Progress in U.S.-Pak relationship substantial but uneven: Obama

In his third-quarterly report to the Congress on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the American president called for better balance and integration.

Noting that Pakistan is central to America’s efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda and prevent its return to the region, U.S. President Barack Obama said progress in U.S.-Pak relationship last year was substantial but uneven.

President Barack Obama addresses the White House in Washington.

“Progress in our relationship with Pakistan over the last year has been substantial, but also uneven,” Mr. Obama said in the third-quarterly report to the Congress on Afghanistan and Pakistan sent yesterday.

The 2010 Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review includes an evaluation of the progress made during the period of this report, which marked the full deployment of the U.S. troop “surge” to Afghanistan that he announced in December 2009, Mr. Obama said in a letter to the Congressional leaders.

He said the review also highlights particular areas in U.S. strategy for Pakistan that require adjustment.

“Specific components of the strategy, taken individually, indicate we are headed in the right direction, both in terms of U.S. focus and Pakistani cooperation. However, better balance and integration of the various components of our strategy will be required to reach our objectives,” Mr. Obama said.

“For instance, the denial of extremist safe havens will require greater cooperation with Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan. Furthermore, the denial of extremist safe havens cannot be achieved through military means alone, but must continue to be advanced by effective development strategies,” the President said.

“In 2011, we must strengthen our dialogue with both Pakistan and Afghanistan on regional stability. Toward that end, Secretary Clinton plans to host foreign ministers from both countries in Washington for another session of the United States-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral dialogue.

“On bilateral issues, we must support the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen its economy, improve governance and security, and respond to the development needs of the Pakistani people,” Mr. Obama said.

The Administration will continue U.S.-Pak Strategic Dialogue and sustain senior level engagement, he said.

“Pakistan is central to our efforts to defeat al-Qaeda and prevent its return to the region. We seek to secure these interests through continued, robust counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency cooperation and a long-term partnership anchored by our improved understanding of Pakistan’s strategic priorities, increased civilian and military assistance, and expanded public diplomacy,” he said.

“Progress in our relationship with Pakistan over the last year has been substantial, but also uneven. We worked jointly in the last year to disrupt the threat posed by al-Qaeda, and Pakistan has made progress against extremist safe havens, taking action in six of seven agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA),” he said.

These gains came at great cost, as Pakistan has endured thousands of casualties in their military ranks and among their civilian population from terrorist attacks.

“There was improvement in our security assistance, with increased training cooperation, more support for Pakistan’s military operations, and greater border coordination,” Mr. Obama said.

In 2010, Mr. Obama had said the U.S. also enhanced the United States-Pakistan relationship through Strategic Dialogue.

“The Dialogue developed mutual trust, prompted attention to reforms critical to long-term stability, and addressed development objectives important to the people of Pakistan.”

Civilian assistance increased with more aid flowing through Pakistani institutions, improved civilian stabilisation activities, the development of critical energy and other infrastructure, and a robust flood response and recovery effort, which NATO directly assisted.

“We believe our renewed bilateral partnership is helping promote stability in Pakistan,” he said.

“It clearly communicates U.S. commitment to a long-term relationship that is supportive of Pakistan’s interests and underscores that we will not disengage from the region as we have in the past,” Mr. Obama said.

Raymond Davis, an American “Tweetie Bird”

By: SYED ZAIDI

The Raymond Davis murders – American empire comes unhinged

FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY AMERICAN FRIENDS

About a year ago Gordon Duff and Jeff Gates, both associated with the Veterans Today website, and both well-connected with the Pentagon and the Pakistani military, visited the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the company of top Pakistani army officers. They heard the complaints and saw the evidence that the US, Israel and India had secretly created and were arming and nurturing the so-called Pakistani Taliban (TTP – Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) insurgency.

Duff and Gates noticed that a great many of the supposed aid projects that were claimed to be German were actually manned by Western and Israeli Jews. The Pakistanis couldn’t tell the difference, but these Americans obviously could. The private armies run by contractors such as Xe (the new name for Blackwater), it turns out, are under Zionist control. The effort to break up nuclear-armed Muslim Pakistan is most of all a Zionist project.

As Christopher Bollyn has pointed out, the main aim of the American war effort in Afghanistan, brought about by the Zionist-engineered 9/11 event, is for the benefit of ostensibly Israeli-owned (and ultimately Rothschild-et -al-controlled and -owned) gas, mineral and heroin interests in Central Asia.

The late Richard “Holbrooke” (hiding behind an olde Englishe name his father was not born to) turns out to have been a relative of the Rothschilds. And his replacement is one Mr Grossman, who will no doubt prove to link to the same networks. The Raymond Davis incident points to the unhinging of American, really Zionist, empire, in this zone as much as in the Arab world.

Since Obama and Hilary are, like 99% of American politicians, totally the creatures of Zionists, it comes as no surprise that they are going all out to try to keep a lid on this incident. Both have put their prestige on the line in support of the absurd claim that Davis must be given diplomatic immunity under the Vienna conventions. The State Department conveyed through an American TV channel a threat to expel the Pakistani ambassador. Now they are threatening to cut off US aid.

It’s not working.

America does have the support of Pakistani president Zardari – no wonder: they probably helped him murder his wife to make a claim for the presidency, and they helped get all the cases against him dropped so that the Swiss would release his massive accounts. Zardari has sacked – thus making a hero of – the foreign minister for opposing the release of Davis.

But there is not that much more within his power to do. If he did get close to getting Davis freed, the army would once more take over the country. Meanwhile, with or without the help of the latest American / Israeli torture technology, Davis is reported to be singing like Tweetie.

$11-Million Monument to Benazir Bhutto: APPROVED

By: Shirin Sadeghi

This week, as flood waters ravage Pakistan’s land and 20 million of its people, and after Pakistan’s own president, Asif Ali Zardari, managed to muster only $58,000 of his own vast wealth to the flood relief (a donation nearly doubled by Angelina Jolie), yet another devastating blow has hit Pakistan: news that the government has now approved an $11-million statue of the President’s assassinated wife, Benazir Bhutto.

And yes, this is Pakistani taxpayer money.

The statue itself will cost 4.7 million dollars, and it will be built on land that is worth another 5.9 million dollars. Apparently, Mr. Zardari, whose personal wealth is estimated to be more than 1 billion dollars, just couldn’t afford to donate the land or the statue in honor of the mother of his children.

His government decided the people of Pakistan could afford it, though. People who, according to the World Bank, have an average per capita income of $870 annually.

Admirably, the people of Pakistan have taken it upon themselves to try and stop this misguided use of funds in the midst of a national disaster. A legal action failed, but now a petition is available online.

Another day, another battle in the Pakistani people’s war for a representative government.

NAB asks Swiss govt to reopen cases against Zardari

Letters sent to Federal Office of Justice Switzerland and Geneva attorney; NAB tells SC action being taken against Qayyum

By Sohail Khan

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that letters had been dispatched to the Swiss authorities for the re-opening of cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The apex court on Tuesday gave 24-hour deadline to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to implement its order of December 16, 2009 on infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Naveed Ahsan, Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) told a seven-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that in compliance with the court order, they had transmitted letters to Federal Office of Justice Switzerland and Attorney of Geneva for re-opening of money laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The bench was hearing a suo moto notice on non-implementation of December 16, 2009 verdict, declaring NRO as repugnant to various provisions of the constitution. Other members of the bench included Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday.

The NAB chief while placing on record of the court his statement submitted that they had requested the Swiss authorities to re-open cases against President Asif Ali Zardari in compliance with the court order of December 16, 2009.

The NAB informed the court that action against former Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum was being taken and the NAB had written to the Law Ministry for its opinion in this regard.

The court was further informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been requested to extend its assistance to the NAB for the process of dealing the cases with the Swiss authorities.

According to NAB report, 158 cases in high courts and 16 in Supreme Court have been revived after the apex court’s ruling on the NRO. The NAB officials told the court that 21 inquiries, which were halted under the NRO, have been resumed and sentences of 10 convicts have been restored.

During the course of the proceedings, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday asked the NAB officials why those convicts had not yet been sent to jail whose sentences had been restored. He asked what the status of cases was against President Zardari in Spain. Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar, however, told the court that no action was taken from here against those cases in Spain.

Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan also presented a reply by Secretary Law about implementation of the NRO verdict. The NAB report said that in compliance with the court orders, show cause notice had been issued to prosecutor general Dr Danishwar Malik and the inquiry would be initiated against him on April 18 at the accountability court for his removal.

The AG informed the court that the number of accountability courts would be increased in Punjab and Islamabad whereas the number of courts in other three provinces was satisfactory.

He further submitted that notification for additional accountability courts would be issued today (Wednesday). He said only Punjab had requested for additional accountability courts in Multan.

He said a reference against former Attorney General Malik Qayyum would also be sent to the NAB. The court directed the attorney general to make a categorical statement about implementation of the NRO verdict on behalf of the government and submit before the court today (Thursday).

The court also gave copies of the reports submitted by NAB and Law Ministry to the attorney general and asked him to study them and explain the measures taken in the report in detail to the court on Thursday (today). The court then asked the NAB chairman and deputy chairman that their presence in the court from tomorrow (Thursday) was not mandatory, however, the court might call them, if needed.