops as a ‘stabilising contingent’ in Crimea, the Kremlin said, despite warnings from the US not to intervene.

“In connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens… I submit to the Federation Council a request to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory until the normalisation of the political situation in that country,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying in the document.

Putin said that Russia also had to protect servicemen from its Black Sea Fleet which is based on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea “fully in line with an international accord”.

The request was made on the basis of point “G” of the first part of section 102 of the Russian constitution on allowing the use of Russian troops beyond the borders of the country.

There were no further details on the document and Putin has yet to speak publicly about the situation in Ukraine since the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych last week.

Putin’s move came after the heads of both the lower and upper houses of parliament on Saturday urged him to take measures over the situation in Ukraine and in particular the overwhelmingly pro-Russian peninsula of Crimea.

Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko said earlier that it is possible “to send a limited contingent of troops to ensure the security of the Black Sea Fleet and Russian citizens.”

Meanwhile, the speaker of the State Duma lower house Sergei Naryshkin read out a request in the name of all MPs for Putin to use “all possibilities” to restore stability in Crimea.

Ukraine’s new Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh said Saturday the Russian forces are already in the country, accusing Russia of sending 30 armoured personnel carriers and 6,000 additional troops into Crimea.

Unlike most legislations in Russia, the use of armed forces abroad only requires the approval of the rubber-stamp Federation Council without any need for a preliminary okay from the State Duma lower house.

The Kremlin has been rattled by the sudden overthrow of Yanukovych and the installation of pro-EU and sometimes staunchly anti-Russian new authorities in his place, fearing a permanent loss of influence in Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbour.

US President Barack Obama on Friday warned that “there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine”

Bilateral ties: Britain pledges support in fight against militancy

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Philip Barton. PHOTO: GOV.UK

ISLAMABAD: 

Britain is standing ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and discussions are already under way on how London can help Islamabad enforce the recently announced internal security policy, the country’s high commissioner Philip Barton said on Friday.

Barton was speaking to the media men a day after he officially presented his letter of credentials to President Mamnoon Hussain as Britain’s top envoy to Pakistan.

The envoy said it was not for him to comment on policies devised by the government of Pakistan to tackle militancy. “[But] we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Pakistan government as they tackle terrorism in the country and we will support the government as it takes forward its efforts in this area,” he said.

Barton termed the internal security policy, unveiled by Chaudhry Nisar in parliament as part of Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy, a ‘very important’ strategy against terrorism. “We are already in discussions with the government on how we can support it in the implementation and delivery of that strategy.”

He said Britain has already been collaborating with Pakistan on security issues in the past. “[The collaboration is] in terms of discussing strategy on how to best tackle the problem and deriving practical ways such as providing assistance on how you can bring criminals to justice,” Barton said.

Barton reiterated his commitment of focusing on three areas: trade, education and security. He said the two countries are aiming to raise bilateral trade and investment to £3 billion per year by 2015. In order to achieve this target, he said, he will focus on making British businesses aware about good business opportunities in Pakistan.

Turkish parliament delivers blow to schools run by Erdogan rival

Students walk past photographs of modern Turkey's secular founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk hanging on a wall at a university in Turkey. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s parliament passed legislation to shut down private preparatory schools, many of which are an important source of income and influence for an Islamic cleric that prime minister Tayyip Erdogan accuses of running a covert campaign to topple him.

Lawmakers late on Friday set a deadline of September 1 2015 to close the schools, news channels reported, which millions of students attend to prepare for entrance examinations to win limited spots at state high schools and universities.

The government has accused cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers wield influence in the police and judiciary, of concocting a graft scandal to compromise Erdogan and his government. The scandal broke with police raids on December 17 but ties between the ex-allies have been tense for several years.

The government’s initial moves to shut down cram centers late last year escalated those tensions ahead of the March 30 municipal election, seen as a critical test of support for Erdogan after 11 years in power.

Education is central to US-based Gulen’s Hizmet, or service, movement’s mission. Their respected prep schools help spread influence across a nationwide network, and shutting them will deprive Hizmet of a chief source of financing.

Followers of Gulen, who preach respect for science, democracy and dialogue with other faiths, have forged a powerful socio-religious community network active. Gulen, who says he has no plans to form a political party, denies any involvement in the graft investigation.

Erdogan remains by far Turkey’s most popular politician. In parliament he faces a weak opposition and, supporters argue, at the polling stations his success in driving Turkey’s economy could eclipse any damage from corruption accusations.

Erdogan has said that abolishing the cram schools is part of a larger reform of an “unhealthy” educational system that ranks Turkey below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average in literacy, math and science.

The law allows some of the cram schools to become private schools, giving them free access to properties that belong to the Treasury, and for the Education Ministry to recruit some of the teachers to work in public schools.