US delaying release of $2.4 bn Coalition Support Fund

ISLAMABAD: Amid difficult situation facing Pakistan on economic front, the Obama administration is dillydallying in reimbursing stuck-up amounts of $2.4 billion extended bills by Pakistan after conducting operation against militants in tribal areas, adjacent to war torn Afghanistan, it is learnt.

“Despite repeated attempts made by Islamabad’s authorities to pursue Washington for immediate release of stuck-up amounts, the US has so far released not even a single penny during the ongoing financial year, piling up the bills to the tune of $2.4 billion,” sources in the Finance Ministry told The News here on Thursday.

The extended bills were reconciled with the US Embassy here and then sent to Pentagon for early release but so far there were teething problems despite this fact that the US had sent a special delegation last year to resolve procedural issues. All required procedures were changed to ensure effective monitoring but there were delays in reimbursing the amounts. Pakistani side is going to take up this issue of stuck-up amount of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) in the forthcoming Strategic Dialogue between the two sides which Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is also scheduled to attend in Washington DC.

The US, the sources said, adopted practice of reimbursing the amount in back loaded shape as Washington did during the previous financial by releasing the whole stuck-up amount of over $1 billion in last quarter of fiscal year 2009-10.

“After July 1, 2010, the US has not released any amount, resulting into creating quite difficult situation for the country as the woes of economic managers aggravated after the severe floods that impacted over 20 million populations,” a senior official said.

Amnesty condemns India arrest of Kashmiri lawyers

WORLD BULLETIN

A leading human rights body condemned the Indian authorities over detention of two Kashmiri lawyers, according to a Kashmiri news report said.

A leading human rights body condemned the Indian authorities over detention of two leading Kashmiri lawyers and asked an immediate release of them, according to a Kashmiri news report said.

Amnesty International has condemned the arrest of Mian Abdul Qayoom, the president of the Kashmir Bar Association, and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, the President and Secretary of the High Court Bar Association of Kashmir as an attempt to “stifle legitimate and peaceful protest” in the restive region.

The lawyers arrested respectively on unspecified charges of encouraging pro-freedom activity against India.

They were booked under a Public Safety Act that allows for detention of up to two years without charge or trial on the presumption that so-called future acts harmful to the state may be committed.

The state government must “immediately end the preventive detention” of both lawyers,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific director at Amnesty International Zarifi said in a statement posted late Wednesday on Amnesty’s website.

“Children at risk of arrest”

Meanwhile, in New York, Human Rights Watch has said that hundreds of children were at risk of arbitrary arrests in occupied Kashmir.

Killing of two Kashmiri boys by Indian troops during the pro-independent protests sparked a new vawe of anti-India demonstrations on June 11.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director, was quoted as saying that the authorities in Kashmir needed to comply with international law and give special attention to the requirements of the children.

Indian troops killed two more Kashmiri youth and an unnidentified gunmen tortured to death a civilian after abducting him from his house in another district.

In June, 33 Kashmiri men were killed, including 4 children, according to Kashmir Media Service.