Taliban reject Mullah Omar's death

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181276.html

The Afghan Taliban has denied a report by a local Afghan TV network that their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed in Pakistan.

In a phone conversation from an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the Associated Press that the report is ''absolutely wrong.''

''It's only propaganda and we completely deny these rumors. He is inside Afghanistan and he is busy directing military operations with his commanders.''

"This is pure propaganda. This is not possible at all," the spokesperson added.

The denial came in reaction to a report by Afghan Tolo news channel, which reported that the Afghan Taliban leader has been killed in Pakistan.

On Monday, Tolo TV quoted an anonymous Afghan intelligence official as saying that "Mullah Omar was killed on way from Quetta to North Waziristan."

The official confirmed the killing, emphasizing that Mullah Omar was killed inside Pakistan. “It is correct that Mullah Omar has been killed," the official said.

The private television channel, however, did not provide any further details.

Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban, was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to 2001.

The Taliban leader has survived a vast US military manhunt since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began in 2001.

US: Strikes on Pakistan to continue

Pakistanis hold placards as they shout slogans to condemn a US drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal region, during a protest in Peshawar on March 19, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175907.html

The United States says it will not halt its drone attacks in Pakistan, defying repeated calls from Islamabad and Pakistani people for an end to the non-UN-sanctioned strikes.

“The program is something that we have said we go ahead on. The question is how. And that process is going to be something that's going to be one of the main tasks that our intelligence and our military guys have,” Reuters quoted a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying on Wednesday.

This comes as the chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has met with Pakistan's high-ranking intelligence officials in Lahore.

The US had previously insisted on its stance about continuing the drone attacks in a meeting between CIA director Leon Panetta and Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency in Washington last week.

Washington has at times claimed it has an agreement with Islamabad on launching such attacks, but Pakistani authorities say there has never been such a deal and that they view the airstrikes as repeated violations of the country's sovereignty.

Moreover, Pakistani lawmakers have strongly criticized the US drone strikes and urged the government “to review its foreign policy and adopt a strict stance to stop CIA attacks inside Pakistan.”

Khawaja Saad Rafiq, the leader of major Pakistani party Muslim League Nawaz, has blamed the hike in the acts of terrorism in Pakistan on the ongoing CIA drone attacks.

The CIA's unauthorized drone strikes in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt claimed the lives of more than 1,180 people in 2010 alone, reports say.

Pakistan urges end to US strikes

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175542.html

Pakistan has called on the US to stop non-UN-sanctioned drone strikes in the country's northern tribal belt as differences between Islamabad and Washington escalate.

The row between the US and its Asian ally over the scale of the unauthorized CIA drone operations in Pakistan's North Waziristan were exposed last week.

Pakistan has repeatedly criticized the attacks which it condemns for violating the country's sovereignty.

Washington, on the other hand, defends the strikes as necessary to fight the militants it claims to have holed up.

But Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that Washington should share better intelligence so Islamabad can take action against militants itself.

For several months, Pakistani diplomats and military officials have complained that they were being kept in the dark by the US administration's non-UN-sanctioned military campaigns.

Politicians on both sides are disappointed with the results of investment of billions of dollars in the US military and civilian assistance since 2001 with Washington admitting in a recent report to Congress that the results of the spending fell short of expectations.

More than 1,180 people were killed by over 120 CIA drone strikes in 2010 alone, reports say.

The strikes have further fueled the anti-US sentiment already on the rise in the region.

Pakistan urges US to cut CIA operations

Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174439.html

Pakistan's spy chief has demanded that the United States steeply reduce the number of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives and halt drone attacks on its soil.

This comes as the current Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha met with CIA chief Leon Panetta in Washington on Monday.

In the meeting, Pasha called for Islamabad's control over CIA operations in Pakistan.

According to Pakistani and US officials, Islamabad also asked Washington to reduce the number of CIA operatives in the county.

Meanwhile, reports say US President Barack Obama has rejected Islamabad's call for more transparency regarding CIA operations in the country.

US-Pakistani ties have been strained over Washington's deadly drone attacks as well as the case of Raymond Davis -- a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis in January.

Reports say Pakistan has also demanded that the United States stop its drone attacks inside its territory.

The developments come as President Obama has frequently blamed Pakistan for not doing enough to fight terrorism in its troubled northwestern tribal belt along the Afghan border.

This is while US planes and helicopters have increasingly violated Pakistani airspace over the past months.

The US claims its air raids target militants who cross the Pakistani border into Afghanistan. But locals say civilians are the main victims of the unauthorized attacks.

The unauthorized US drone attacks have drawn strong criticism from the Pakistani nationals and officials.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the region, however, after nine years the region remains unstable and militancy has expanded towards Pakistan.

Analysts say the US is looking for an excuse to expand its military operations in the troubled South and Central Asian region to secure bases near Russia and China.

Pakistan urges US apology over strike

Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani has condemned the deadly raids on Thursday, March 17, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170500.html

Pakistan has strongly condemned the US over an unauthorized drone strike, which has killed at least 35 people in the North Waziristan tribal region, and demanded Washington's apology.

The Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani said that it is “highly regrettable that innocent citizens should be targeted with complete disregard for human life,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has also condemned the attack as "irrational behavior." He stressed that such strikes will only strengthen the hands of extremist elements.

Civilians and police were among those killed in the assault that struck a peaceful meeting of tribal elders on Thursday. This was the seventh such attack within nine days and the most deadly since 2008.

Islamabad is now demanding an apology from Washington.

"Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir conveyed this strong condemnation to US ambassador Cameron Munter and has demanded an apology and explanation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a statement on Friday.

The non-UN-sanctioned attack targeted was the 23rd such strike in Pakistan since the beginning of the year.

Most of the victims of drone attacks have been civilians. The US military denies the claims, saying its air raids target militants.

11,000 NATO containers go missing

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133101&sectionid=351020401

Reports say more than 11,000 containers bound for the US-led forces in Afghanistan have mysteriously gone missing over the past two years in Pakistan.

The containers filled with food and military equipment worth USD 220 billion have been illegally unloaded in Pakistan, sources said on Friday.

However, Pakistani officials put the number of missing containers at only 40 and blame corrupt customs department officials for the scam.

Reports say several Pakistani officials have been arrested over the missing containers. Many fear the items have been handed over the militants.

Pakistan, a US ally in the so-called war on terror, remains the main transit route for the NATO forces stationed in neighboring Afghanistan.

Trucks carrying supplies for foreign forces in Afghanistan frequently come under attack in Pakistan.

The developments also come after months after the disclosure that thousands of US weapons went missing in Afghanistan.

US military officials failed to keep proper records on about 87,000 rifles, pistols, mortars and other weapons sent to Afghanistan between December 2004 and June 2008.

Analysts say the weapons may have fallen in the hands of militants linked to the Taliban or Al-Qaeda.

Ahead of London summit, Taliban reveal demands

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117256§ionid=351020403


The Taliban say the 60-nation conference in London on Afghanistan will be a waste of time should it not entirely focus on the departure of foreign forces from the war-torn country.

In a statement Wednesday, the militants said the outcome of the summit will be as disappointing as of the meetings in Paris and Tokyo, if it does not consider the reality on the ground.

World leaders and senior representatives from around the globe are in London to attend the high-profile conference on the future of Afghanistan.

Ahead of the summit, Taliban spokesman Zabihuallh Mujahid said the only solution is the withdrawal of all international troops from Afghanistan, a Press TV correspondent reported.

To bring peace to the country, the statement said, all Taliban detainees in Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prisons should be released and all Taliban leaders should be removed from the UN blacklist.

The Taliban, it said, will continue to fight foreign forces to free the country from occupation.

The US, which led the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan to fight terrorism and root out the Taliban, meanwhile, is mulling over a plan to reintegrate the militants in the country's political system.

US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke says the plan will force the Taliban lay down their weapons and stop resisting foreign forces.

According to Holbrooke, the US believes two-thirds of the Taliban can be pardoned as they do not follow extremism.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, more than a hundred thousand foreign troops are facing an increasing struggle to fight militancy and restore security in several parts of the country.

Karzai ready to reintegrate Taliban

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117057&sectionid=351020403


Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said fighting the Taliban is no longer an option and he plans to reintegrate some of the militants back into society.

After a meeting in Istanbul on Monday with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Karzai told reporters that his plan has been fully backed by Western governments.

On the eve of a major London conference on Afghanistan, Karzai said just fighting the Taliban is no longer an option. "Those Taliban who are not part of Al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks are welcome to come back to their country, lay down their arms, and resume life under the Constitution of Afghanistan," he added.

Karzai praised Turkish efforts to ease the tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan over allegations of Pakistani support for the Taliban.

When asked if Pakistan had already begun talking to the Taliban, Zardari did not deny it.

The Turkish president said he was satisfied with the progress so far in the trilateral talks.

The London conference on Afghanistan opens Thursday. It is to include talks on international development assistance. Finding funding for a program to encourage Taliban insurgents to lay down their arms is expected to be one of the main items on the agenda.

The Turkish president is hosting another meeting on Tuesday with the two presidents and senior diplomats and ministers from the United States, Iran, Russia, China, and Britain.

UK joins Taliban peace plan strategy

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117055§ionid=351020403


Britain is pushing for peace talks with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan while attempting to map out an exit strategy, as its ally, the US, prepares to deploy more troops to the country.

The British army chief, General David Richards, said on Monday that negotiations with the Taliban could be considered but must be done from a position of strength. "So it's a matter of timing, not the principle," he noted.

He added that a deal should be reached with the Taliban on condition that the group cuts its ties with Al-Qaeda.

The remarks come ahead of this week's international conference on Afghanistan in London, which is set to debate the implementation of more effective strategies in the Central Asian country.

Ways to increase pressure on the Afghan government to give firm commitments on the training of security forces will also be discussed.

General Richards' comments echo the remarks made earlier by General David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, and General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who held out the possibility of striking a peace deal with Taliban leaders.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also recognized the Taliban as part of the political fabric of Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has offered money and jobs to Taliban members in order to persuade them to lay down their arms.

However, US President Barack Obama's new war strategy envisages deploying 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan.

Taliban Poses No Security Threat to US

Source: PressTV

In an exclusive interview with Press TV, former CIA agent Ray McGovern said that the Taliban does not pose any threat to US national security.

In a reference to Wednesday's attack against a US military base in eastern Afghanistan which killed seven CIA operatives, McGovern said that the CIA operatives should not have been there because the Taliban do not pose any security threats to United States.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Forward Operating Base Chapman, which was hit by an attack on Wednesday, was used by US spies.

It added the US sources confirmed that all the dead and injured were probably CIA employees or contractors.

McGovern said the CIA employees and contractors are in Afghanistan mainly because of the natural gas fields in Turkmenistan and the oil pipeline that needs to pass through Afghanistan.

He went on to say that he made the conclusion based on documents that he obtained from Enron Corporation, which was supposed to build a pipeline bringing gas and oil from Turkmenistan and passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Thus, the NATO and CIA presence in Afghanistan is neither for US national security nor for making Afghanistan safer, but to guarantee the delivery of oil and gas from Turkmenistan, McGovern added.

Pakistan, US Lock Horns over War on Terror

Source: PressTV

The Pakistani army rejects US pressure to open a new front against Afghan militants operating on its territory, a move that has added to tensions between the two countries.

In an interview Thursday in Rawalpindi, army spokesman Brig. Syed Azmat Ali denied allegations that the country was sheltering the Afghan militants.

"We can't start fighting in North Waziristan while we are in every agency in the tribal area fighting the Taliban there."

Pakistan says some 30,000 of its troops have been fighting the militants in their stronghold of South Waziristan since October.

The US has stepped up its pressure on the Pakistani army to launch a new offensive against the militants in neighboring North Waziristan region, where some Taliban affiliated militants are fighting against US-led troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

Hundreds of militants fled into Pakistan to escape a US-led invasion of Afghanistan eight years ago.

America and its NATO allies say Pakistan is reluctant to go after the Afghan Taliban, particularly the so-called Haqqani network, led by former US ally Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Meanwhile the Pakistani military spokesman highlighted that 2,000 Pakistani soldiers have been killed fighting the militants since 2001.

"We're tired of this mistrust and this questioning of our commitment and of our sincerity,'' Ali said.

The military spokesman also accused the US and NATO forces of not doing enough to stop militants and weapons crossing from over the porous Afghan border into Pakistan

Senior civilians and military officials in Islamabad say they were stretched to the limit in a bloody war against Pakistan-based militants and will not expand operations against the Afghan Taliban.

Also, the US says Pakistan is delaying hundreds of visas for US officials and contractors, a move that has added to tensions between the two countries.

The disagreements are an early sign of the problems ahead in Pakistan for US President Barack Obama, who has sent 33000 additional troops to Afghanistan to end a 9-year long conflict there.