NSA dismisses claims of Pakistan supporting Taliban in Panjshir

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf dismissed on Thursday allegations of Pakistan extending support to the Taliban in Panjshir — the last holdout Afghan province where the group defeated resistance forces earlier this month — linking the accusations to a "fake news network" created by India and a "bogey" by previous governments in Kabul.

On September 7, demonstrations were held in Kabul against the backdrop of the Taliban taking over Panjshir, with protesters denouncing perceived meddling by Pakistan.

Yusuf was asked about these claims during an appearance on CNN's Connect the World, where journalist Becky Anderson referred to the accusations by anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Iran's foreign ministry condemning "foreign interference" in the war-torn country.

"Did the Pakistani army support the Taliban attack on anti-Taliban forces in Panjshir using drones and/or other weaponry?" asked Anderson.

"It's preposterous is all I can say," replied Yusuf.

The NSA pointed out that Pakistan had been saying that "project Afghanistan" was failing because of the country's internal problems, some of which he attributed to a corrupt government.

Yet the world saw Pakistan as the problem, he said.

"This was scapegoating by previous governments in Kabul which, unfortunately, the international community started believing because they didn't want to talk about their own failures," he said.

Specifically answering allegations regarding Pakistan helping the Taliban with drones in Panjshir, the NSA held up a paper showing screenshots of Indian news channels, which he said had been spreading fake news about Pakistan.

Pointing to an image on the paper, he said: "This is mainstream Indian media showing an American jet flying over Wales in the United Kingdom and presenting it as Pakistan doing something in Panjshir."

He went on to say that India had spent millions of dollars in "creating a fake news network [against Pakistan]".

The image Yusuf was showing was shared by some Twitter users, who claimed it to be a Pakistan Air Force jet shot down by resistance forces in Panjshir.

Anderson also questioned Yusuf on Pakistan's involvement in the formation of the new Taliban government, referring to the ISI chief's recent visit to the country.

At that, Yusuf asked, "Why did the CIA director go to Afghanistan much before my ISI chief went there?"

He said that the ISI chief had visited Afghanistan, and would visit again, as Pakistan shared a border with Afghanistan and had to engage with the new government to make sure that the border was secure.

Yusuf also pointed out that other countries had sought Pakistan's help for evacuation from Afghanistan and cooperation was needed on that front as well.

Dubbing the reports of Islamabad's involvement a conspiracy theory, he said there was no logic to them, as the ISI chief was interviewed by the media during that visit and that defied that he was on a "secret mission".

"Pakistan has the right to defend its national security," he said, adding that it would continue to do so by engaging in Afghanistan.

He further said the world needed to move beyond these conspiracy theories and cooperate to benefit the common Afghan man.

Yusuf then denied Islamabad's involvement in the formation of the new government in Afghanistan, saying that it was a sovereign country.

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Azam Swati levels serious allegations against ECP of taking bribes

Officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) walked out of a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs after federal minister Azam Swati levelled serious allegations against the commission of taking bribes.

The debate on the usage of electronic voting machines for the next general elections turned hostile Friday when a session of the committee was held under the chair of Senator Taj Haider.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said the government will not decide which machine will be used for voting.

"This will be decided by the election commission," he said. "The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs wrote a letter to the ECP, asking whether it needed a budget."

Awan said the ministry had written to the ECP, asking whether it needed a budget, security or storage to hold the elections. "The ECP did not respond to the letter," he lamented.

It was then that a livid Azam Swati accused the ECP of taking money from companies that make electronic voting machines, said a source present in the meeting.

The Opposition senators said that Swati cannot accuse a constitutional body of taking bribes, and asked the senator to provide proof to back his claim.

Swati then added that such institutions conduct all elections through rigging and should be burned down. At this, the ECP officials walked out in protest.

After the meeting was disrupted, Senator Farooq H Naek lashed out at Swati, saying that the ECP should be removed from the Constitution and the government should conduct the elections itself.

"Whenever the ECP tries to become independent, they [government] start to have a problem with it," added Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The committee's chairperson sent Senator Kamran Murtaza to convince the ECP officials to return to the meeting.

However, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the ECP officials were deeply upset and would not return to the meeting.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Azam Swati also exchanged hot words, with the PPP senator asking the minister about the alleged bribe.

"Azam Swati should tell us who paid bribes to the ECP?" he asked. "Was it the PPP or the PML-N?"

A defiant Swati stuck to his guns, saying that he had said nothing wrong.

Committee rejects amendment on using EVMs

Senator Taj Haider presented an amendment for approval on EVMs. Azam Swati protested against Haider, accusing him of not allowing Senator Samina Mumtaz to cast her vote.

"You are not taking our lawmaker online so that she can cast her vote," he said. "We are walking out in protest," he added, and representatives of the government left the meeting.

The committee proceeded to vote on amendments to the Election Act in their absence. The committee shot down the use of electronic voting machines and also rejected an amendment relating to the I-voting of overseas Pakistanis.

The committee also rejected an amendment to the Act that wanted NADRA, instead of the ECP, to issue election lists and also rejected an amendment for Senate elections to be held via an open ballot as opposed to a secret one.

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif lashed out at the government, saying that while the PML-N had called over 100 meetings on electoral reforms when it was in power, the government couldn't handle one.

"Their consultations [amount to] imprisoning the Opposition when they ask questions and silencing the media," he tweeted.

He wondered how a government that does not demonstrate seriousness during a consultative meeting, be expected to take concrete decisions on electoral and administrative reforms.

"ECP officials walking out [in protest] over the ministers' attitude tells us of the government's attitude," he said. "How can a government that is unable to answer members of a committee logically expect us to put faith in its legislation and claims?" he wondered.

Sharif said the government does not have any answer to the logical, comprehensive, solid and technical reservations pointed out by the ECP on the EVMs.

He regretted how the government had "bulldozed" bills in the National Assembly a few months ago and today, forced the ECP members to walk out of a committee meeting.

"The government does not have reasoning to promote electronic voting, it only has threats," he said. "On rejecting the idea of EVMs, the government has resorted to threatening the ECP," he added.

Meanwhile, Babar Awan criticised the chairman of the senate committee for not allowing a government member to vote during the meeting.

"Senate Parliamentary Committee chairman has deprived Senator Samina Mumtaz of exercising her right of the vote after which the government members walked out of the meeting," he tweeted.

He said that the Opposition has been exposed after it voted against the EVM and overseas Pakistan's right to vote.

"We will get both the bills approved from the joint session of parliament," Babar Awan said.

EVMs cannot stop rigging, says ECP

On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan submitted a four-page letter to Taj Haider, the chairman of the senate’s standing committee on parliamentary affairs, which expressed its reservations regarding the proposed election amendment bills.

The ECP stated that it endorses the introduction of new technologies in the electoral process but has concerns about the process being pushed in “haste”.

“The Commission, while in favor of technology, believes that the technology to be used must be secured and sufficiently tested,” the letter argued, adding that the EVM should be subject to massive testing by procuring the machine on a small scale for a pilot project first.

The ECP also proposed that the selected machines be used in local government elections, by-elections and a few constitutions in the next general elections first and then on a large scale.

It further highlighted that with the usage of machines, elections will have to be held in a staggered manner rather than in a single day, which will require legal amendments.

“EVMs are offered as a defense against ballot stuffing and altering results,” the letter noted, “EVMs will not counter all types of frauds and open up the possibility of other more sophisticated types of fraud and manipulation of software and hardware.”

The Commissions also insisted that the Senate committee take into consideration the cost of EVMs. If a separate machine is used for the national assembly and the provincial assembly then at least 900,000 machines will be required for approximately 100,000 polling stations and 400,000 polling booths. “The system would cost an estimated Rs150 billion,” it added.

 

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NSA dismisses claims of Pakistan supporting Taliban in Panjshir

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf dismissed on Thursday allegations of Pakistan extending support to the Taliban in Panjshir — the last holdout Afghan province where the group defeated resistance forces earlier this month — linking the accusations to a "fake news network" created by India and a "bogey" by previous governments in Kabul.

On September 7, demonstrations were held in Kabul against the backdrop of the Taliban taking over Panjshir, with protesters denouncing perceived meddling by Pakistan.

Yusuf was asked about these claims during an appearance on CNN's Connect the World, where journalist Becky Anderson referred to the accusations by anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Iran's foreign ministry condemning "foreign interference" in the war-torn country.

"Did the Pakistani army support the Taliban attack on anti-Taliban forces in Panjshir using drones and/or other weaponry?" asked Anderson.

"It's preposterous is all I can say," replied Yusuf.

The NSA pointed out that Pakistan had been saying that "project Afghanistan" was failing because of the country's internal problems, some of which he attributed to a corrupt government.

Yet the world saw Pakistan as the problem, he said.

"This was scapegoating by previous governments in Kabul which, unfortunately, the international community started believing because they didn't want to talk about their own failures," he said.

Specifically answering allegations regarding Pakistan helping the Taliban with drones in Panjshir, the NSA held up a paper showing screenshots of Indian news channels, which he said had been spreading fake news about Pakistan.

Pointing to an image on the paper, he said: "This is mainstream Indian media showing an American jet flying over Wales in the United Kingdom and presenting it as Pakistan doing something in Panjshir."

He went on to say that India had spent millions of dollars in "creating a fake news network [against Pakistan]".

The image Yusuf was showing was shared by some Twitter users, who claimed it to be a Pakistan Air Force jet shot down by resistance forces in Panjshir.

Anderson also questioned Yusuf on Pakistan's involvement in the formation of the new Taliban government, referring to the ISI chief's recent visit to the country.

At that, Yusuf asked, "Why did the CIA director go to Afghanistan much before my ISI chief went there?"

He said that the ISI chief had visited Afghanistan, and would visit again, as Pakistan shared a border with Afghanistan and had to engage with the new government to make sure that the border was secure.

Yusuf also pointed out that other countries had sought Pakistan's help for evacuation from Afghanistan and cooperation was needed on that front as well.

Dubbing the reports of Islamabad's involvement a conspiracy theory, he said there was no logic to them, as the ISI chief was interviewed by the media during that visit and that defied that he was on a "secret mission".

"Pakistan has the right to defend its national security," he said, adding that it would continue to do so by engaging in Afghanistan.

He further said the world needed to move beyond these conspiracy theories and cooperate to benefit the common Afghan man.

Yusuf then denied Islamabad's involvement in the formation of the new government in Afghanistan, saying that it was a sovereign country.

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Azam Swati levels serious allegations against ECP of taking bribes

Officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) walked out of a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs after federal minister Azam Swati levelled serious allegations against the commission of taking bribes.

The debate on the usage of electronic voting machines for the next general elections turned hostile Friday when a session of the committee was held under the chair of Senator Taj Haider.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said the government will not decide which machine will be used for voting.

"This will be decided by the election commission," he said. "The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs wrote a letter to the ECP, asking whether it needed a budget."

Awan said the ministry had written to the ECP, asking whether it needed a budget, security or storage to hold the elections. "The ECP did not respond to the letter," he lamented.

It was then that a livid Azam Swati accused the ECP of taking money from companies that make electronic voting machines, said a source present in the meeting.

The Opposition senators said that Swati cannot accuse a constitutional body of taking bribes, and asked the senator to provide proof to back his claim.

Swati then added that such institutions conduct all elections through rigging and should be burned down. At this, the ECP officials walked out in protest.

After the meeting was disrupted, Senator Farooq H Naek lashed out at Swati, saying that the ECP should be removed from the Constitution and the government should conduct the elections itself.

"Whenever the ECP tries to become independent, they [government] start to have a problem with it," added Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The committee's chairperson sent Senator Kamran Murtaza to convince the ECP officials to return to the meeting.

However, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the ECP officials were deeply upset and would not return to the meeting.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Azam Swati also exchanged hot words, with the PPP senator asking the minister about the alleged bribe.

"Azam Swati should tell us who paid bribes to the ECP?" he asked. "Was it the PPP or the PML-N?"

A defiant Swati stuck to his guns, saying that he had said nothing wrong.

Committee rejects amendment on using EVMs

Senator Taj Haider presented an amendment for approval on EVMs. Azam Swati protested against Haider, accusing him of not allowing Senator Samina Mumtaz to cast her vote.

"You are not taking our lawmaker online so that she can cast her vote," he said. "We are walking out in protest," he added, and representatives of the government left the meeting.

The committee proceeded to vote on amendments to the Election Act in their absence. The committee shot down the use of electronic voting machines and also rejected an amendment relating to the I-voting of overseas Pakistanis.

The committee also rejected an amendment to the Act that wanted NADRA, instead of the ECP, to issue election lists and also rejected an amendment for Senate elections to be held via an open ballot as opposed to a secret one.

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif lashed out at the government, saying that while the PML-N had called over 100 meetings on electoral reforms when it was in power, the government couldn't handle one.

"Their consultations [amount to] imprisoning the Opposition when they ask questions and silencing the media," he tweeted.

He wondered how a government that does not demonstrate seriousness during a consultative meeting, be expected to take concrete decisions on electoral and administrative reforms.

"ECP officials walking out [in protest] over the ministers' attitude tells us of the government's attitude," he said. "How can a government that is unable to answer members of a committee logically expect us to put faith in its legislation and claims?" he wondered.

Sharif said the government does not have any answer to the logical, comprehensive, solid and technical reservations pointed out by the ECP on the EVMs.

He regretted how the government had "bulldozed" bills in the National Assembly a few months ago and today, forced the ECP members to walk out of a committee meeting.

"The government does not have reasoning to promote electronic voting, it only has threats," he said. "On rejecting the idea of EVMs, the government has resorted to threatening the ECP," he added.

Meanwhile, Babar Awan criticised the chairman of the senate committee for not allowing a government member to vote during the meeting.

"Senate Parliamentary Committee chairman has deprived Senator Samina Mumtaz of exercising her right of the vote after which the government members walked out of the meeting," he tweeted.

He said that the Opposition has been exposed after it voted against the EVM and overseas Pakistan's right to vote.

"We will get both the bills approved from the joint session of parliament," Babar Awan said.

EVMs cannot stop rigging, says ECP

On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan submitted a four-page letter to Taj Haider, the chairman of the senate’s standing committee on parliamentary affairs, which expressed its reservations regarding the proposed election amendment bills.

The ECP stated that it endorses the introduction of new technologies in the electoral process but has concerns about the process being pushed in “haste”.

“The Commission, while in favor of technology, believes that the technology to be used must be secured and sufficiently tested,” the letter argued, adding that the EVM should be subject to massive testing by procuring the machine on a small scale for a pilot project first.

The ECP also proposed that the selected machines be used in local government elections, by-elections and a few constitutions in the next general elections first and then on a large scale.

It further highlighted that with the usage of machines, elections will have to be held in a staggered manner rather than in a single day, which will require legal amendments.

“EVMs are offered as a defense against ballot stuffing and altering results,” the letter noted, “EVMs will not counter all types of frauds and open up the possibility of other more sophisticated types of fraud and manipulation of software and hardware.”

The Commissions also insisted that the Senate committee take into consideration the cost of EVMs. If a separate machine is used for the national assembly and the provincial assembly then at least 900,000 machines will be required for approximately 100,000 polling stations and 400,000 polling booths. “The system would cost an estimated Rs150 billion,” it added.

 

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Schools to remain close till 15 september in Punjab, KP

A day after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to extend restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19, the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments on Friday notified the closure of schools in cities with high infection rate till Sept 15.

“All Public and Private Schools of Punjab to remain closed until Wednesday September 15th, 2021,” Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced in a post on his official Twitter handle.
Punjab’s cities where schools have been closed include Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Khanewal, Multan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.

Separately, KP Education Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai tweeted that schools in Peshawar, Swabi, Malakand, Swat, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra and Dera Ismail Khan will remain closed until Sept 15 in line with the NCOC’s decision.
On Thursday, the NCOC – Pakistan’s nerve centre to control the Covid-19 pandemic –decided to extend the closure of all educational institutions till September 15 in districts with high coronavirus prevalence.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) also decided to extend a number of additional non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in districts with high coronavirus prevalence in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad for a week.

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US says interim Taliban govt not reflective of what it had 'hoped to see'

The interim Taliban government does not reflect what the international community and the United States hoped to see, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a news conference Thursday.

Earlier, this week, the Taliban announced the first members of a new "acting" government, three weeks after sweeping into full power with the takeover of Kabul, on August 15.

The new cabinet is made up of senior Taliban figures some of whom are notorious for attacks on US forces over the last two decades.

It will be led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, one of the movement's founders, who is on a UN blacklist.

"We have spoken about our reaction to the initial caretaker government. You have heard us say that the lack of inclusivity, the track records, the backgrounds of some of the individuals involved, are a cause for concern. It certainly does not reflect what the international community and what, as a part of that, the United States hoped to see," Price told reporters.

He said that the US noted that this is an initial caretaker government. "We note that some of these positions remain unfulfilled. So what will be important to us is not only the composition of any future government of Afghanistan...again, we will look to see to it that it is inclusive, to see to it that it is representative of the people that the Taliban purport to represent," he said.

Price emphasised that the US and international community will continue to "hold the Taliban to account for its public and private commitments" made to the US many of its close partners.

Price spoke about a ministerial meeting hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken a day earlier along with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany.

World powers have told the Taliban the key to peace and development is an inclusive government that would back up its pledges of a more conciliatory approach, upholding human rights, after a previous 1996-2001 period in power marked by bloody vendettas and oppression of women.

During his news conference, Price said that several elements of consensus emerged during the meeting over the Taliban and that there were key questions that many of the participants posed: "Will the Taliban uphold their commitments to freedom of travel and safe passage -- in the case of the United States for Americans, but also for third-country nationals, for our Afghan partners? Will they live up to their counterterrorism commitments?" Price said, highlighting some of the questions.

Price said the questions remain unanswered. "We will together be able to answer those questions with our allies and partners as we start to see how the Taliban is going to purport to govern, how it will treat its people, how it will treat our people, how it will confront threats not only to the Taliban but threats to us as well," he said.

Earlier, the US had said it was concerned by the track records of some of the Cabinet members and noted that no women had been included. "The world is watching closely," US State Department spokesperson had said earlier this week.

Afghans who enjoyed major progress in education and civil liberties over the 20 years of US-backed government remain fearful of Taliban intentions and daily protests have continued since the Taliban takeover, challenging the new rulers.

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Renowned Journalist Rahimullah Yousaf zai passes away

Veteran journalist and analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai passed away on Thursday after a protracted battle with cancer.

The Peshawar-based journalist Rahimullah was considered an authority on Afghan affairs due to his vast experience.

President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain have expressed deep sorrow and grief over his demise.

In a tweet on Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Rahimullah Yousufzai was one of Pakistan’s most respected journalists.

“Saddened to learn of Rahimullah Yousafzai’s passing. He was one of Pakistan’s most respected journalists. He was an opinion maker because his columns were well researched,” the prime minister wrote in a tweet.
The prime minister also prayed for the bereaved family.

 

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