Pak-Afghan-Iran summit in Islamabad today

[Omar1984]

Trilateral summit: All regional problems coming from outside, says Iranian president

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends a meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on February 16, 2012. PHOTO: AFP/FILE


ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday said all problems in the region were the result of foreign interference.

Ahmadinejad was addressing a press conference alongside President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari. The two leaders are in Pakistan for a two-day visit to attend the Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan trilateral summit for regional peace.

“All problems are coming from outside. In order to promote their goals and ambitions… they don’t want to allow our nations to develop,” he said, without specifically naming any foreign power.

The outspoken Iranian leader said “we should stick together in order to advance and achieve our goals”.

“All these powers are interfering in our affairs. We believe that the problems of the region must be solved regionally,” he said.

“We are here to strengthen the steps in order to solidify cooperation among the three nations. We are going to move towards removing the problems… and we should deny others the opportunity to interfere in our affairs,” he added.

Answering the recurring question on the involvement of Pakistani agencies and senior officers with extremist elements in Afghanistan, Zardari said that he denied this notion and said that they were not directly or indirectly involved with the militants. He said the fight was a “residue” of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, adding that there was drug trade worth billions of dollars going on in Afghanistan and that he had called for the United States (US) to pay attention to this matter.

The Pakistani president said that he had met Karzai and that they could not deny that were people from both sides who were involved in militancy. “This is a world problem… they have left the baby with us.”

Karzai also said that the dialogue held yesterday had been good and all three countries were working together.

 

[Omar1984]

Ahmadinejad gets assurance: Gas, power projects to go ahead

President Ahmadinejad thanked Mr Zardari for Pakistan’s “keen interest in further strengthening existing cordial equation with Iran.” - File photo

ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was assured by Pakistani leaders on Thursday that they remained committed to the gas pipeline and electricity import projects despite international sanctions on his country.

Although he couldn’t get a firm timetable for making the energy projects operational, he appeared to have been satisfied with pledges of speeding them up and, in return, offered to enhance bilateral trade to $10 billion in a couple of months.

More importantly, the two sides commenced discussions on currency swap and barter trade arrangements to circumvent the US sanctions for doing business with Iran in the dollar.

“The President (Asif Ali Zardari) reiterated commitment for expeditious implementation of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, 1,000MW electricity transmission line and 100MW Gwadar power supply,” a statement issued by the presidency said.

The PM’s Office in a press-note on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s meeting with Mr Ahmadinejad said: “Both leaders agreed to pursue the energy projects including electricity and gas on fast-track basis. They also discussed the status of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.”

Iran has been worried that Pakistan could abandon the gas pipeline and electricity import agreements under pressure from the West because of sanctions and has been seeking categorical assurances from Islamabad about its continued commitment to the projects.

In the meetings at the presidency and prime minister’s house the two sides discussed ways of enhancing bilateral trade, including proposals for currency swap, barter trade, removing tariff and non-tariff barriers and improved border coordination for facilitating businessmen.

The statement from the presidency said: “President Zardari proposed for considering encouraging barter and trading in local currencies between the two countries besides removing tariff and non-tariff barriers.”

US sanctions on purchase of Iranian oil in dollars have already made several other countries, including Russia, India and Sri Lanka, to make payments in gold or their own currencies.

During talks at the prime minister’s house, the Iranian delegation expressed its desire to import one million tonnes of wheat and 2,00,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan within weeks.

Following fresh sanctions, Iran has increased procurement of grain from the international market bypassing the banking restrictions by paying in currencies other than the dollar and euro.

Measures for controlling drug trafficking and fighting terrorism were also discussed at the meetings.

Both sides agreed to boost mutual coordination for countering terrorism, drugs and narcotics control and human trafficking, an official said.

President Ahmadinejad thanked Mr Zardari for Pakistan’s “keen interest in further strengthening existing cordial equation with Iran.”

Ahmadinejad gets assurance: Gas, power projects to go ahead | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

 

[Omar1984]

Karzai seeks help for Taliban talks

“Pakistan supports any peace process in Afghanistan which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned because peace, prosperity and independence of Afghanistan are in the best interest of Pakistan,” the prime minister said. - AFP photo


ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought help from the government of Pakistan and religious parties on Thursday for advancing peace talks with Taliban in his country and said their assistance was of ‘critical’ importance for the success of the process.

Mr Karzai, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan to attend a trilateral summit, met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari and interacted with Jamaat-i-Islami leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed and JUI-F Senators Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Gul Nasib, who have been associated with Afghan jihadi groups.

He also plans to meet JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq from whose seminary in Akora Khattak most Taliban leaders had graduated. A source privy to Mr Karzai’s meetings in Islamabad said he was primarily trying to explore who could do what to influence the Taliban to start negotiations for ending the war which was now in its 11th year.

Before starting the visit, President Karzai claimed in an interview with Wall Street Journal that Taliban were secretly talking to both the US and Afghanistan. His assertion was denied by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid who said the group wasn’t holding any talks with the Karzai administration.

Mr Karzai updated Prime Minister Gilani about initiatives taken by his government to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

Insisting on importance of Pakistan’s support for peace efforts, he said Pakistan and Afghanistan were “twin brothers and therefore should cooperate in the same spirit for the cause of peace and stability in both countries”.

President Karzai is reported to be pushing the government to arrange his meetings with Taliban leaders who are either in custody of Pakistani authorities or living in the country.

While scepticism prevails in the Afghan delegation about Pakistan’s “wholehearted and sincere” support for reconciliation efforts, Pakistani leaders reiterated their backing for the process saying it served their national interest.

“Pakistan supports any peace process in Afghanistan which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned because peace, prosperity and independence of Afghanistan are in the best interest of Pakistan,” the prime minister said.

President Zardari was quoted as saying during his meeting with the visiting leader that “Pakistan has always desired a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan as it is in Pakistan’s own national interest”. The two countries had last year launched a joint commission for peace and reconciliation to advance efforts to reach out to insurgent leaders, but the initiative faltered after the High Peace Council’s chief, Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, was assassinated. Afghanistan blamed the assassination on Quetta-based elements. The wounds caused by the murder appeared to be healing at Thursday’s meetings.

As Pakistani leaders paid tribute to Prof Rabbani, condemned his killing and reaffirmed their support for investigations into the incident and Mr Karzai thanked them for cooperation in the probe.

An Afghan team recently visited Pakistan, while a group of investigators from Pakistan travelled to Afghanistan for participating in the probe.

A source claimed that the two sides were close to reviving the joint commission.

This perception was strengthened by a statement issued by the prime minister’s office: “Both sides agreed on the need to strengthen mutual cooperation to overcome the common challenges of terrorism and extremism and expressed their resolve to work for the stability and peace of both the countries.”

During his meetings with leaders of religious parties, President Karzai asked for their help in restoring peace.

Talking to this reporter, Qazi Hussain said Mr Karzai had sought Jamaat-i-Islami’s help for pace in Afghanistan.

“We told him that foreign forces must first leave Afghanistan and then we can help the various factions to get together to resolve their differences.”

Maulana Sami said he believed that meaningful discussions for peace were not possible in the present situation when Taliban did not have confidence in Pakistan, the United States or the Karzai government. “The confidence will have to be restored and that can happen with the US putting up a serious agenda for talks.”

Karzai seeks help for Taliban talks | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

 

[SOHEIL]

cutay ke dum kabhi sedhi nahi hote

WHAT ??? Translate plz

 

[Omar1984]

Pakistan will not help US attack on Iran: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has assured Iran that in case of US attack on Iran Pakistan will not provide any assistance to US forces, Geo News reported.

Pakistan will not help US attack on Iran: Zardari

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will fight against terror together: President Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said there is an agreement among the three countries to fight the terror fight together, Geo News reported.

He denied that Pakistan's military played a double game in the 10-year war in Afghanistan, but admitted that private Pakistanis may be involved.

"I deny this notion that any of our armed forces are directly or indirectly involved," he told a news conference when asked about evidence pointing to the involvement of Pakistani spies and officials in the "war on terror".

"Yes I cannot deny that there is a residue in Pakistan of the war that was fought against the Soviet Union," he said referring to Pakistan's involvement in the 1980s war in Afghanistan that gave rise to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

"We cannot deny may be there are people among our population who are involved in this, but this is a world problem," Zardari told the news conference flanked by his Afghan and Iranian counterparts after a summit.

"The three presidents you see sitting together, we shall fight this menace. Nobody is more concerned or more involved in it than me personally," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said foreign nations were determined to dominate the region and this should not be allowed.

"There are countries that are determined to dominate our region. And they have targeted our region for their domination and hegemony," he said.

"We should deny others the opportunity to interfere in our affairs."

The Iranian president did not say to which countries he was referring.

"There is no fundamental problem among the countries of the region. All the problems are coming from outside," he said.

Will fight against terror together: President Zardari

---------- Post added at 04:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 AM ----------

WHAT ??? Translate plz

He said Zardari will never learn and will never move in the straight path. He criticised Zardari and not Ahmadinejad. Pakistanis love Ahmadenejad more than Zardari

 

[Omar1984]

Karzai urges Pakistan to resume Nato supplies


ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has urged Pakistan to resume Nato supplies and charge increased levy, as it will benefit both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Geo News reported.

He was talking to senior journalists over the breakfast here today.

While responding to questions about talks between the US and Taliban and role of Afghan government, he said we are aware of US-Taliban contacts but we would decide where to hold Afghan-Taliban talks.

The Taliban can open office in Qatar but Kabul will hold talks in Turkey or Saudi Arabia with them.

Upon a query over Indian influence in Afghanistan, Karzai said Pakistan does not need to worry about it as Pakistan and India are already engaged in trade agreements.

Option of getting Afghan National Army trained by Pakistan is available but trust deficit between the two countries is a hurdle, he said.

Karzai urges Pakistan to resume Nato supplies

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

WHAT ??? Translate plz

The tail of a dog cant be straightened.

 

[Omar1984]

Pakistan allies with Iran against US

Pakistan has pledged to support Iran if the US launches a military attack against the Islamic Republic. The Pakistani president assured the Iranian leader that his country’s territory will not be used as a launch pad for such an assault.

Should the United Stated decide to attack Iran, Pakistan will not support the move and will not allow the US to use its local airbases for military operations, the Pakistani leader Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday.

His assurances of support came during a meeting of the leaders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan in Islamabad. The talks are seen as Pakistan’s way of sending a message of defiance to the US.

Meanwhile, Turkey has denied Israel the right to use intelligence from its NATO radar system. In the wake of a recent US-Israel joint missile test and the ongoing tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday that any intelligence gathered by the NATO facilities should not be shared with a third country, especially if the country is Israel.

Relations between Pakistan and the US are at an all-time low, after a November US air strike on a Pakistani border post killed 24 troops who were mistaken for Taliban militants. It took the Pentagon a month to reluctantly admit their part of the blame for the deadly mistake and offer apologies.

But even without military facilities on Pakistani soil, Washington and its allies already have more than enough military force accumulated in the region to unleash full-scale war on Iran.

The American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, joining another US battle group already positioned in the region headed by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Yet another aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, is expected to join the strike force in March.

The buildup of the US and its allies’ military presence has “turned the Gulf into a weapons depot,” Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Tuesday.

The West considers Iran’s controversial nuclear program – which Washington and others claim without evidence to be at least partly military – to be a threat to be dealt with by any means necessary. But so far neither extensive economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic nor the assassinations of top Iranian nuclear scientists has stopped Iran from working on developing nuclear power, which Tehran maintains is solely civilian.

A military operation against Iran is considered by many to be the most likely outcome of Iran’s refusal to stop its nuclear research. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, however, has rejected the possibility of a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites as an alternative to diplomacy. “There is no alternative to a peaceful resolution on this issue,” Ban said Friday.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak believes that a “nuclear Iran will be more complicated to deal with, more dangerous and more costly in blood than if it is stopped today.”

“Whoever says 'later,' might find that it will be too late,” Barak said.

Earlier in February, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta noted the “strong possibility” of an Israeli strike on Iran in either April, May or June, before Iran enters a so-called "immunity zone," when its nuclear facilities will be too heavily fortified for an attack to succeed, the Washington Post reported.

The attack on Iran, however, would be like committing a suicide, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi last week.

"The issue of a military attack from America on the Islamic Republic of Iran has been on the agenda for several years," said Sajjadi. “If it attacks, we have a list of counter actions.”

Despite such self-confidence, it is highly unlikely that Iran will initiate an attack unless provoked by the US or Israel, says US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Ronald Burgess.

"Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz at least temporarily, and may launch missiles against United States forces and our allies in the region if it is attacked," Burgess said.

Tehran has repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, which connects Gulf oil exporters with the Arabian Sea, if any sort of a military attack is carried out against the republic.


Pakistan allies with Iran against US — RT

 

[Omar1984]

Trilateral summit to have far reaching impact on region: Hina


ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (APP): Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Friday said Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran trilateral summit held in Islamabad would have far reaching impact on the region.Talking to newsmen here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr after the conclusion of trilateral summit, Khar said the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran have been mandated to prepare and coordinate a ‘Road Map’ for trilateral cooperation for submission to the next Summit to held in Afghanistan.To a question, the Foreign Minister said Pakistan will not sustain any pressure against its national interest. To another question she said Mullah Umar was not in Pakistan.


Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the newsmen that the interior ministers of three countries have been given the mandate to develop a framework of trilateral cooperation particularly in the areas of counter terrorism, counter-narcotics and border management within six months.

He said any destabilization in this region would also affect the whole world, and the world should realize this fact.

To a question, the Interior Minister said Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are faced with the challenge of terrorism, and they must join hands to fight this menace.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency )

 

[Omar1984]

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

it's a photo opps only and not much else

i heard karzai is huffing and puffing coz he knows he'll soon be irrelevant

 

[Omar1984]

it's a photo opps only and not much else

i heard karzai is huffing and puffing coz he knows he'll soon be irrelevant

Yes Karzai isn't that important in regional affairs but Ahmadinejad is

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

karzai and NATOs will soon be irrelevant in Afghanistan

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

 

[unicorn]

karzai and NATOs will soon be irrelevant in Afghanistan

NATO complements Karzai.
How NATO will become irrevelant in Afghanistan in the future?

Haven't you read this news

With US force levels in Afghanistan scheduled to drop from some 90,000 currently to 68,000 troops by October, Special Operations Forces (SOF) will take on an increasingly pivotal role in the country, senior military officials say.

Special Forces in Afghanistan: not just taking out terrorists anymore - CSMonitor.com

This news firmly suggests that USA has make a strong network of human intelligence working in Afghanistan.
Special Operation are always conducted based on intelligence. NATO and it's efforts are currently irrevalent but not is a sense that you are thinking.

In Bonn conference a Pro Afghan Government journalist openly criticizes the Hamid Karzai.I think this little fact is enough to predict what will happen in the future. All Americans efforts will go in drain.