News Detail
Allen to push NATO route talks in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Top US commander in Afghanistan General John Allen is expected to arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, on Wednesday to discuss the resumption of NATO supply routes, amid recent protests by religious political parties.
A media wing of the Pakistani army in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement said Allen would meet Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the restoration of the supply routes.
The military leaders will oversee the developments on implementation of cross-border contact as well, it said.
NATO supply routes in Pakistan had been closed since last November, after a NATO airstrike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in the Mohmand tribal region near the Afghan border.
US and Pakistani diplomats held several rounds of talks to resolve the deadlock but no viable solution had been reached so far.
Religious political parties staged series of demonstrations in Karachi, Peshawar and other cities against the possible reopening of the routes.
Allen’s visit comes a day after Islamabad lodged strong protest with NATO and Afghan officials over recent cross-border attacks by insurgents crossing into Pakistan from eastern Afghan province of Kunar.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said the deputy head of Afghan mission in Islamabad was called to the Foreign Office and a strong protest was lodged on “the intrusion of militants from the Afghan side into Pakistani territory.”
The Afghan diplomat was informed that “the government of Afghanistan should take appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in future,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Newly appointed Pakistani prime minister on Monday also condemned the attacks and said he would discuss the matter with President Hamid Karzai.
Governor of Kumar province Fazlullah Wahidi said militants were based in Pakistan and not in Afghanistan.
“We don’t have any information about militants crossing the border from Afghanistan to attack troops in Pakistan,” he said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said it was aware of the report, but had no information.
The Foreign Office said about 100 militants from across the border entered Dir district and clashed with a Pakistani security forces patrolling party.__(PAN)
Highlights
-
Sharif seeks improved relations with Kabul
KABUL: Following his landslide victory in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif on Sunday promised efforts at improving Islamabad-Kabul relations. In recent weeks, ties between.... READ MORE
-
Taliban free 4 of 8 Turkish engineers
KABUL: The Taliban have freed four of the Turkish engineers they had kidnapped last month in central Logar province, Afghan and Turkish officials said on Sunday. On April 21, the Taliban kidnapp.... READ MORE
-
MPs suggest rethink on Pakistan policy
KABUL: Members of the Meshrano Jirga -- or upper house of the parliament -- on Sunday said the incoming Pakistan government would not help Afghanistan and asked the Karzai administration to revie.... READ MORE
-
Karzai hopes new Pak govt to help fight terror
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai on Sunday telephoned Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and congratulated him his “clear victory” in the elections. Karzai described Sharif.... READ MORE
-
Iranian guards’ fire being probed: Musazai
KABUL: The Foreign Ministry said it was dispatching a delegation to Iran on Sunday to investigate reported casualties among Afghans at the hands of Iranian guards near the shared border. At leas.... READ MORE
-
Balochs vow to resist aggression
KABUL: The Council of Baloch Elders of Afghanistan on Sunday voiced their support for the government in guarding the country's borders against Pakistani intrusions. At a meeting with President H.... READ MORE
-
Hundreds rally against Pakistan, Iran
FARAH CITY: Hundreds of people, mostly former jihadi leaders, on Sunday rallied against Pakistan and Iran, accusing the neighbouring countries of killing and torturing innocent Afghans. Nearly 5.... READ MORE
-
Abducted MDC workers shifted to Tirah
JALALABAD: The eleven employees of a mine-clearing organisation, who were abducted from the Achin district of Nangarhar province, have been taken to Pakistan’s northwestern Tirah Valley, offici.... READ MORE
Clippings
Iran and blame the victim game
Tehran is continuously interfering in Afghanistan and pressurizing Kabul under one pretext or the other. Iran’s meddling into our internal affairs while giving it name of concern as Tehran did it recently when its ambassa...
