AFPAK / Iraq Sweep01 November 2011

Afghanistan1) Afghanistan and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of former Afghan leader and peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, said the Turkish president. "One of the most important conclusions of this summit is the decision made by Pakistan and Afghanistan to establish a cooperation mechanism to illuminate the assassination of ex-Afghan President Rabbani," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said after a trilateral summit with the Afghan and Pakistani leaders in Istanbul. Geo

2) Turkey hosts the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan Tuesday for a trilateral summit designed to reduce tensions and promote cooperation between the two neighbours amid stepped-up Taliban attacks. Turkish President Abdullah Gul will hold seperate talks with Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan before the three-way talks later Tuesday, said a Turkish diplomatic source. Geo

3) An American soldier is on trial for the murders of unarmed non-combatants in Afghanistan in what is alleged to have been the worst known case of misconduct by U.S. troops during the Afghan conflict. The court martial session heard accounts of unarmed Afghan farmers being shot in staged combat scenes, their corpses mutilated, fingers cut off and passed around as trophies. AOP

4) Australian soldiers shot and killed a civilian in southern Afghanistan, Australian Defence Force (ADF) confirmed on Monday. In a statement, ADF said Australians soldiers on Saturday opened fired after the Afghan man failed to follow directions to stop while he was riding a motorbike in Tarin Kot, Uruzgan Province. The incident happened as Australian soldiers were securing a site for a meeting of the provincial reconstruction team. AOP

5) Two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Afghanistan. “Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," ISAF announced in a press release on Tuesday. The nationalities of the two soldiers have not been announced pending notification of relevant authorities. AOP

6) Taliban militants fighting Afghan government raided a police department in Ghazni province, 125 km south of capital city Kabul, killing three policemen including a district police chief on Tuesday, provincial police chief Zarawar Zahid said. "A group of Taliban rebels attacked police department in Rashidan district today afternoon and killed three police including Mohammad Amin the district police chief," Zahid told Xinhua. AOP

7) Double explosions that rocked Khost province 150 km southeast of capital city Kabul on Tuesday left five people including three police injured, police spokesman in the

province said. "Both the blasts happened in a span of an hour -- at 07:00 a.m. and 08:00 a.m. local time today in Gorboz district, left three policemen and two civilians injured," Ziarat Gul told Xinhua. AOP

8) Four children were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan's Wardak province with Maidan Shar as its capital 35 km west of capital city of Kabul on Monday, a spokesman for provincial administration said on Tuesday. "Four innocent children, all member of the same family, were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Khawajagan village in surrounding area of provincial capital Maidan Shar late on Monday," Shahidullah Shahid told Xinhua on Tuesday morning. AOP

Pakistan1) Afghanistan urged Pakistan on Tuesday to “move beyond words” and take concrete steps to curb militants which it said were a threat to both countries. Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting in Istanbul that Afghanistan and Pakistan had been trying for several years to build trust “but I think we have failed to see results on the ground”. Daily Times

2) Pak-Afghan Torkham border remained closed for more than one hour for the general public commuters while traffic at the border remained suspended for more than three hours following the tension that disturbed the transporters who were waiting for border crossing. The road was jam packed due to huge traffic standing in long queues. The administration sources informed that the border was re-opened after dialogues between the two sides on the border, adding the misunderstanding was removed. Daily Times

3) Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf will return Pakistan on March 23, 2012 at any cost, said All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) central vice presidents Dr Ghulam Mujtaba and Haris Nawaz. Addressing a joint press conference at a local hotel on Tuesday, the APML leaders said it was very clear stance of the party that no one should have ambiguity in return of Musharraf as there would be no delay in it. Daily Times

4) At the hard-line religious school that spawned a generation of Afghan Taliban leaders, the top cleric still lectures his students to go to Afghanistan to fight Americans. But privately, he said, “he’s willing to help bring insurgents to peace talks.” Daily Times

5) The White House has asked the Pentagon for initial recommendations for the US troop presence in Afghanistan in 2014, a first step in planning the final US drawdown there despite a bleak security outlook. Sources familiar with the discussions said President Barack Obama’s top aides have asked for scenarios for 2014. As part of that process, the Pentagon must look at troop levels for 2013 - suggesting deeper withdrawals beyond the removal, by next September, of the 33,000 surge troops Obama deployed in a bid to turn around the flagging decade-old conflict. Daily Times

6) Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Tuesday said the neighbouring countries should have only supportive role in ensuring peace, security and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and the Istanbul Regional Conference would help further this cherished objective. Talking to APP in Istanbul where she would represent the country at the Istanbul Regional Conference Wednesday, Khar said the meeting is being attended by immediate and extended neighbours of Afghanistan and important countries of the world with stakes in that country. AAJ

7) An attack on US troops in 2007 that left an American officer dead was not act country's military. The US probe released Monday blamed a rogue gunman. For years, details of the shooting on Pakistan s border with Afghanistan have been shrouded in secrecy amid speculation US officials were anxious to avoid aggravating tensions with Pakistan. A US military investigation into the shooting had remained secret until Monday. AAJ

8) UN investigators have identified a previously unknown complex in Syria that bolsters suspicions that the Syrian government worked with A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan s atomic bomb, to acquire technology that could be used to make nuclear arms. The buildings in northwest Syria closely match the design of a uranium enrichment plant provided to Libya when Moammar Gadhafi was trying to build nuclear weapons under Khan s guidance, officials told The Associated Press. Dunya

Iraq1) A gunman was killed while trying to implant a bomb south of Mosul, security sources said today. No other details were given to Aswat al-Iraq. Mosul, the center of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of the capital, Baghdad. Aswat Al Iraq

2) A soldier was killed and three wounded in a bomb blast west of Anbar province, police sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the bomb was directed against border patrol in Km 18 area, west of the province. He noted that the blast led to the death of one solder and wounding three others. Aswat Al Iraq 3) The Director of Ninewa's Intelligence Operations escaped an assassination attempt by a bomb blast targeted against his convoy south of Mosul city, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that General Ismael al-Jibouri was not hurt, and only material losses were inflicted on his car. Aswat Al Iraq

4) A man believed to have smuggled suicide bombers into Mosul city to carry out suicide attacks has been arrested by the security forces in the city, 365 k north of the capital Baghdad. Four suicide bombers of different Arab nationalities have also been arrested during the same operation that resulted in the detention of the smuggler - Hamad al-Shammari - who is known as Abu Fajr. AKNews

Full Articles

Afghanistan1) Afghanistan, Pakistan to cooperate in Rabbani murder probe. GeoUpdated at: 2028 PST, Tuesday, November 01, 2011

ISTANBUL: Afghanistan and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of former Afghan leader and peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, said the Turkish president.

"One of the most important conclusions of this summit is the decision made by Pakistan and Afghanistan to establish a cooperation mechanism to illuminate the assassination of ex-Afghan President Rabbani," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said after a trilateral summit with the Afghan and Pakistani leaders in Istanbul.

Turkey hosted Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan on Tuesday for a trilateral summit designed to reduce tensions and promote cooperation between the two neighbours amid stepped-up Taliban attacks.

"I hope this cooperation will produce results," Karzai said after the closed-door talks.

The Istanbul meeting ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday in Turkey was the first between the two neighbours since Rabbani was assassinated on September 20.

Kabul has accused Islamabad of refusing to cooperate in the investigation of the murder, which according to Afghan authorities, was planned in Pakistan and committed by a Pakistani suicide bomber.

The Istanbul meeting comes just days after 17 people died in the deadliest attack yet in Kabul against the US-led NATO mission, including 10 Americans, and three days after a US-run base in Kandahar was targeted. (AFP)

2) Afghanistan, Pakistan presidents meet in Turkey. Geo Updated at: 1433 PST, Tuesday, November 01, 2011

ANKARA: Turkey hosts the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan Tuesday for a trilateral summit designed to reduce tensions and promote cooperation between the two neighbours amid stepped-up Taliban attacks.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will hold seperate talks with Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan before the three-way talks later Tuesday, said a Turkish diplomatic source.

The meeting ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday in Turkey is the first between the two neighbours since the assasination of the former Afghan leader Burhanuddin Rabbani on September 20.

Kabul has accused Islamabad of refusing to cooperate in the investigation of the murder, which according to Afghan authorities, was planned in Pakistan and committed by a Pakistani suicide bomber.

"We will try to resolve their differences," said a Turkish diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that all countries in the region have a duty to work for peace in Afghanistan.

The meeting comes just days after 17 people died in the deadliest attack yet in Kabul against the US-led NATO mission, including 10 Americans, and three days after a US-run base in Kandahar was targeted.

The three presidents will also discuss their fight against the Islamist insurgency and sign agreements enshrining their commitment to cooperate in the field of security, according to the same source.

The meeting is the sixth in Turkey, a NATO member, since the consultations were established in 2007 to encourage both countries to cooperate against extremism.

The previous meetings between the two countries' presidents, military leaders and intelligence chiefs resulted in the parties' commitment to improve cooperation.

Later Tuesday, the three presidents will sign two agreements on security cooperation, including a military one, said the Turkish source, adding that the deals will forge cross-border cooperation against terrorism. (AFP)

3) Testimony Begins in Afghan Atrocities Trial. AOPVOA NewsNovember 1, 2011

Luis Ramirez | Lewis-McChord Military Base, Washington State

An American soldier is on trial for the murders of unarmed non-combatants in Afghanistan in what is alleged to have been the worst known case of misconduct by U.S. troops during the Afghan conflict.

The court martial session heard accounts of unarmed Afghan farmers being shot in staged combat scenes, their corpses mutilated, fingers cut off and passed around as trophies.

The grisly testimony came Monday in graphic photos showing victims' bodies and, in the words of chief witness Jeremy Morlock - once the right hand of platoon leader Calvin Gibbs. Morlock pleaded guilty to murder in March and is serving a life sentence.

Gibbs is one of 12 platoon members charged. Prosecutors say he was the main conspirator of the killings in Kandahar province last year.

Morlock says Gibbs viewed Afghan people with disdain, referring to them as savages.

Monday's testimony here included accounts of rampant narcotics use in the platoon and of failing morale. Morlock said the troops were eager to get into the firefights for which they had been trained. He said that months into their Afghan deployment, they had engaged only in what Morlock described as meet-and-greets and handshaking - and he said frustration was building.

It was then that Morlock says Gibbs handed him a grenade and told him to go out make the platoon's first kill. Two others followed in the subsequent months. In Monday's testimony, there were details of nearly 100 conversations that Gibbs and others in the platoon had in planning how to stage the killings.

In a community with strong ties to the military, the court-martial touches many.

George Harbin, a war veteran, spoke while attending a dinner meeting of a local veterans' organization near the base. He lost two stepsons in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and believes Gibbs' alleged misconduct diminishes the sacrifices made by thousands of American soldiers.

“There's no excuse. A staff sergeant should have at least two years of college. If you're going to have two years' college, you're going to have the mentality and IQ to know the difference between right and wrong," said Harbin. "A person running across in front of your weapon without a weapon is not fair game. We're not Nazis and we're not Fascists."

Gibbs has pleaded not guilty on all of the charges. In opening statements Monday, his attorney, Phil Stackhouse, said the killings happened in legitimate combat. He said Gibbs cut a finger off the Afghan's corpse because he was angry about the man's alleged attempts to kill him. He had no explanation for why Gibbs kept the finger.

A total of 28 witnesses will take the stand before a panel of five soldiers decides whether Gibbs is guilty of the 16 charges against him that include premeditated murder and conspiracy.

For the 26-year-old soldier, a conviction could mean life in prison without parole.

4) Civilian killed by Australian soldiers in S Afghanistan. AOP

CANBERRA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Australian soldiers shot and killed a civilian in southern Afghanistan, Australian Defence Force (ADF) confirmed on Monday.

In a statement, ADF said Australians soldiers on Saturday opened fired after the Afghan man failed to follow directions to stop while he was riding a motorbike in Tarin Kot, Uruzgan Province.

The incident happened as Australian soldiers were securing a site for a meeting of the provincial reconstruction team.

The ADF said it takes all reasonable steps to ensure its operations do not put the lives of civilians in jeopardy.

The victim was a local aged in his twenties named Hayatullah, who ran a phone card stall, and there are some reports that the killing has drawn anger from some residents in Tarin Kot.

The ADF is promising to cooperate with investigations into the shooting.

5) Two foreign troops killed in Afghanistan. AOPPress TVNovember 1, 2011

Two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Afghanistan.

“Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," ISAF announced in a press release on Tuesday.

The nationalities of the two soldiers have not been announced pending notification of relevant authorities.

Most ISAF troops in eastern Afghanistan are from the US.

Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of nearly 150,000 US-led forces in the war-battered country.

A United Nations report on Afghanistan issued on September 28 said that the monthly average number of security incidents recorded for the year up until the end of August had risen by nearly 40 percent.

The report also said civilian casualties, already at record levels for the first six months of the year, rose five percent between June and August 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.

Around 130,000 people were displaced by the conflict in the first seven months of the year, up nearly two-thirds from the same period one year earlier.

6) 3 policemen killed by Afghan Taliban. AOP

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants fighting Afghan government raided a police department in Ghazni province, 125 km south of capital city Kabul, killing three policemen including a district police chief on Tuesday, provincial police chief Zarawar Zahid said.

"A group of Taliban rebels attacked police department in Rashidan district today afternoon and killed three police including Mohammad Amin the district police chief," Zahid told Xinhua.

A number of Taliban insurgents were also killed and injured during the firefight, he stressed, but did not give an exact figure.

7) Twin blasts wound 5 Afghans. AOP

KHOST, Afghanistan, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Double explosions that rocked Khost province 150 km southeast of capital city Kabul on Tuesday left five people including three police injured, police spokesman in the province said.

"Both the blasts happened in a span of an hour -- at 07:00 a.m. and 08:00 a.m. local time today in Gorboz district, left three policemen and two civilians injured," Ziarat Gul told Xinhua.

The blasts took place when the police were on routine patrol, he further said.

He blamed Taliban militants for organizing the twin blasts, but the outfit fighting Afghan government has yet to make comment.

8) 4 children killed in bomb blast in Wardak, Afghanistan. AOP

MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Four children were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan's Wardak province with Maidan Shar as its capital 35 km west of capital city of Kabul on Monday, a spokesman for provincial administration said on Tuesday.

"Four innocent children, all member of the same family, were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Khawajagan village in surrounding area of provincial capital Maidan Shar late on Monday," Shahidullah Shahid told Xinhua on Tuesday morning.

According to Shahid the victim, three brothers and a sister aged from seven to 16-year, were busy in grazing their animals when the blast occurred in the province where Taliban insurgents often attack security forces.

He blamed enemies of Afghanistan, a term often used by Afghan official for referring to Taliban insurgents, for placing the bomb.

Taliban militants have been largely relying on roadside bombing and suicide attacks in fighting Afghan security force and NATO-led troops based in Afghanistan, often causing civilian casualties.

The militant group has yet to make comments.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group announced to launch spring offensive from May 1 against Afghan and NATO-led troops stationed in Afghanistan.

A total of 1,462 Afghan civilians were killed in the first half of 2011, a 15 percent rise over the same period of 2010, according to the United Nations mid-year report released in Kabul in July this year.

Pakistan1) Afghanistan urges Pakistan to ‘move beyond words’. Daily TimesWednesday, November 02, 2011

ISTANBUL: Afghanistan urged Pakistan on Tuesday to “move beyond words” and take concrete steps to curb militants which it said were a threat to both countries. Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting in Istanbul that Afghanistan and Pakistan had been trying for several years to build trust “but I think we have failed to see results on the ground”. “So we are at a stage where we need to move beyond words, beyond expressions of commitments. We need to get to a stage where we actually do concrete things that will address our concerns with regards to our security,” he said. reuters

2) Torkham border sealed for hours. Daily TimesWednesday, November 02, 2011

LANDIKOTAL: Pak-Afghan Torkham border remained closed for more than one hour for the general public commuters while traffic at the border remained suspended for more than three hours following the tension that disturbed the transporters who were waiting for border crossing. The road was jam packed due to huge traffic standing in long queues. The administration sources informed that the border was re-opened after dialogues between the two sides on the border, adding the misunderstanding was removed. The security authorities on both sides of Pak-Afghan Torkham border exchanged harsh words following the intrusion of a suspected vehicle into Pakistani side here on Tuesday afternoon, sources from Torkham border said. The incident happened because the political administration has removed the vigilant and alert personnel of Khasadar Force

who had great experience to control the situation on the border and to stop or trace out the suspected persons. It is to be recalled that the other day, a laborer had been arrested with a rocket launcher, rockets and hashish, sources said, adding that the authorities should not harass the Khasadar personnel on the intrigues of the smugglers. The NATO supply trucks were also stranded on the border due to this incident and they complained that different authorities besides Khasadar Force personnel were looting the transporters in a very unfair way. staff report

3) Musharraf to return to Pakistan on March 23 at any cost: APML. Daily TimesWednesday, November 02, 2011

* Dr Mujtaba says Pakistan needs no foreign aid if looted money of country recovered

* Nawaz says issues, problems can’t be solved through processions and rallies

Staff Report

KARACHI: Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf will return Pakistan on March 23, 2012 at any cost, said All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) central vice presidents Dr Ghulam Mujtaba and Haris Nawaz.

Addressing a joint press conference at a local hotel on Tuesday, the APML leaders said it was very clear stance of the party that no one should have ambiguity in return of Musharraf as there would be no delay in it.

Dr Mujtaba said: “The basic and real problem facing the country is its slowing economy, however, Musharraf is only political figure who could safeguard it. He said Pakistan would need no foreign aid if looted money of the country was recovered. He said: “Musharraf is the only person whom the world rely. The donor agencies, which are currently reluctant to give funds to the present rulers, will give funds to the country over their trust on him.”

He claimed there was no charge of corruption against Musharraf. The APML VC termed the Musharraf tenure as golden era in terms of economy. Dr Mujtaba said Pakistan was passing through a critical juncture as lawlessness had badly hit its society.

He said: “The wars of present era are fought on economic issues, while the economic situation of the country is deteriorating with each passing day.”

“Dr Mujtaba said when Musharraf left the country, the value of the dollar was Rs 58 but now it had hit Rs 88. The prices of essential commodities have also multiplied manifold,” he observed. He maintained that the publishing of more and more new notes was leading the country to the verge of danger.

He cited the example of Soviet Union as saying it was dismantled due to its economic crisis despite equipped with nukes and arms. “We want to boost foreign investment in the

country and will provide security and safety to them”, he asserted. The blood being wasted in Afghanistan would not be let exhausted if APML comes to power while anything against interest of the country will be thwarted, he assured.

According to a report of Transparency International, he said, Pakistan has gone down like Somalia. Haris Nawaz said the issues and problems could not be solved through processions and rallies unless there was solution behind them. He said, “If we compare Mushrraf era with present government, we will find the period of Musharraf better in term of economic and law maintaining.

He said with today’s press conference, APML was launching campaign and in this regard the party would hold a big political rally on Nov 16 in Hyderabad, which would be addressed by Musharraf by phone. To a question about Musharraf’s arrest on his arrival, they said the party’s legal panel was there to tackle all such situations.

4) Taliban school head offers to help Afghan talks. Daily TimesWednesday, November 02, 2011

AKORA KHATTAK: At the hard-line religious school that spawned a generation of Afghan Taliban leaders, the top cleric still lectures his students to go to Afghanistan to fight Americans. But privately, he said, “he’s willing to help bring insurgents to peace talks.”

The offer by the influential “father of the Taliban” raises some hope for American attempts to find a negotiated end to the 10-year-old war - not necessarily because he will indeed be brought in as a mediator, but more because it gives a sign that there is a willingness among the Taliban and their allies to talk, something that has been thrown in doubt by months of setbacks in efforts to start negotiations.

“There must be some way out,” Maulana Samiul Haq told the Associated Press, adding, “A way out that can also give America a respectable exit. Bloodletting is not a solution.”

America’s public commitment to peace talks is stronger then ever as it works to bring the bulk of its troops home from Afghanistan by 2014. It has called on Pakistan to bring insurgents into the process, but so far there has been little progress. American officials believe greater military pressure against the insurgents is still needed - through operations in Afghanistan and drone strikes in the Pakistan border region, an approach it calls “fighting and talking.”

“We are pounding them, and there is some evidence that people would like to come to an agreement,” said a senior US official, who didn’t give his name because of the diplomatic sensitivities surrounding the reconciliation process. “The Pakistanis tell us that there are guys that want to talk.”

In a new pressure move, the United States on Tuesday designated Mali Khan, a commander in the militant Haqqani network, as a specially designated global terrorist.

The designation freezes any assets or property he may have in US jurisdictions and barring Americans from providing him with material support.

Haq, in his 70s, is a respected figure among militants on both sides of the border. His religious school, Darul uloom Haqqania, counts among its graduates the head of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, as well as leading figures in the Haqqani network. The family that heads the network took its name from the school, which is close to the main northwestern city of Peshawar, just off a main highway to the Afghan border.

On a recent day, Haq walked across his campus to deliver a lecture to around 500 young men set to graduate soon. The students, many of whom had been in the institution since they were young boys, sat cross-legged on the floor in rows in a cavernous hall as he urged them “to make preparations for jihad” in Afghanistan.

The school, which was founded in 1947, has about 3,000 students. Speaking to AP, Haq said ongoing resistance to the US and its allies in Afghanistan was justified, and he said he and other Taliban supporters are deeply suspicious of the peace process. He said many militants believe that the US’s moves for talks aim to weaken the insurgency by dividing it into different, competing factions.

“They will listen to me. We have a relation of respect and knowledge,” he said of insurgent groups, pausing to sort through the invitations for his son’s upcoming wedding. “But America has to come clean that it will not deceive the Taliban. Taliban are very clever people. They understand all these deceptions,” he added.

The Taliban’s public line is that they will not talk so long as American troops remain in Afghanistan. But representatives are known to have had exploratory talks with the US, including a commander in the Haqqani network. The Haqqanis and other insurgent leaders are widely believed to be based in Pakistan and have connections with the security forces dating back 20-year, when they worked with the CIA to use them as proxies against Soviet-rule in Afghanistan. That means Pakistan has a potentially key role to play in any peace process, something it uses as leverage in its troubled ties with Washington.

The US wants Pakistan to pressure the Haqqanis inside their base in the North Waziristan border region, but is not asking for a full-scale offensive there, said the US official. In talks late last month with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other American officials, Pakistani Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani recognised the need to “squeeze the Haqqanis,” the official said.

Haq has his own close ties to Pakistan’s military. In late September, he attended a meeting with the prime minister, army chief and leading politicians in Islamabad to discuss Pakistan’s response to US allegations its spy agency aided the Haqqanis in an attack on its embassy in Kabul. The meeting ended in a resolution that called for peace with militants on both sides of the border. Still, Rahimullah Yousafzai, a local journalist and expert on the Taliban, doubts Haq has much sway with the Taliban or that Pakistan’s

main spy agency - which is controlling the negotiation process - needed intermediaries. “They can go direct,” he said.

The meat of any deal, which would presumably involve talk about power-sharing with the Taliban in parts of Afghanistan and prisoner releases, is a long way off — assuming discussions even reach that stage. Pakistani officials, who have complained about being left out of the process in the past, are now concerned they will be blamed if talks with the militants fail or they can’t bring them to the table.

“The Pakistan government can possibly make a bridge to these people,” said Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, who fought alongside the Haqqanis against the Soviets in the 1980s and is now influential in extremist’s circles. ap

5) Obama planning next steps in Afghan drawdown. Daily TimesWednesday, November 02, 2011

* US president moving to curtail force in Afghanistan

* White House committed to receding ‘tide of war’

* Afghans worry that West will rush for exit

WASHINGTON: The White House has asked the Pentagon for initial recommendations for the US troop presence in Afghanistan in 2014, a first step in planning the final US drawdown there despite a bleak security outlook.

Sources familiar with the discussions said President Barack Obama’s top aides have asked for scenarios for 2014. As part of that process, the Pentagon must look at troop levels for 2013 - suggesting deeper withdrawals beyond the removal, by next September, of the 33,000 surge troops Obama deployed in a bid to turn around the flagging decade-old conflict.

“Planning for troop levels in 2013 and 2014 is now in a preliminary phase,” said Bruce Riedel, the former CIA officer who chaired the review of Afghan policy Obama ordered when he took office in 2009 and retains close White House ties.

Obama and allied leaders committed last year to turning security in Afghanistan over to Afghan control by 2014. And on a trip to Asia last week, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Gen John Allen, the commander in Afghanistan, was developing a plan to gradually withdraw US forces. But it has not been previously reported that the White House requested detailed planning to see that goal through.

The efforts to chart the course out of Afghanistan come as the White House takes decisive steps to end the bloody, costly wars that defined the decade following the September 11 attacks and refocus on an ailing US economy and the 2012 election. Last

month, Obama announced he was pulling remaining US troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

Regarding Afghanistan, the White House has not publicly announced its plans beyond the September 2012 drawdown of the surge troops. “The president will make decisions on the size and shape of our post-September 2012 presence at the appropriate time, in consultation with our Afghan and NATO partners,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Even as the Obama administration presses ahead with its drawdown plans, security remains troubling on the ground and the Afghan government remains perilously weak and corrupt. A plan to aggressively shrink a US force that will be about 68,000-strong in October 2012 will not sit well with the Pentagon, which wants to hold on to a larger force for as long as possible as it seeks to make security gains permanent.

The Pentagon claims to have driven Taliban insurgents out of many of their southern strongholds. But the United Nations says overall violence is at its worst since the start of the war 10 years ago, despite the presence of more than 130,000 troops in a NATO-led force. The administration’s ambitions reflect not just mounting public weariness with the war and its giant costs, but also growing exasperation with Pakistan, which Washington accuses of backing insurgents fueling violence in Afghanistan.

While Obama will take such factors into account before announcing a decision on the next drawdown steps, which could come at a NATO summit in Chicago in May or before, changes will be unlikely once the president settles on a drawdown schedule. News of the drawdown plans is likely to intensify worries in Kabul that, despite the repeated US pledges of a long-term presence, the Afghan government will be left in the lurch. reuters

6) Regional countries to play supportive role in Afghanistan: FM. AAJISTANBUL, - 1st November 2011By APP

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Tuesday said the neighbouring countries should have only supportive role in ensuring peace, security and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and the Istanbul Regional Conference would help further this cherished objective.Talking to APP in Istanbul where she would represent the country at the Istanbul Regional Conference Wednesday, Khar said the meeting is being attended by immediate and extended neighbours of Afghanistan and important countries of the world with stakes in that country.The foreign minister said the conference would lead up to different peace processes including Bonn Conference on Afghanistan next month and Chicago conference.She expressed the confidence that the conference would give confidence to Afghanistan that all important players are supporting its initiatives for peace and stability.

She said Pakistan would support all initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting sovereignty of Afghanistan.Commenting on proposals being floated by some countries aimed at creating a new security structure in the region vis-…-vis Afghanistan, Hina Rabbani Khar pointed out that there was no dearth of mechanisms in the region.“We have so many mechanisms including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in which Pakistan has an observer’s status, SAARC and ECO,” she added.The minister said instead of proposing new mechanisms, efforts should be made towards the implementation of the existing mechanism for peace, security and development in the region.She said any new structure would not benefit Afghanistan and any process for solution of Afghan problem should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.The minister said it should be for Afghans themselves to decide their future. Being an important neighbour, Pakistan would support its efforts in this regard, she added,Replying to a question about inclusion of India in the Regional Conference, the Foreign Minister said all countries that can help promote peace in Afghanistan are welcome and Pakistan has no problem with any country.She said, “Pakistan is an important and responsible state committed to peace and security in Afghanistan.”About inclusion of Afghan resistance forces in the peace process, she said it is for Afghanistan and the Afghan people and the government to decide this issue.

7) US probe says border attack not Pakistani plot. DunyaLast Updated On 01 November,2011 About 11 hours ago An attack on US troops in 2007 that left an American officer dead was not act country's military.

The US probe released Monday blamed a rogue gunman. For years, details of the shooting on Pakistan s border with Afghanistan have been shrouded in secrecy amid speculation US officials were anxious to avoid aggravating tensions with Pakistan. A US military investigation into the shooting had remained secret until Monday. The Pentagon released a two-page unclassified excerpt from the probe into the May 14, 2007 shooting, in which US Major Larry Bauguess was killed when a militia member opened fire on American officers who had just finished a meeting with their Pakistani and Afghan counterparts. The probe concluded that Bauguess was shot at close range with a volley of AK-47 automatic fire by a man wearing a militia uniform. But there was no proof that the shooter was helped by Pakistani forces, it said.

"There is little evidence to support collaboration within the Pakistani militia or military," said the report. "The initial shooter caused all of the casualties incurred on the (NATO-led) coalition forces," it added. The probe found no sign of coordinating fire from Pakistani forces in support of the gunman. However, some "sporadic" fire from the Pakistani troops was likely a response to cover fire from US troops trying to withdraw from the area to a helicopter landing zone, the report said. The 10-minute gun battle that erupted after the shooting by the gunman left seven Pakistanis dead, it said. The investigation appeared to contradict an extensive New York Times report last month that suggested the Americans and Afghans had been targeted in an ambush in collaboration with Pakistani forces, possibly in retaliation for previous incidents in which Pakistani troops were mistakenly fired on by US forces.

8) UN investigators allege signs of Pak-Syria nuke tie. DunyaLast Updated On 01 November,2011 About 12 hours ago In yet another move, Pakistan is being implicated in helping Syria build N-facility.

UN investigators have identified a previously unknown complex in Syria that bolsters suspicions that the Syrian government worked with A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan s atomic bomb, to acquire technology that could be used to make nuclear arms. The buildings in northwest Syria closely match the design of a uranium enrichment plant provided to Libya when Moammar Gadhafi was trying to build nuclear weapons under Khan s guidance, officials told The Associated Press. The UN s International Atomic Energy Agency also has obtained correspondence between Khan and a Syrian government official, Muhidin Issa, who proposed scientific cooperation and a visit to Khan s laboratories following Pakistan s successful nuclear test in 1998. The complex, in the city of Al-Hasakah, now appears to be a cotton-spinning plant, and investigators have found no sign that it was ever used for nuclear production. But given that Israeli warplanes destroyed a suspected plutonium production reactor in Syria in 2007, the unlikely coincidence in design suggests that Syria may have been pursuing two routes to an atomic bomb: uranium as well as plutonium.

Details of the Syria-Khan connection were provided to the AP by a senior diplomat with knowledge of IAEA investigations and a former UN investigator. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The Syrian government did not respond to a request for comment. It has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons but also has stymied an investigation into the site bombed by Israel. It has not responded to an IAEA request to visit the Al-Hasakah complex, the officials said. The IAEA s examination of Syria s programs has slowed as world powers focus on a popular uprising in the country and the violent crackdown by the government of President Bashar Assad. Syria never has been seen as being close to development of a nuclear bomb. There also is no indication that Damascus continues to work on a secret nuclear program. If the facility in Al-Hasakah was indeed intended for uranium production, those plans appear to have been abandoned and the path to a plutonium weapon ended with the Israeli bombing. But Mark Hibbs, an analyst at the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who has spoken to IAEA officials about the Al-Hasakah complex, said it is important to learn more details about the buildings."What is at stake here is the nuclear history of that facility," Hibbs said. "People want to know what did they intend to do there and Syria has provided no information." Syria has reasons to seek a nuclear weapon. It has been in a Cold War for decades with Israel, a country believed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal."A nuclear weapon would give Syria at least a kind of parity with Israel and some status within the region," says Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. For years, there has been speculation about ties between the Syrian government and Khan. A hero to many in Pakistan for developing the country s nuclear bomb, Khan is considered the world s most prolific nuclear merchant. He supplied Iran with the basics of what is now an established uranium enrichment program that has churned out enough material to make several nuclear weapons. Libya also bought equipment and a warhead design from Khan for a secret nuclear program that it renounced in 2003. In 2004, Khan confessed on TV to selling nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, but he has never spoken of Syria. Khan later said Pakistani authorities forced him to make the confession.

Iraq1) Gunman killed in Mosul. Aswat Al Iraq 11/1/2011 5:21 PM

NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: A gunman was killed while trying to implant a bomb south of Mosul, security sources said today. No other details were given to Aswat al-Iraq. Mosul, the center of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of the capital, Baghdad.

2) Soldier killed, 3 wounded in Anbar. Aswat Al Iraq11/1/2011 5:20 PM

ANBAR / Aswat al-Iraq: A soldier was killed and three wounded in a bomb blast west of Anbar province, police sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the bomb was directed against border patrol in Km 18 area, west of the province.He noted that the blast led to the death of one solder and wounding three others. No other details were given.

3) Intelligence General escapes assassination attempt. Aswat Al Iraq 11/1/2011 5:16 PM

NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Director of Ninewa's Intelligence Operations escaped an assassination attempt by a bomb blast targeted against his convoy south of Mosul city, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that General Ismael al-Jibouri was not hurt, and only material losses were inflicted on his car. No other information were given. Mosul, the center of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of the capital, Baghdad

4) Smuggler of suicide bombers arrested in Mosul. AKNews01/11/2011 21:08

Nineveh, Nov. 1 (AKnews) - A man believed to have smuggled suicide bombers into Mosul city to carry out suicide attacks has been arrested by the security forces in the city, 365 k north of the capital Baghdad.

Four suicide bombers of different Arab nationalities have also been arrested during the same operation that resulted in the detention of the smuggler - Hamad al-Shammari - who is known as Abu Fajr.

Commander of Nineveh police Third Division Mahdi Sabeeh al-Gharrawi told a news conference in Mosul that "we have arrested Hamad al-Shammari nicknamed as Abu Fajr who is involved in smuggling 35 foreign Arab suicide bombers into Mosul city to use them as for suicide attacks"

Abu Fajr was arrested in al-Jaghighi village, 90 km south of al-Baaj district (120 km south of Mosul) on the Syrian border.

Four suicide bombers, two from Sudan, one from Syria and Saudi Arabia national were also arrested during the operation and the security forces are investigating the possibility of the presence of other suicide bombers.

Al-Gharrawi did not give further detail.

Mosul - 362 km north of Baghdad – is the capital of Nineveh province. It is the site of daily bombings and killings. In recent months targeted attacks against government officials and military officers have been stepped up, often making use of silenced weapons and roadside bombs.

Reported by Rezan Ahmed