Pakistan eyes US military equipment in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The US military may have another option for disposing of $7 billion worth of armored vehicles and other equipment it s struggling to get rid of now that its war in Afghanistan is ending.Some of it could be driven across the border and handed over to Pakistan, part of an effort by the Pentagon to unload excess military supplies to US allies at no cost.

The discussions between American and Pakistani officials have been going on for months and center on leftover military hardware that the United States does not want to pay to ship or fly home.Although no final decisions have been made, Pakistan is particularly interested in the US Army s mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, which Pentagon officials say will have limited strategic value as US forces withdraw from Afghanistan this year.

But with Pakistan s military expected to be battling Taliban insurgents for years, the MRAPs could help Pakistani forces slow their high casualty rate of more than 20,000 dead or injured troops since 2001.

“We will not take it for the sake of just taking it, and we will not take it because it s free,” said one senior Pakistani military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations. “We will take it because we need it.”About 150,000 Pakistani soldiers are along the country s border with Afghanistan, and US officials are counting on them to help keep the pressure on militant groups after 2014.

But Pakistan s troops remain vulnerable to roadside bombs and explosive devices, and their armored vehicles can withstand far less force than a US-made MRAP, officials said.The United States had been a major weapons supplier to Pakistan for decades, but those sales slowed dramatically after the US military raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

Over the past year, the tension has eased, and leaders in both countries have stressed that they need to work together to try to ensure regional stability after the US-led coalition withdraws from Afghanistan.Last fall, Secretary of State John F. Kerry signed a waiver authorizing US weapons sales to Pakistan through at least this year.

The backbone of the US military s vehicle fleet in Afghanistan, MRAPs were designed to protect American troops from explosive devices. But each MRAP weighs as much as 40 tons, and Pentagon leaders have said it would potentially cost more than $100,000 per vehicle to ship them back to United States. They also have qualms about leaving them in Afghanistan, noting that the stock is far larger than what the Afghan army would be able to maintain.

The Washington Post reported in June that the US military was shredding hundreds of MRAPs for scrap metal, despite their initial cost of $400,000 to $700,000 each.But Mark E. Wright, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military still has about 13,000 MRAPs scattered worldwide that remain in good working condition, including about 1,600 in Afghanistan.

The US government is offering them to allies for free on an “as-is, where-is” basis, Wright said. But the recipients, who would be vetted by the State Department, would be responsible for shipping them out of Afghanistan.Twenty countries have expressed an interest, he added.

The Defense Department “is reviewing every request and is expediting the review process to support US retrograde timelines,” said Wright, noting that decisions must be made by the end of this year.But Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that many countries have ultimately decided that it s neither cost-effective nor practical for them to pay to collect the MRAPs from Afghanistan.“It s very expensive for countries to take those vehicles from Afghanistan,” he said.

Pakistan, however, shares a 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan. Coalition forces also use Pakistani highways and ports to ship material into and out of landlocked Afghanistan.In January, the New York Times reported that Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, also has been inquiring about receiving surplus US military hardware.

At the time, the newspaper noted­ that the US-led coalition was increasingly relying on Uzbekistan to transport equipment and supplies out of Afghanistan because supply routes through Pakistan were partly blocked.

Since then, however, a major Pakistani political party has lifted its blockade of NATO supply routes through the northern part of the country. Since January, there also have been several high-level meetings between US and Pakistani officials over ways to bolster cooperation.

A Pakistani security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said the military is exploring the acquisition of night-vision and communications equipment.The official said Pakistan stepped up its efforts to find more advanced counter-terrorism equipment and armor in the fall after a Pakistani army general was killed by a roadside bomb near the Afghan border.

About 5,000 Pakistani troops have been killed in clashes with the Taliban or in terrorist attacks since 2001, including 114 over the past six months.Siemon T. Wezeman, a senior researcher and South Asia expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks global weapons sales and transfers, said Pakistan also has reached out to Turkey in search of more heavily armored vehicles.

But Wezeman said a deal between the United States and Pakistan to transfer old MRAPs could benefit both countries.Although Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been boosting the defense budget, Wezeman notes that Pakistan remains a cash-strapped nation. And US military commanders, he said, fear leaving surplus equipment in Afghanistan because of uncertainty about the Afghan army s ability to fend off Taliban insurgents.“

Handing them all over to the Afghan army isn t really an option,” Wezeman said. “There is a feeling in the US that the Afghan army is not totally reliable, so it may be safer to just park them in Pakistan.”Still, US officials are mindful that any significant transfer of military hardware to Pakistan could complicate relations with Afghanistan and India, another US ally in the region.

Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since 1947, but Wezeman doubts that India would seriously object “to a few hundred MRAPs ending up in Pakistan.” He notes that the bulky vehicles were built to fight an insurgency and would have little value in a major cross-border war involving tanks and warplanes.It s less clear, however, how Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Afghan military leaders would react.

Karzai, who is leaving office this year, is deeply skeptical of Pakistan and believes that the US-led coalition has not done enough to prepare the Afghan army for threats from Pakistan and other countries that border Afghanistan.Even if the United States agrees to give Pakistan military hardware from Afghanistan, Pakistani officials stress that there are limits to what they re willing to accept.“Pakistan won t become America s junkyard,” one official said.

3G license auction will be transparent, open to all competitors: Nawaz

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a meeting with a delegation of international telecom investors at PM House Islamabad on April 3, 2014. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that the upcoming 3G license auction will be open for all national and international competitors and it will be awarded in a transparent manner.

According to a release from the Prime Minister house, Nawaz met with a three-member delegation from the telecom sector on Thursday. He said that Pakistan hoped that international bidders will partake in the upcoming auction.

He was of the opinion that the introduction of 3G technology in Pakistan will provide the crucial momentum to the growing economy and usher in a new era of information technology in the country.

Government should not run businesses but facilitate businesses and for this purpose we have raised the trust of the investors, Nawaz added.

The delegation comprised of Vimplecom CEO Jo Lender, Emeritus co-founder and Chairman Augie K Fabela, and Mobilink CEO and President Rashid Khan.

They appreciated the government’s privatisation policy and said that the introduction of 3G technology in Pakistan will provide the necessary momentum to the growing economy.

The delegation also called on President Mamnoon Hussain.

Deadly shooting at Fort Hood US military base leaves four dead and several injured

A shooting at Fort Hood military base in the US has left four people dead including the gunman. Sixteen others have been wounded – some critically. The whole base was put under lock down as police investigated the incident. The suspect is thought to have served in Iraq and had been suffering from depression. Witnesses say he used a semi-automatic handgun when he opened fire . Lieutenant General Mark Milley: 'The shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. With regard to the investigation at this time there is no indication that this incident is related to terrorism although we are not ruling anything out – the investigation continues.' The shooting is the third such incident at a military base in the United States in about six months. President Barack Obama gave his reaction: 'The folks there have sacrificed so much on behalf of our freedom. many have been on multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, they served with valour and distinction. We are heartbroken that something like this might have happened again.' Five years ago Fort Hood was the scene of the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history. Maj Nidal Hasan shot dead 13 people and wounded 32 others.He claimed to be protecting the Taliban from US troops who were about to be deployed to Afghanistan. Hasan was sentenced to death last September.

Hollande puts Valls in charge after election debacle

French President Francois Hollande Hollande is pictured after he recorded a speech to be broadcast on French television on March 31, 2014 at the Elysee presidential Palace in Paris. PHOTO: AFP

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande on Monday reacted to a humiliating electoral rout for his Socialist Party by naming popular Interior Minister Manuel Valls as the country’s new prime minister.

Valls, 51, replaces Jean-Marc Ayrault at the helm of a new government which will not include the two Green ministers who were part of the outgoing administration.

Hollande confirmed Ayrault’s dismissal and Valls’ promotion in a televised address to the nation, a day after the Socialists lost more than 150 towns and cities to the right or far-right in municipal elections on Sunday

“In the elections, you expressed your unhappiness and your disappointment. I have heard your message, it is clear,” Hollande said, admitting that voters had lost patience with high taxes and record unemployment.

He said Valls would be charged with implementing a package of pro-business policies known as the Responsibility Pact, which have been attacked by the left of his party.

But he said this would be balanced by a new “solidarity pact” which would include steps to boost spending on education and health, reduce income and payroll taxes – provided they can be financed by cuts in state spending elsewhere.

“It is about reforming our state … and preserving our social model. In short, we want to be both fairer and more efficient,” Hollande said.

Waking up to headlines Monday that included “A rout”, “A slap” and “A kick up the backside”, Hollande was left with little option but to order a radical shake-up of a government seen as drifting hopelessly against a backdrop of real economic pain for millions of French families.

Both the far-right National Front (FN) and the mainstream opposition made historic gains in Sunday’s nationwide elections, which were the first major electoral test since Hollande’s 2012 election.

The scale of the setback was unprecedented.

Marine Le Pen’s FN, skilfully rebranded as more than just an anti-immigrant party, won control of 11 towns and more than 1,400 municipal seats nationwide, easily its best ever performance at the grassroots level of French government.

But even more worrying for Hollande and Co. was the strong showing of the mainstream Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). The party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy snatched a string of major towns that were once considered bastions of the left in a performance which, if repeated in national elections, would see them sweep back to power with ease in 2017.

Valls popular but divisive

Born in Barcelona, Valls is a dapper, good-looking politician who has consistently been the most popular member of the Socialist-led government with approval ratings Hollande can only dream of.

Having acted as Hollande’s communications manager in the 2012 campaign, the twice-married father of four is personally close to the president.

But he is regarded with suspicion by many on the left of his party because of his attacks on shibboleths such as the 35-hour working week and his uncompromising stance on law-and-order issues.

Appointing him as prime minister is a bold and decisive move by Hollande, some might say uncharacteristically so. But, as with his adoption of the Responsibility Pact — which aims to reduce companies payroll taxes in the hope it will lead to them hiring more staff — it comes with the risk of exacerbating internal party tensions.

The issue was underlined on Monday when Green ministers Cecile Duflot and Pascal Canfin announced they would not be part of the new government, describing the appointment of Valls as “not an adequate response to the problems faced by the French.”

Divisions inside the Socialist Party are already acute because of misgivings on the left over Hollande’s pursuit of spending cuts required to get France’s budget deficit under control.

The full line-up of the new cabinet is expected to emerge on Tuesday with interest particularly keen in whether Hollande will recall the mother of his four children, Segolene Royal, from the political wilderness.

Royal was the Socialists’ presidential candidate in 2007 but her inclusion in Hollande’s first cabinet was reportedly blocked because of hostility from Valerie Trierweiler, the president’s then girlfriend.

That obstacle has now been removed following Hollande’s separation from Trierweiler, and Royal is tipped for a return to the frontline of politics with a major portfolio covering education, sport and youth.

No first lady for India as bachelors battle for PM job

Narendra Modi (L) and Rahul Gandhi (R) PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI: In marriage-obsessed India where people are expected to wed young and produce progeny soon after, two single men are battling it out on the election trail for the prime minister’s job.

On one side is fiery frontrunner Narendra Modi, 63, a white-bearded Hindu nationalist who likes to be seen as a modern-day “monk with a mission”, according to biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

On the other is Rahul Gandhi, 43, the scion of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty who tops eligible bachelor lists and is known as the “reluctant prince” for his diffidence about assuming his family inheritance as leader of the ruling Congress party.

Modi, the hawkish conservative candidate for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, tipped to oust the scandal-tainted Congress in the polls starting April 7, reportedly walked away from a marriage arranged when he was a child.

He has never commented on the relationship, but the woman, 62-year-old retired school teacher Jashodaben, said recently that she didn’t “feel bad” that she has never been acknowledged.

“I know he is doing so due to destiny,” she told the Indian Express in February.

Reports say the marriage was never consummated and Modi went on to rise through the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Hindu group which frowns on marriage for its senior cadres.

Modi, a strict vegetarian who says he “actually enjoys loneliness”, has made a virtue of his de facto single status, saying it will help him clean up India’s rampant corruption.

“I’ve no familial ties. Who would I ever try to benefit through corruption?” he told a rally, claiming only those free of filial ties can end what opponents charge are years of corrupt rule by the Congress party.

And he wouldn’t be the first single man as Indian PM.

Atal Behari Vajpayee, another BJP leader who served as premier from 1998 to 2004, said he never wed because he “did not get time”.

Both Modi and Gandhi keep their private lives strictly under wraps — so much so that according to a Google trends report, some of the most frequently searched questions are “Who is Modi’s wife?” and “Who is Gandhi’s girlfriend?”

Gandhi last year declared he did not want to wed, saying he feared he would “become status-quoist and want my children to take my place” and perpetuate his family’s dominant political role.

But in words that revived hopes of ambitious mothers across India last month, he said he would wed “when I find the right girl”. In the past, he has been linked to several foreign girlfriends.

But being single is no disadvantage in Indian politics, according to Subhash Agrawal who runs the think-tank India Focus.

“In the Hindu tradition, being an ascetic and renunciation (of worldly things) has always been respected,” Agarwal told AFP.

Also from a voter viewpoint, not having a family “means there is much more chance the politician is honest — he’s no family to enrich”.

In the unlikely event that the next prime minister is chosen from one of India’s smaller regional parties, there are high chances of a fellow, but female, singleton being selected.

Two of the most influential ones — Mamata Banerjee from West Bengal and Jayalalithaa Jayaram from southern Tamil Nadu — have no acknowledged partners. A third female regional powerbroker, Mayawati, is also unmarried.

While both Modi and Gandhi have repeatedly expressed their support for the rights of women in male-dominated India, Modi has found himself under fire for his views on the other sex in the past.

In 2012, he branded the wife of a prominent Congress lawmaker, and successful businesswoman in her own right, his “50 crore (500-million rupee) girlfriend”.

A recent scandal focused on allegations Modi’s right-hand man used the state’s intelligence agencies to spy on a woman with whom the politician was supposedly infatuated.

Lately Modi has sought to broaden his appeal among women, insisting there can be “no compromise attitude” on discrimination against them and they must be free to choose “their career and marriage”.

The last 18 months have seen a nascent women’s rights movement take form in India after the shocking fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in December 2012.

Feminists are keen to see the next government carry forward this momentum, but some are unsure of Modi’s credentials.

“The BJP has never been particularly known for its progressive attitudes toward women and there’s no reason to believe a Modi government would be good news for women,” feminist publisher Urvashi Butalia told AFP

Afghanistan: The military battle that precedes the political one

Afghan supporters attend campaign rally. PHOTO: AFP

KHOGYANI: In a small village in a poppy-covered valley in eastern Afghanistan, a group of soldiers rest and eat after shelling the Taliban for several hours – until a burst of gunfire cuts lunch short.

The men of the Afghan army’s fourth infantry brigade have been tasked with clearing the Taliban from the Khogyani and Sherzad districts of the restive province of Nangarhar, ahead of Saturday’s presidential election first round.

Whoever wins the race to succeed President Hamid Karzai will inherit a fragile security situation with local soldiers fighting a still-resilient Taliban insurgency, soon without the support of Nato combat forces, which are leaving Afghanistan.

The fourth infantry brigade’s “Operation Eagle 30″ began before sunrise, with dozens of military vehicles roaring out of the base into the countryside.

The troops moved quickly and soon reached a valley of emerald green – poppy fields, the opium goldmine that finances the Taliban insurgency to the tune of millions of dollars a year.

Briefing his men the day before the offensive in a fortified camp half an hour from the provincial capital Jalalabad, General Dadan Lawang reminded his “lions” of their historic duty.

“As you all know, we are at a critical juncture in Afghanistan at the moment – the presidential and provincial council elections,” he cried.

“We must fight our enemies and eliminate the insurgents from this district,” he said, gesturing to the rugged mountains where the Taliban hide, earning a noisy “Allahu akbar!” (God is greater) from his men.

Since they were thrown out of power in 2001, the Taliban have led a insurgency which 12 and a half years of Western military intervention have not succeeded in quelling.

The militants still hold sway in certain parts of the country and they have vowed to disrupt the election, prompting fears of low turnout and a discredited poll.

Shots and shivering

Once in the poppy-lined valley, things start to get serious for the Afghan troops – fearing ambush and roadside bombs, the convoy edges its way forward.

“These roads are not finished, the insurgents have laid mines everywhere,” said Colonel Shirin Agha.

Scarcely had he said this when a huge explosion echoed from further down the road – a roadside bomb, but one which failed to cause any casualties.

The fall of evening brought darkness and the first skirmish with the militants. As the soldiers reached the top of a hill, shots rang out, seemingly from nowhere.

The soldiers unloaded mortars and a cannon, and began firing on the snowy hillsides around the valley.

After a biting cold night for the soldiers on the hillside, the offensive began again in the morning – artillery and American A-10 attack aircraft strafed the valley.

After three hours, Colonel Zubair Ahmad, a tetchy, energetic commander shouting orders into a walkie-talkie to direct operations, called a halt to the barrage.

The convoy moved off and stopped in a little village where the soldiers threw themselves on a well to drink and lined up at a huge cooking pot for a plate of rice and a lump of meat – their first hot meal since leaving base.

A few minutes later their plates were flying and the men rushing to their weapons – the Taliban were attacking despite the army’s morning-long bombardment.

But if the rebels have the advantage of surprise, the Afghan troops are better equipped and their response was a brutal torrent of fire from rifles, heavy machine guns, and rocket-launchers, while the American A-10s once again roared overhead to strafe the mountain.

“Our convoy faced the enemy ambush and our army forces and police bravely gave them a jaw-breaking answer – the enemy have fled from the area,” said Sergeant Ahmad Qais, reloading his rifle.

Lawang too declared Operation Eagle 30 a success and spoke bullishly of the Afghan army’s ability to tackle the threat posed by the Taliban – even without American military assistance on land and from the air.

The ability of the new president to lead Afghanistan to a more stable, prosperous future will depend greatly on this, and it remains to be seen whether the general’s confidence is well-founded.

Sighs of relief: Oil prices lowered by 5.3 per cent

The move to lower oil prices came soon after the prime minister approved a summary moved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

ISLAMABAD: 

Consumers heaved a sigh of relief on Monday after the government slashed prices of petroleum products by 5.3 per cent in line with the dollar’s depreciation against the rupee. The new rates will be effective from April 1 (today).

The move to lower oil prices came soon after the prime minister approved a summary moved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

According to a notification issued by the regulator the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) – which is widely used in heavy transport vehicles and the agriculture sector, has been cut by Rs2.90 per litre (2.5 per cent) bringing it down to Rs 113.85 against an earlier price of Rs 116.75 per litre.

Whereas the price of High octane blending component (HOBC), a fuel mostly used in luxury and high performance vehicles has been sliced to Rs136.57 against an earlier price of Rs 141.23. Similalry, the price of petrol has now come down by Rs1.72 (1.6 per cent) to Rs 108.31 per litre against the current Rs110.03 per litre.

In a move aimed at minimising the reliance on petrol and reducing the oil import bill, the PML-N led government announced uninterrupted provision of compressed natural gas (CNG) from 10 am to 4 pm on daily basis in Punjab from Tuesday (today).

Apart from farmers and transporters, the reduction in the price of petroleum products is expected to have a favourable effect on the country’s spiralling inflation.  “If the government is able to force the transporters to cut fares, it will also bring down inflation,” an official said speaking on condition on anonymity.

Kerosene oil, which is used for cooking purposes in remote areas where liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is not readily available, recorded a substantial decrease of Rs 5.61 per litre (5.3 per cent), standing at Rs 101.15 against the existing price of 106.76 per litre.

The price of light diesel oil, consumed mainly by industrial units, has also been reduced by Rs 5.16 (5.1 per cent), reaching Rs 95.06 compared to price of 100.22 per litre.

Consumers of high octane blending component, used mainly in luxury vehicles, saw a reduction of Rs 4.66 (3.3 per cent) to Rs 136.57 per litre compared to Rs 141.23 per litre on March 1.

Separately, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also written a letter to the provincial chief ministers following the reduction in petroleum prices, crediting the appreciation of Pakistani rupee vis-à-vis dollar, marking a 5 per cent decrease in import costs.

In his letter, the premier said that it is high time to pass on benefits of cheaper imports and cheaper cost of transportation to the consumers. People expect lower fares for urban and inter-city transport, stated Prime Minister Nawaz.

The premier further said that “We expect lower prices of essential commodities due to lower transportation costs. I expect your personal interest and strong follow-up for immediate relief to the people of Pakistan”.