ISLAMABAD: The Third Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) was held in Islamabad on 13-14 May 2009. The Conference was co-hosted by the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The RECCA was inaugurated on 13 May by the President of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mr. Hamid Karzai and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani. The Conference was attended by 24 countries and 18 regional and international organizations, institutions and bodies.

During the Conference, besides the plenary sessions, the delegates exchanged views in five technical working groups on Mining, Labour Movement and Human Resource Development, Health, Energy and Infrastructure and Transit Trade. The Heads of Delegation participating in the Conference also held a separate session to discuss a broad range of issues to chart out a regional approach concerning Afghanistan.

The two-day Conference adopted the Islamabad Declaration which recognizing Afghanistan’s centrality for peace and stability in Asia and for the prosperity and stability of surrounding states and region, endorsed the need for a comprehensive approach and participation of the international community in economic development of Afghanistan. The Kabul Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations and the Declaration on Counter Narcotics were endorsed as firm foundations to strengthen linkages among Afghanistan and its neighbours. It was also decided to fast-track and further institutionalize linkages among Afghanistan and its neighbours within the framework of that Declaration. The Islamabad Declaration also endorsed various recent regional initiatives and trilateral summit processes concerning Afghanistan.

The Conference welcomed the signing of Declaration on Directions of Bilateral Cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in January 2009, and an MoU to improve trade and accession facilitation in Washington this month. The Islamabad Declaration also welcomed the revival of Jirga Process for dialogue and development by Pakistan and Afghanistan, and appreciated Pakistan’s announcement to award 1000 scholarships to Afghan students in Pakistani institutions for higher learning.

The Islamabad Declaration noted the significance of the positive role played by regional organizations such as ECO, SAARC, SCO, OIC and CAREC in extending the scope of regional cooperation. The Declaration affirmed the importance of regional and international commitment to Afghanistan’s economic development. The Conference agreed that transport, trade, energy cooperation, Agricultural cooperation, capacity building and education, border management, counter narcotics and refugee return and re-integration are areas with considerable scope for mutually beneficial regional cooperation.

The Third RECCA successfully endorsed a number of concrete, long-term impact, regional projects including Rail Link from Chaman to Kandahar, CASA 1000, Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif Rail Link, establishment of a Customs Academy in Kabul, early conclusion of Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade and Transit Agreement and development of Border Economic Zones around Afghanistan. It was decided to set up model returnee villages and vocational centers to act as pull factors for the voluntary and sustainable return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with dignity and honor.

The RECCA process for the first time crystallized a regional consensus on key trans-regional cooperation projects. It is hoped that the international community, regional and international organizations, institutions and bodies would now come forward with their strong and sustained support to take these initiatives successfully forward. NNI

ISLAMABAD: The geo-political and geo-strategic situation of Pakistan and Afghanistan offers enormous opportunities for regional cooperation as both countries provide a strategic and social-cultural connect to South Asia and Central Asia. This was stated by Minister of State for Investment Saleem H. Mandiwala while addressing the Business Conference on the sideline of 3rd Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan here on Wednesday.

He said the current volume of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan stands 1.23 billion dollars which is expected to increase further in the years to come with the expansion of trade. The Minister said Pakistan intends to boost trade and business activities and in this regard a number of MOUs have been signed. Referring new trade and transit agreement recently signed between the two countries in Washington, he said it will increase trade with Afghanistan and boost economic activities.

He said Pakistan has been spending three hundred million dollars in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and to improve health and education sectors besides construction of Torkhum-Jalalabad Highway. He said Pakistan is engaged in building a parallel carriageway.

He said currently Pakistan is constructing the two hundred bed Jinnah General Hospital and Thalacemia Centre in Kabul. Another hospital in Logar and a Kidney Centre in Jalalabad will be setup besides a hostel in Kabul.

The Minister said Pakistan has also announced one thousand scholarships for Afghan students and proposed setting up of model villages for Afghan returnees for skill development. He said Pakistan is the most important and pivotal country in the regional scheme of expanding opportunities and its contribution is viable and sustainable to achieve the common goals towards economic interdependence and individual progress. NNI

LAHORE: Former Foreign Secretary, Riaz Khokar on Tuesday disclosed that Musharraf had disintegrated Huriiat Conference in Occupied Kashmir to install a puppet leader like Hamid Karzai. Addressing a seminar organized by Ideology of Pakistan Trust here on Tuesday, he said former President evolved a formula for the resolution of Kashmir issue which was child- brain of one or two persons.

On this occasion, renowned journalist Majeed Nizami and Central Leader of PML-Q, Mehnaz Rafi and other were also present. About the country nuclear assets, he said nuclear program was not under the control of civilian government but it is control by secret services and there is no need to fear about the security of the program.

He said Pakistan’s nuclear program was trust of the nation and its credit goes to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Shaheed. He said the government had decided to include India in Pak-Afghan transit trade which is very dangerous. Riaz Khokar said he was supporting Pak-India better ties but the national interest should not be ignored at any cost. “Pak army and secret agencies are strongly opposing this step”, he said.

“President Zardari says that Pakistan has no threat from India then he should explain it before the nation how the country has no threat from India as it is our enemy since the independence of the country”, he said. About Pak-US relations, he said the US was not the friend of Pakistan as it wants bloodshed and to capture country’s nuclear assets.

He further said US wants to shift Afghan war to Pakistan’s tribal area in order to get rid of the danger it faces in Afghanistan from several years. Riaz Khokar said Pakistan will not get any advantage of Pak-Afghan joint force but it will also be use for the US interest. NNI

GUJRANWALA: Leader of PML-Q, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that India and Afghanistan are involved in the unrest in Balochistan. Talking to media men here on Sunday, he said the government needs to call All Parties Conference (APC) to discuss situation in Balochistan. Pervez Elahi said Sufi Muhammad should have to take all the religious scholars on board.

About Punjab government, he said Punjab government had no vision and Sharif brothers were standing on that position which was 9 years ago. He said doctors, farmers, teachers and students are protesting on roads due their wrong policies. He alleged that the government neither buy wheat from the farmers nor provide them empty sacs but only facilitate their own people. NNI

WASHHINGTON: President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai here Saturday held a joint meeting with the President of World Bank Group and pledged to improve regional economic cooperation. It was agreed that the two countries will facilitate electricity trade between the Central and South Asia. They viewed the development of CASAREM and its first project, the CASA 1000 project as central to the facilitation of regional electricity trade. As a first step in the development of CASAREM, the CASA 1000 Project will allow the export of existing surplus hydropower from Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic to South Asia during the summer months.

The two Presidents noted that, together with the government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, functioning Inter-governmental Council has been established in 2007 and Secretariat in 2008 with the objective of developing CASAREM and the CASA 1000 Project. They further noted that the four governments signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in August 2008 that expresses their mutual commitments to CASAREM and CASA 1000.

In recognition that the development of a regional electricity market would be beneficial to them and to the region as a whole, the two Presidents agreed to continue to strengthen their bilateral cooperation with Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic in the development of both CASAREM and its first project, CASA 1000.

In this connection, it was agreed that they would instruct their representatives to take further steps that may be necessary to ensure the effectiveness and enforceability of the IGA and will endeavor to complete all actions pertaining thereto on an urgent basis.

It includes determining economic viability of the project and tariff estimation and signing of the Joint Development Agreement (JDA), preferably during the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECC-A) to be held in Islamabad on May 13-14. This will facilitate the further development of the various commercial agreements and the selection and contracting party on international competitive bidding basis.

The two Presidents noted their appreciations for the technical assistance being provided by the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) through IFC Infra Ventures, Islamic Development Bank, and Asian Development Band and support of the United States for the development of CASAREM and CASA 1000 Project. They affirmed their intent to seek financing from these international finance institutions for the CASA1000 project.

The two Presidents recognized that the completion of CASA 1000 “which is being designed to accommodate an expanded volume of power in the future “ will catalyze additional energy investments and trade both in the four CASA countries as well as the region and that it could have a positive demonstration effect for other regional infrastructure projects between their two countries, such as the up-gradation of Peshawar-Kabul road and the Peshawar-Kabul Rail link.-APP

NEW YORK: The United Nations has opened its 19th office in Afghanistan in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern province of Uruzgan, as part of its continued expansion across the strife-torn nation. “We are here to reach out to all citizens of Uruzgan, to meet their humanitarian needs, to help build institutions and to support development,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons Special Representative Kai Eide said at the opening. “I hope our presence will be welcomed by allincluding the armed opposition”, he said.

Eide, who heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNANA) said he hoped the expansion of the world bodys presence across different provinces will encourage others to follow suit. “Our ambition is to serve as a magnet for others; for UN agencies in development and humanitarian work; for NGOs and development agencies,” he stated. “The opening of our office should serve as a signal encouraging others to come and work in this province.”

The Special Representative added that the UN is continuing to expand and hopes to have a permanent presence in 20 provinces by next week. UNAMA currently has offices in Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Herat, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Bamiyan, Kabul, Gardez, Ghor, Kunar, Khost, Nimroz, Badghis, Maimana, Faizabad, Daikundi and Zabul provinces. In addition, it has two liaison offices in Tehran and Islamabad. NNI

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama allocated more war funds for Afghanistan than those earmarked for Iraq in a budget plan he unveiled. The president proposed 130 billion U.S. dollars in appropriation to support overseas military operations in fiscal year 2010 that begins Oct. 1, including 65 billion dollars for Afghanistan and 61 billion dollars for Iraq, according to his budget plan released by the White House.

It marks the first time that war spending for Afghanistan overtook those for Iraq and is in accordance with the new administration’s ongoing shift of war focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. Steve Stanley, the director of force structure, resources and assessment on the Joint Staff, told reporters at a Pentagon briefing that the budget request represents “where you’re going to first see the swing of not only dollars or resources, but combat capability” from Iraq to Afghanistan.

“The money requested here — about 65 billion dollars for Afghanistan — actually exceeds the 61 billion dollars that we’re requesting for Iraq,”So that’s the first time in our war costs request,” the official added.

Stanley explained that those numbers are based on keeping between 50,000 to 100,000 troops in Iraq and 68,000 in Afghanistan. In Iraq, U.S. troop levels are supposed to come down gradually over the next year, and these numbers are based on plans to bring troop levels down to around 50,000 by the end of the fiscal year 2010, which is Sept. 30 next year, according to the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, troop levels will grow to 68,000 later this year after all the additional troops Obama planned to send there are in position. In addition to pay for an increase of troops, war funds allocated for Afghanistan will pay for new equipment, like the scaled-down version of the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected truck that will be customized for the primitive roads of Afghanistan.

However, Pentagon official cautioned that these figures are just projections based on certain assumptions about how the wars will progress in the year to come. Overall, the total war funding under the name of “Overseas Contingency Operations” budget plan represented a 10-percent decline from the war funding for this fiscal year, which is 145 billion dollars.

This budget plan also marks the first time that the war funding is included in the overall defense budget, a departure with the practices of the Bush administration, which paid for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan largely through emergency supplemental appropriations. That practice worried lawmakers and budget watchdogs, who argued that the practice limited oversight and encouraged profligate spending. NNI

RAWALPINDI: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid, chaired the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee at Chaklala, Rawalpindi on Thursday. Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Naval chief Admiral Noman Bashir, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, and other senior military officials from three services also attended the meeting..

The participants of the meeting were given comprehensive briefings on the external and internal security situation with specific focus on the evolving internal challenges and the measures to improve domestic stability.

Examining the prevailing situation in Malakand Division, the Committee expressed its satisfaction over the progress of operations in Lower Dir, Buner and adjoining areas and resolved to extend maximum support to the Government in stamping out any spill over of militancy in these areas with zero tolerance.

The Committee also discussed the security situation in Balochistan and Karachi. Dilating upon response to the myriad of security challenges confronting the country, the Committee underscored the need for a comprehensive national response.

The Committee strongly dismissed the undue alarm being created by certain quarters, especially the western media, indicating dangers to our strategic assets, terming these as unfounded. The Committee expressed full confidence in the robust custodial controls and multi-layered arrangements put in place to ensure fail-safe security of these assets.

The Committee also evaluated the revised US Policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan with a view to making security related recommendations to the Government.

KABUL: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in a joint statement Monday resolved to enhance cooperation against terrorism, extremism, trafficking of narcotics and regional and international organized crime to strengthen peace, stability, security and economic development in the region. The statement was issued after the first trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries here on Monday.

The meeting was the follow up of the agreement reached between the heads of the three neighbours in March this year on the sidelines of the 10th ECO summit in Tehran, said a spokesman of Pakistan’s Foreign Office. The meeting took place in a warm and cordial atmosphere.

The Foreign Ministers reiterated the importance of trilateral political dialogue and cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual interest. They expressed their strong commitment to redouble their efforts, utilizing the potentials of the three countries, in addressing these challenges for the welfare and prosperity of their peoples. They reaffirmed the importance of expansion of economic and trade cooperation among the three countries.

They agreed to exchange and promote trade and transit facilities among the three countries, with due regard to the special needs of the land-locked countries, in accordance with the ECO recommendations, particularly the joint declaration of the 10th ECO summit as well as relevant regional and international conventions.

All the sides recognized the need to facilitate and expedite customs transactions to ensure effective and efficient delivery of goods and services. They also agreed to promote preferential trade arrangements between the three countries, and to further strengthen the existing regional agreement and frameworks and remove trade imbalances.

They underlined the need to construct in an expedited manner, railways and roads as link networks for enhancing trade, economic growth and strengthened regional cooperation. They affirmed the need to operationalize designated projects for transfer of electricity from Central Asia to Iran and Pakistan through Afghanistan.

They reiterated the importance of joint cooperation in the field of agriculture. The Foreign Ministers emphasized joint cooperation to facilitate investment in various fields, in conformity with the national legislation of the three countries, for voluntary participation in relevant actions.

They agreed to establish joint training centers aimed at achieving a proficient labour force for formulation of relevant projects among the three countries. They highlighted the importance of consolidating relations among the three countries, including people to people contact, as an important measure to bring to an end trafficking of human beings and, in that regard, agreed to identify additional measures to ensure safe and legal movement of their citizens.

They emphasized enhanced cooperation and coordination of activities in fields of culture, education, higher education, health and scientific research. The Foreign Minister acknowledged with great importance the need to enhance cooperation for controlling the spread of transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis and hepatitis.

They agreed to hold periodic meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries. They also agreed to hold the Second Trilateral Summit in Tehran within one month.-APP

KARACHI: The local markets of tea are facing loss amounting to billions of rupees as a result of tea being smuggled to Pakistan from Afghanistan. According to Pakistan Tea Association, the country’s total tea consumption stands at 175 million kilograms. Out of this 100 million kgs are imported through government channels while the rest that is 75 million kgs is smuggled to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Pakistan perhaps is among the few countries where tea has attained the status of basic food especially among the poor. While it is used as a source of entertainment by all segments of the society, it is essentially required at the breakfast especially in the urban areas of Pakistan.

This causes a loss of Rs5.5 billion to the local importers of tea, it said. The association has called for immediate attention of the government to the issue and demanded withdrawal of 10 per cent import duty on tea to resolve the problem.

Since the smuggled tea evades duties and taxes it is sold at a discount. This type of incentive is becoming a great source of attraction even for the legal tea importers and a large number of them have naturally diverting their buying towards the smuggled tea. If this trend is allowed to prevail the tea business is likely to be the haven of the smugglers.
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