PM urges US to deliver assistance for Paramilitary forces

[Pk_Thunder]

PM urges US to deliver on promised assistance for capacity building of Pak paramilitary forces


ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani while reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to persist in its campaign against extremism and terrorism till the end, on Friday called on the US Government to deliver on its promised assistance for building the capacity of Pakistan’s civil para‑military forces. He underscored that the military action was not the permanent solution to counter terrorism which was why Pakistan urgently needed the required equipment and training to prepare its para‑military forces to take on this challenge.

The Prime Minister also urged that at the same time, the new US administration should fast‑track the passage of Biden Luger Bill and take measures to introduce the long awaited ROZs Bill in the US Congress.

The Prime Minister was talking to US Senator and Vice President elect Joseph Biden and Senator Lindsey Graham who called on him here at the Prime Minister House.

The Prime Minister briefed the US Senators, in detail, on Pakistan’s campaign to counter terrorism and efforts to normalize relations with Afghanistan.

He emphasized that the US must trust and respect Pakistan’s sincerity as an ally cannot be adversary at the same time.

The Prime Minister also took up with the US Senators the matters relating to provision of defence equipment to Pakistan’s armed forces and enhanced intelligence exchanges between the two sides.

He stated that such cooperation would enable Pakistan’s armed forces to take action against the militant hide‑outs and the major issue of drone attacks by US/NATO forces in the bilateral relations will be eliminated.

The US Vice President elect assured the Prime Minister of new US government’s full economic support, bilaterally and through IFIs, for Pakistan.

He also promised to work for the provision of equipment and training to build capacity of Pakistan’s para‑military forces and meet its defence needs.

He reassured the Prime Minister that the new US government would like to have a constructive relationship with democratic government of Pakistan.

He said it was not a zero sum game as the US considered Pakistan’s success against terrorism as its own.

The incoming government in Washington would like to start with the “present rather than past” in its relations with Pakistan. Though there would be continuity in new government’s policies but it would not be about the past.

The Obama administration fully realized that Pakistan alone could not fight this war and hence would support it in every way possible to succeed.

Biden termed a stable Afghanistan as imperative for the peace and economic prosperity of the whole region and stated that Pakistan’s role towards that end would be of paramount importance.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - PM urges US to deliver on promised assistance for capacity building of Pak paramilitary forces

 

[pkpatriotic]

VP-elect Biden holds talks with Pakistani leaders

Jan 09, 2009 (4 hours ago)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect Joe Biden on Friday met with Pakistani leaders during an Asian trip meant to show the new administration's interest in the troubled region.

Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham met with President Asif Ali Zadari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, aides said. The bipartisan pair also discussed counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and the economy with interior adviser Rehman Malik and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.

In a statement, Gilani said he pressed upon Biden the importance of greater U.S. aid to improve Pakistan's military capacity. Biden has spearheaded legislation to increase humanitarian spending in Pakistan but that also links military aid to Islamabad's performance in the fight against militants.

Gilani also said the two countries should share more intelligence so Pakistan could go after militant targets on its own, removing the need for U.S. missile strikes on its territory. Pakistan routinely condemns such strikes by the U.S.

Biden aides did not disclose their schedule for security reasons, but the public descriptions of the trip suggested destinations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The United States has a strong interest in the stability of Pakistan's weak civilian government because it is considered an ally in the region.

Biden traveled in his role as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He takes office as vice president on Jan. 20 but has not yet resigned his Senate seat. Aides said Biden took the trip now because an official White House trip would take months to organize.

Biden's trip just days before becoming vice president was a clear signal that President-elect Barack Obama's new administration plans to make an immediate priority the battle against al-Qaida and Taliban militants operating along the Pakistan-Afghan border. U.S. officials worry that a conflict with India could distract Pakistan from eliminating militant sanctuaries along the Afghan frontier, and have urged India and Pakistan to cooperate.

Obama's national security team suggested the visit to help the new administration get an on-the-ground sense of the situation in those countries.

Biden, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had planned to travel with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the incoming chairman of committee, and Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Those three bowed out of the group, citing Senate votes scheduled this weekend.

Biden was sworn in for a seventh term Tuesday, a move similar to what Lyndon Johnson did while in the same situation in 1960 when he also was vice president-elect. Edward Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff for almost two decades, was appointed to fill the seat when Biden resigns.

The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said Zardari bestowed an award on Biden, the "Hilal-i-Pakistan," to recognize the veteran politician's "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development in Pakistan and for his outstanding contribution to the strengthening of U.S.-Pakistan relations."

 

[pkpatriotic]

Pakistan PM hands information to India on Mumbai
By CHRIS BRUMMITT
Jan 09, 2009 – 9 hours ago

U. S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, wearing civilian award Hilal-e-Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Biden, who is on a day visit to Pakistan, met Pakistani leadership to discuss bilateral and regional security issues.(AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's main spy agency has given India information about the Mumbai terror attacks, the prime minister said Friday, while denying media speculation of a rift between him and the president.

The comments came as U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden arrived in Pakistan for talks with the country's top leaders, including the prime minister and president. The U.S. Embassy confirmed the visit but gave few details, and press access was severely restricted.

The U.S. has an interest in the stability of Pakistan's civilian government — which is considered weak — because of its support for the American-led fight against global militancy. There are multiple centers of power within the government, and the military and Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency are believed to have significant independence.

The November attacks in Mumbai that killed 164 people underscored the threat terrorism poses to the whole of South Asia. New Delhi says it has passed on evidence to Islamabad that proves Pakistani militants were behind the slaughter.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters the ISI "had given feedback and information sharing that has been passed on to India" after studying that evidence. He gave no more details.

On Wednesday, Gilani fired the national security adviser hours after the official told reporters the sole surviving Mumbai attacker was a Pakistani citizen — something that Islamabad had previously been unwilling to acknowledge.

Local media reported President Asif Ali Zardari was not informed of the decision, intensifying earlier media speculation of a split between the country's top two leaders.

Analysts say there is confusion at times over who is in charge in Pakistan.

Upon taking office Zardari promised to support reducing the president's powers, but there has been little visible progress on that front. Zardari, who also heads the ruling Pakistan People's Party, is believed to be stronger than Gilani, even though the prime minister is technically the chief executive of the government.

Both officials have sought to downplay reports they are feuding.

"There is no misunderstanding," Gilani insisted to reporters Friday, while denying reports that Zardari was displeased with the decision to sack the adviser, Mahmood Ali Durrani.

A Zardari spokesman said Thursday that the two were "on the same page" and it was Gilani's prerogative to fire Durrani.

The Mumbai attackers are suspected to be members of Lashkar-e-Taiba — a militant group created by Pakistani intelligence agencies in the 1980s to fight Indian rule in Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed by both countries and the trigger for two of their three wars.

Some analysts say the group maintains ties to Pakistani intelligence and that the government cannot act too aggressively against it as a result.

In recent weeks, several U.S. envoys have visited India and Pakistan to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors and press Islamabad to take action against extremists on its soil.

Biden traveled to Pakistan in his capacity as a U.S. senator from Delaware. He was accompanied by South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. The veteran politician takes office as vice president on Jan. 20, but has not yet resigned his Senate seat.

According to a press statement, the Pakistani president assured Biden of Pakistan's commitment to "the war against militancy, extremism and terrorism."

State media reported that Zardari also bestowed an award on Biden, the "Hilal-i-Pakistan," to recognize Biden's "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development in Pakistan and for his outstanding contribution to the strengthening of U.S.-Pakistan relations."

Footage from the event showed Zardari handing Biden a medallion.

 

[Jihad]

How many awards is Zardari going to hand out?
Time for action and progress, no toying around, the Pakistani people want to see improvement and immediate changes for the benefit of our country, and once we see positive progress, medals can be handed out and hands can be shaken, but not right now.
It is good to see Gilani press the U.S. for more assistance, afterall, this is not an easy war we are fightning.

 

[Neo]

Biden Reaffirms Alliance with Pakistan in Visit to Islamabad​

By Pamela Constable

KABUL, Afghansitan -- Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, late Friday, just 11 days before he is scheduled to be sworn in as the U.S. vice-president. Biden, who is traveling with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), told Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the United States regards Pakistan as an "important ally and partner" in the war on terrorism.

Pakistan is embroiled in a tense confrontation with neighboring India, also a major U.S. ally, over allegations that a Pakistan-based Islamist group was behind the three-day siege in the Indian city of Mumbai in November that left more than 170 people dead. India has suggested that Pakistani state agencies were involved, which Zardari and other officials have vehemently denied.

Biden and Graham are expected to travel to Afghanistan in the next several days. In recent months, Biden has publicly expressed frustration with the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai, which is widely regarded as weak and corrupt. Karzai, in turn, has grown increasingly critical of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.

The two senators are expected to press both Pakistani and Afghan authorities for tougher commitments to the battle against Islamist extremism as the United States prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to bolster the protracted war against Taliban insurgents. The number would nearly double the current U.S. troop presence.

 

[kidwaibhai]

i think this is a good move by the Obama administration to allay fears in Pakistan and getting pakistans perspective of current situation