Zalmay Khalilzad
U.S. adviser on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held talks in Islamabad on Tuesday with Pakistan's foreign secretary, the foreign office said, days after visiting Kabul to try to restart talks with the Taliban for an end to the 17-year Afghan war.
The appointment last month of Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, highlighted the U.S. administration's fresh efforts to convince Taliban leaders to participate in the Afghan peace process, despite a surge in the group's attacks.
Khalilzad met President Ashraf Ghani in the Afghan capital on Sunday to discuss possible peace talks with the Taliban, who have repeatedly rejected negotiation offers and called for a boycott of an Afghan general election set for October 20.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua received Khalilzad and the two led "delegation-level talks", with security, defence, and diplomatic officials from both countries attending, foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on social network Twitter.
A cash-strapped Pakistan has announced it is going to approach the International Monitory Fund to prop up the country’s tottering economy.Finance Minister Asad Umar in a video message on Monday evening announced the much-expected decision, which is seen as the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s only viable option to address the mounting balance of payments crisis.“Prime Minister Imran Khan after consultation with all the stakeholders and economic experts has given the go-ahead to open talks with the IMF for a bailout program," said Umar, a longtime opponent of borrowing from abroad.Though he did not specify the amount Pakistan will seek, local media cited anonymous Finance Ministry officials saying that the IMF is likely to approve a $10 billion bailout package.“The negotiations will aim to reach a stabilization recovery program, which can be used to tackle the economic crisis,” said Umar.Former Pakistani PM Sharif resumes political activitiesTurkish envoy meets Pakistan’s army chief
Pakistan to seek IMF loans to help hold up economy
Pakistan's cooperation in the peace process is believed to be key to its success. The country's powerful military is believed to have kept close ties to the Afghan Taliban since using it to blunt Indian influence in the region in the 1990s.
U.S. officials have accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to Taliban militants in its border regions with Afghanistan and using them as an arm of its foreign policy. Pakistan staunchly denies using proxies.
Khalilzad is set to travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar after leaving Islamabad as part of a 10-day trip in a bid to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
The Afghan-born former ambassador's knowledge of the country's main languages, culture and politics could help him engage with all stakeholders in the peace process, besides his experience advising or working for four U.S. administrations.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday resumed his political activities weeks after suspension of his ten-year jail term in a corruption case by a high court.The three-time premier chaired a meeting of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party in northeastern city of Lahore, which was called to chalk out a strategy after the arrest of opposition leader and the party President Shehbaz Sharif for his alleged involvement in a housing scheme scam last week.The hours-long meeting tasked the party chairman Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq to contact other opposition groups, mainly the center-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and five-party religious alliance Muttahida Majlis-a-Amal (MMA), for a joint strategy to tackle the “political victimization,” local broadcaster Geo News reported.Troubled times ahead for Sharifs in Pakistan: analystsThe opposition will also walk out of the forthcoming sessions of the lower and upper houses to protest Shehbaz’s arrest, Haq was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.Sharif was elected the party’s lifetime supreme leader following his disqualification for the posts of prime minister and the party president by the country’s top court in the Panama papers scandal last year.He remained away from politics for three months after he together with his daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-Law Muhammad Safdar got jail terms by an accountability court in July this year.However, the Islamabad High Court suspended the jail terms and ordered their release on a bail last month.Pakistan: 2 ex-PMs to appear in court over treason caseMeanwhile, Sharif together with another former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and a senior journalist appeared before a full bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday to join the hearing of a treason case.The trio was charged with treason in September this year following Sharif’s controversial interview with local English Daily Dawn in which he accused the country’s security agencies of turning the blind eye to the militants involved in 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.Over 150 people were killed in the deadly attack for which New Delhi blames Pakistani intelligence agencies. Islamabad, however, denies any involvement.Abbasi, who succeeded Sharif after the latter’s disqualification, was charged with facilitating the controversial interview.Last month, the court had issued arrest warrants for Abbasi and the interviewer Cyril Almeida. However, the warrants were withdrawn on Monday following their appearance in the court.
Former Pakistani PM Sharif resumes political activities
Turkish ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul called on Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa at the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday, an official statement said."During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, including regional security issues were discussed," said a statement by the Pakistani army.Ankara and Islamabad have developed strong bilateral ties, especially in defense and security fields in recent years.Pakistan is set to receive 30 T129 Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopters (ATAK) helicopters from Turkey under a deal finalized in July this year.The helicopters -- a new generation, tandem, two-seat, twin-engine -- specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance will be delivered gradually over five years.Ankara is, meanwhile, buying MFI-17 Super Mushshak aircraft from Pakistan besides upgrading three Pakistani submarines and jointly building a fleet tanker, according to the local media.In July this year, Ankara won a multibillion-dollar tender to supply four corvettes to the Pakistani Navy -- a deal dubbed as the highest export for Turkey’s defense industry in the history by Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.In May 2017, Turkish and Pakistani defense companies had struck a deal for construction of four Turkish Ada class MILGEM (National Ship) corvettes.According to the agreement, two ships will be built in Istanbul, while two others in Karachi.The first pair of the corvettes will join the inventory of the Pakistan Naval Forces in 2023, while the remaining two will be handed over in 2024.Turkey had also gifted 34 T-37 trainer aircraft and spares to Pakistan in 2015.
Turkish envoy meets Pakistan’s army chief