Who is a terrorist?

ONE finds little legal guidance on this knotty question since the international community has yet to develop a legal definition given terrorism’s politically charged nature. Terrorism literally means using terror as a strategy.

This definition would cover psychopaths mutilating hapless victims for immediate pleasure; husbands abusing their wives to exact future compliance; and landlords, criminals and political organisations threatening larger populations in pursuing their divergent goals.

Clearly, this definition is too broad to be useful. These divergent phenomena deserve either different names or at least recognition as sub-types, e.g., psychopathic, family and political terrorisms. Emulating Uncle Sam, I focus here single-mindedly on political terrorism, the most controversial sub-type.

How does one define that sub-type? Unfortunately, even this is not an easy task. My academic peers, as divided as international officials, have generated over a hundred different definitions. Fortunately, most disagreements are over details and semantics. There is some agreement that political terrorism’s core elements include ‘deliberately physically attacking non-combatants in pursuing political goals, even if the goals are just’. This working definition can help in analysing the complexities of political terrorism.

Firstly, are freedom fighters not terrorists? Those deliberately targeting non-combatants would be considered terrorists under this definition. Freedom fighters facing stronger armies often start targeting non-combatants and justify their repugnant means by arguing the justness of their goal. Under this definition though, ends do not justify means. Thus, many resistance movements globally, e.g., in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Colombia, engage in terrorism.

While Uncle Sam may think otherwise, the Mujahideen of the first Afghan war were as much terrorists as those of the second Afghan war since they often targeted non-combatants. However, this is merely a judgment on the means and not the ultimate aims of these groups around the globe. As the ANC’s transformation in South Africa reveals, terrorist groups with worthy goals can win international support by abandoning terrorism. The Arab Spring shows that freedom fighters can dislodge tyrants without not only terrorism but also major violence. Conversely, terrorism has a sorry success rate to date.

Secondly, do states commit terrorism? If they inadvertently kill non-combatants during combat, they do not commit terrorism but they could be guilty of war crimes, an equally serious offence, if they do not follow the international laws for protecting non-combatants during war. Cases where low-level soldiers deliberately target non-combatants would constitute individual terrorism and possibly state war crimes.

State terrorism only occurs when top officials materially support terrorists or order soldiers to deliberately target non-combatants. Thus, the civilian casualties caused inadvertently by the Americans in Iraq during combat cannot be considered terrorism, though some of them may constitute war crimes. However, the torture of prisoners, duly approved by top Bush-era officials, certainly constituted state terrorism as did the Hiroshima bombing, probably the most destructive single terrorist attack ever.

Thirdly, who is responsible for the thousands killed by terrorism in Pakistan? Some people hold the Pakistani and American governments culpable arguing that their policies provoke militants into terrorism. ‘Provocation’ is actually a legal term which can be used to mitigate certain crimes. British women who kill highly abusive husbands while facing further direct trauma can claim provocation in defence, but merely to request a lighter sentence.

Furthermore, they are not given a licence to just kill anyone in retaliation nor can relatives of even murdered women invoke provocation in killing murderer husbands.

Given these stringent requirements, can someone from Fata, even if he or she unfortunately loses a non-combatant relative to American or Pakistani army action, justifiably claim provocation if he or she travels all the way to Islamabad or Karachi to exact revenge on non-combatants instead of taking the shorter journey to the perpetrators and courts? Clearly, from a criminal justice viewpoint, legal culpability lies with those planning, executing and materially supporting terrorism.

True, beyond the realms of criminal justice, there is the question of political responsibility. Viewed so, both governments have indirectly contributed to terrorism. However, that political culpability cannot lessen the legal culpability of terrorists. There are more sensible avenues available for protesting bad government policies, such as peaceful protests and courts.

Thus, it is ironic to see a populist Pakistani politician linking terrorism primarily to drone attacks when he chooses for himself instead the legal (and personally safer!) option of peaceful protests against drone attacks.

There are appropriate responses to inappropriate acts and there are inappropriate ones. Those committing inappropriate responses deserve appropriate punishment, like those committing the original inappropriate act. Thus, the only basis for peace with the TTP should be their unconditional surrender and submission to justice.

Finally, is terrorism linked to particular religions? Biased analysts claim that though not all Muslims are terrorists, almost all terrorists are Muslim. Facts easily disprove this misrepresentation. While Al Qaeda has attracted the most attention since it targets the West, highly egregious terrorism has been committed more frequently by others in recent history. Some even committed it in the name of religion, e.g., the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa routinely attacks villages, chopping men’s limbs, killing thousands, raping women in front of their families and keeping them as mistresses.

Others were committed in the name of nationalism and ideology, e.g., the Rwandan, ex-Yugoslavian and Cambodian civilian massacres. However, these barbarisms do not reflect the original teachings of those religions or ideologies, just as Al Qaeda’s barbarism does not reflect Islamic teachings. In Islam, whoever kills an innocent person is though as he killed all mankind. Non-combatants were granted amnesty during the 630 AD Mecca conquest. Sick minds, not religions, produce terrorism.

Hence, religious terrorism is an oxymoron which should be discarded.

Thus, an objective analysis of terrorism requires a clear definition, which may not suit major powers. So, under Bush, the American definition degenerated into ‘whoever we consider one’. Second, it must be grounded in facts, not biases. Third, it requires differentiating between immediate and indirect causes. To date, these simple requirements have eluded global policymakers.

The writer is a political economist at the University of California, Berkeley.
murtazaniaz@yahoo.com

Akram offers to coach young Pakistan fast bowlers

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has offered his services to the PCB as a part-time bowling coach. Akram said he is 'ready to work for Pakistan', but would not be able to do it full-time because of family commitments.

"Coaching is a very demanding job," Akram told reporters at Lahore airport. "It requires a 24/7 [twenty four hours, seven days a week commitment] that I cannot afford while my personal life is a little unsettled. I have two kids to look after. But if they want my services, I am ready to work, but only in my free time."

In the past Akram has turned down the PCB's offers to coach, citing his responsibilities as a commentator. While he did state that he still doesn't have much free time, he said that whenever he is in Pakistan, he could juggle his routine to have time to coach fast bowlers.

"I have emphasised before that while I am free in Pakistan, give me about 10 to 15 young fast bowlers to coach for a month and I am ready to work. We have outstanding facilities at the National Cricket Academy. Send them to Karachi or I can come to Lahore as well."

When asked about the upcoming series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, Akram said Sri Lanka are a good side but not good enough to beat Pakistan. He pointed out that the bowling attack has struggled without Muttiah Muralitharan, who was responsible for 40 per cent of the team's wickets during his career.

"Sri Lanka is a good team but without Murali [Muralitharan] and [Lasith] Malinga they can't bowl out Pakistan twice in Test cricket," Akram said. "I don't see Pakistan losing unless they play very bad cricket.

"Pakistan has experience as Younis [Khan], Misbah [ul Haq] are there in the line-up and another veteran (Shoaib) Malik is back in the side. So with all this, we can understand that the team isn't lacking any talent. They just need support and need to play good cricket."

Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 International in the three Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, as Pakistan are currently unable to host international cricket amid security concerns since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009. Given the situation, Akram said the PCB should create an alternative home country for the team.

"The idea is to play as much cricket as they can," Akram said. "If teams aren't heading to Pakistan, come up with an alternative hub and a system for Pakistan's home series and give its team more cricket - that will help them to flourish."

Learning from our disasters

For Pakistan, the 2011 floods came at a time when the country was already struggling to recover from last year’s floods. This year however, Sindh turned out to be the worst affected province with 22 of its 24 districts flooded. According to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), 8,920,631 people were affected by the floods in Sindh. Of these, 599,224 are still in relief camps all across the province.

Dr. Shershah Syed from the Pakistan Medical Association feels that the floods have highlighted a broader dilemma. “We are facing a humanitarian crisis – it is shocking to see the degree of malnutrition in the children at relief camps,” he says.

Dr. Syed was also involved in coordinating flood relief work last year and thinks that “these people are likely getting better access to healthcare in relief camps than in their own villages.” He further added that this is especially true of Sindh, a predominantly feudal province “where poor debt-ridden farmers toil lands not owned by them.”

Pakistan is included in a list of 20 countries which contain 80 per cent of the world’s undernourished children. Maternal and child under-nutrition is the underlying cause of 3.5 million annual deaths globally. The major causes of mortality in Pakistan in children less than the age of five years are diarrhea, acute respiratory infections and sepsis, with chronic malnutrition, an important but indirect cause of child mortality.

“With rising numbers of children suffering from diarrhea secondary to unsanitary water and hygiene we need to optimise access to clean drinking water and sanitation services,” says Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, Chair of the Division of Maternal and Child Health at the Aga Khan University.

Dr. Bhutta, who has done extensive work on how to best combat malnutrition in developing countries, says that rescue efforts in the these areas needs to be more directed to be as nutritionally optimal as possible. “There is little realisation that Sindh has the worst rates of maternal and child undernutrition in the country as exemplified by the nutrition surveys undertaken during the floods last year and confirmed by the recently concluded national nutrition survey. The current floods have just compounded a chronic emergency and underscored the importance of large scale preventive strategies.”

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that nearly three quarters of southern Sindh province crops have been damaged, while two thirds of food stocks have also been hit. Given the scale of the disaster, it is still a long way before relief or rehabilitation comes to the worst affected. In the meanwhile, what we see are millions of hungry people waiting for two square meals a day.

Given the present situation, we need to look hard and critically at our national and local priorities. Pakistan is not a poor country, it is a nation with poor allocation of resources and recently we have had more than our fair share of bad luck. With years of meager investment into health and education, two years of flooding has highlighted issues that have been festering for years particularly that of malnutrition. There is no magic bullet to solve the problem of undernutrition nor can we depend upon emergency responses and donor funding to affect change.

Evidence-based interventions can make a difference to short-term outcomes – these interventions include strategies to improve maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy, early and exclusive breastfeeding, and good-quality complementary feeding for infants and young children, with appropriate micronutrient supplementation. In addition to these nutrition interventions, other health promotion strategies include attention to programs to address unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene.

We also need long-term investments in the role of women as full and equal citizens—through education, economic, social, and political empowerment. To find widespread malnutrition in Pakistan in the midst of plenty is a travesty and points to the huge inequities that exist in Pakistan. Responding to this silent emergency should be a national priority and not a knee jerk response to natural disasters.

The writer is in final year of pediatrics residency at Duke University.

US attack in N. Waziristan unlikely

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ruled out the possibility of an immediate unilateral US military offensive in North Waziristan, saying the Americans will have to think 10 times before going for this.

The comments came at a rare briefing held on Tuesday for members of the standing committees on defence of the two houses of parliament at the General Headquarters.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that the army chief had been asked to comment on the possibility of a US strike in Pakistan for its failure in Afghanistan, like it had attacked Laos and Cambodia before leaving Vietnam.

Gen Kayani did not say what would be Pakistan’s response in such an eventuality, but reminded that it was a nuclear power and must not be compared with Iraq and Afghanistan.

The briefing was mainly given by the Director General of Military Operations, Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, but the army chief also shared his views with the lawmakers, mainly about fears of US military build-up close to North Waziristan and the possibility of a unilateral attack in the region, and the army’s concern over the weak legal framework hindering trial and prosecution of terrorists.

It was probably for the first time that two parliamentary bodies jointly attended a comprehensive briefing on national security at the GHQ. The briefing was originally scheduled for Oct 13 and an invitation was also extended to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, headed by Mian Raza Rabbani, to attend the meeting. But the committee had decided to boycott the briefing and wanted it to be held at the Parliament House.

Almost all other members of the standing committees on defence attended the GHQ meeting. However, Professor Khurshid Ahmad, who is a member of both the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence, boycotted the briefing.

Another participant said Gen Kayani had rejected the US allegations that Pakistan was using the Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan and said his country was a part of solution, and not the problem.

He said he had told the Americans that Pakistan would go for a military action in North Waziristan keeping in view the situation and capabilities, and would not do it under any pressure. “If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow,” he said.

He said the problem was within Afghanistan and made it clear that some principles governed relations between states and nobody would be allowed to cross the red line. Gen Kayani rejected a perception that Pakistan wanted to control Afghanistan and said it was evident from history that nobody ever succeeded in doing so.

“When the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union failed to do so how can it be expected of Pakistan? We do not have a magic wand to succeed in doing what others failed,” he added.

The army chief said Pakistan wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan so that it did not face any challenge from its eastern and western borders.

He said Pakistan had handed over its position in black and white to US President Barack Obama and desired to get their position in writing as well. He said Pakistan would never allow its territory to be used for attacks against any other country.

Gen Kayani said the US had been told that Pakistan did not need military aid, adding that he had received a call from Washington asking if he meant it. “My reply was we mean what we say”. He said only 20 per cent of the $1.5 billion aid under the Kerry-Lugar bill had so far been received.

About the allegations of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) having ‘unsavoury characters’, he said the intelligence information came from links and all international intelligence agencies, including Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and MI6, had such contacts. He stressed that these contacts must be positively used.

Gen Kayani said it had been conveyed to the US that Pakistan had a long-term interest in the region and would not like to lose its long-term interest for short-term gains.

He underlined the need for revisiting the legal framework to prosecute those involved in terrorist activities. “The present law does not allow us to detain suspects for more than three months. This was not a sufficient time and terrorists gain out of it.”

The army chief said the weak law on terrorism and counter-insurgency was a problem because presently there was no deterrence. He said the law of evidence was outdated and not in conformity with the present scenario. He said a bill seeking to amend the Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997 had been pending before a Senate committee for almost a year.

Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem informed the legislators that Taliban activity in Afghanistan had increased by 40 per cent, despite 10 years of military presence of 49 countries. He said there were safe havens of Taliban in Kunar and Nuristan in Afghanistan.

“Taliban operate from there (Afghanistan) to launch attacks inside Pakistan.”

Maj-Gen Nadeem said India’s cold start doctrine had added to the threats confronting Pakistan. He said seven out of nine Indian commands and three strike corps were along the border with Pakistan. Eighty-one per cent of forward and main operating bases were positioned against Pakistan.

“We cannot base our strategies on any good intentions, no matter how noble they may be, as intentions can change overnight.

Our strategy has to be based on India’s capability,” he added.

Back to back centuries for Ali waqas ..

Ali waqas, a very talented batsman from sargodha has increased the batting strength of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited. Ali waqas scored a fantastic 175 from 310 balls till the end of first Innings. of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two First-Class match season 2011/12.

The match is being played between Karachi Whites and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Karachi. At the end of 1st days play, SNGPL has managed to score 436  all out in 127.2 overs of play.Ali Waqas is the top scorer scoring 175, Usman Arshad 2nd on the list with 80. Naeemuddin scored a nice 50 and a useful contribution of 44 from the captian Umer Akmal.


Check the full Scorecard Below...

In the previous match played between SNGPL and Multan, Contrasting centuries from Umar Akmal and Ali Waqas put Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in command against Multan at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The pair built on a quick start from the openers, with Azeem Ghumman going on to make a brisk 77. Ghumman and Waqas put on 104 for the second wicket to take SNGPL to 156 for 2, but the worst was yet to come for Multan. Umar Akmal clobbered 21 fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 153 that came at better than a run-a-ball and took less than three hours. His pyrotechnics were in contrast to the sedate 104 from Waqas which required nearly five hours.

Ali waqas's brilliant performance is not only good for his own future but also has strengthen the batting lineup of SNGPL. Hope he gets going with the same positive frame of mind and snatch a lot of centuries and double centuries in his way.

Butt experiences tough day in court - Spot Fixing Scandal

Salman Butt, after experiencing his tenth and most difficult day of the alleged spot-fixing trial yet on Tuesday, was accused by the prosecution of lying to the jury after being forced to answer several awkward and uncomfortable questions.

Butt was in the witness box for over five hours and will have to take the stand again on Wednesday as Aftab Jafferjee QC for the prosecution has not yet even reached the three no-balls in question on which alone the jury have been ordered to base their verdict.

Butt was asked about his little blue book, which was found in the suitcase that police discovered in his hotel room on the night of the raids on the third evening of the Lord's Test. It contained all his scribblings about income, expenditure and money "still to be received" and Jafferjee used the contents of that pocket-sized notepad to grill Butt.

He was asked why it did not mention the £30,000 that Butt was due from an apparent bat sticker deal with Majeed's company Capital Cricket. "It's up to me about what to write and what not to write. It's my diary," Butt replied, becoming agitated many times by Jafferjee's probing. Often he turned to the female interpreter to convey his thoughts when things became very tense.

Jafferjee quizzed Butt on why he withdrew US$181,000 from his Bank Alfalah account in Lahore on the day of his police interview on September 3, days after the scandal had broken in the media. Butt has transferred the amount into his mother's account.

"It might have happened on the same day as my interview but it was not something that I aimed to happen on the same day," Butt answered. "I can't explain why (I withdrew it). You are trying to portray something else, but you don't know anything about the Muslim culture," Butt snapped as Jafferjee continued to poke at the topic.

He added: "We didn't know how long we were going to be here (in England)," Butt said. "We were being investigated by the police and we didn't know if we would be allowed to leave."

Jafferjee also questioned Butt on his relationship with Majeed and asked why he tolerated the agent, even though Butt has revealed to the court that Majeed would send him text messages that suggested Butt would help him fix matches. Butt had already told the jury on Monday that he confronted Majeed about these and the agent said he was testing him. But Jafferjee then raised further text messages that suggested Butt tolerated Majeed's behaviour and concluded they shared a "corrupt relationship".

Jafferjee also quizzed Butt on why he spent so much money on luxury watches. Butt admitted to buying a £12,500 Rolex, a £5,000 Bulgari watch, $6,000 on a Tag Heuer in India while playing in the Indian Premier League - that purchase despite a 40 per cent discount being given - $5,000 on an Omega watch from Dubai and $12,000 on a Breitling. Butt agreed that he liked to buy luxury goods but argued that they were investments because he would make money also when he eventually sold them.

Despite a player-agent relationship spanning about three years, the court heard that the only payment that came from Majeed via a cheque or bank transfer was for £9,600 deposited in Butt's Clydesdale Bank account two days before the Pakistanis arrived in England on June 24, 2010. All other payments would be in cash.

Jafferjee questioned Butt on whether he thought it strange that a global sportswear brand like Adidas would pay him just £800 per appearance yet Majeed was willing to pay him £30,000 for a bat sticker to advertise his company Capital Cricket in 2010, and also £5,000 "to cut a ribbon" - as Jafferjee phrased it - at an ice cream parlour.

Not convinced by Butt's answers, several times Jafferjee accused him of lying to the court, including the time when Butt could not answer why he was in team-mate Wahab Riaz's room after midnight with Kamran Akmal and Azhar Majeed, the brother and business partner of Mazhar.

Butt also accused the Pakistan team security manager Major Najam of lying in his statement, making fun of the official by calling him "007".

The former Pakistan captain and opening batsman Butt and his former team-mate Mohammad Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following that Lord's Test last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

S. Korean firm plans to invest $500m in Pakistan

KARACHI: Lotte, a South Korean firm, is planning to expand its operations and invest half a billion dollars in various projects to be executed in Pakistan, said Ambassador Choong Joo Choi on Monday.

Several other companies are also engaged in negotiations with Pakistani authorities for investment, mainly in power and petrochemical sectors, the Korean ambassador said at a press conference.

The envoy said his country had funded several projects in Pakistan such as the newly-inaugurated institute of garment technology and water supply and sewerage drainage projects, adding that Koran cooperation had also been extended to the national capacity-building institute for water quality management, training of Pakistani government officials and vocational training of youths of Malakand.

He said that at present more than 20 South Korean companies were based in Pakistan and some of the Korean brand names had their subsidiary and production lines.

He said that Ssangyoung, another Korean company, had just completed repair work of KPT berths while Posco had also made initial investment in the country.

South Korea, a member of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, offered $180 million soft loan to Pakistan. “It is an offer in the form of an extremely soft loan,” said Ambassador Choong Joo Choi.

WIND ENERGY: In a related development, Hienergy Korea Canmore Co. Ltd. announced that it would invest $100 million in the wind energy projects in Sindh, besides 50MW projects in SITE and Nooriabad.

This was said by the leader of the company who met Sindh Minister for Industries Rauf Siddiqui on Monday.

Let it be more than a day

By Siddique Humayun

Today I will start my discussion with a question. It is perhaps one of those questions that never strike an ‘able’ human who is rowing his boat through the storms of life, in case of Pakistan, living through a generation that has not experienced much besides confusion, chaos and catastrophe.

So, let me ask you, how many new private and/ public buildings do you see today that are built with a wheelchair facility? How many billboards do you see promoting programs on anything and everything ranging from women health fitness to Spanish courses compared to a braille class? I will be honest with myself; the last time I talked about disabled people was in my university years, while questioning a fellow student who had chosen the topic for his semester project.

It never occurred to me to ponder over the lives of those unable to walk, talk, see or hear. For I like many other in this world have taken these blessings for granted. While climbing stairs, I sometimes climb two at a time, just because I can; without ever giving it a thought about someone who is in a wheelchair wondering how will he go past those 3 steps because there isn’t any ramp. While my problems may start after I enter a building, his start on the very doorstep.

Many centers and private organisations work for disabled people all over the country, but a serious initiative from the Pakistani government is so far, nowhere to be seen. Forget implementation, in this case, many policies are yet to be formulated. The machinery is busy in satisfying foreign elements while our own bodies keep piling up, the ministers are busy satisfying their hunger for protocol while the common man is chained in taxes and inflation, and the disable remain in an oblivious mirage of hopelessness.

October 15 was celebrated as the White Cane Day across the country, yet ironically the majority of us remained as oblivious to it as we are to those who are physically and mentally less privileged than us. Several seminars and forums were held that highlighted the discrepancies in the policy making against the visually impaired such as they are not issued credit cards, neither are any special packages designed for them by banks. Such people can become an integral part of our society as well as contribute to the GDP if given moral and financial support by the government and NGOs. It was only a few years back that a visually impaired girl passed the CSS examination and was allocated in the Foreign Service group. We currently have a blind cricket team though more needs to be done to bring these people to the upfront instead of treating them like mere ‘props’ that showcase certain days of the year for several organisations.

I know most will argue, in a country, where the ‘able’ are plundered in the socio-political scenario, how can we make the case for the disabled. By just posing the question we are classifying the physically impaired in a different category whereas they have a claim to their rights just like the average citizen, perhaps more.

It is funny, most of my friends ask me why is that when they go abroad they see so many disabled people as compared to Pakistan and I just silently stare at them not wanting to reply; which is that it is not the statistics but our negligence which deprives them of their required level of comfort to move around as freely as the rest of us. So, let it be more than a day for the disabled, let it be more than a thought, and more than words that go out to these lovely human beings, let it be action.


The author is a policy analyst and a social worker from Islamabad who believes that the glass is half full. He can be reached at siddique.humayun@gmail.com and www.weekend.pk


The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Shining Pakistan.

Gilani asks Naval chief to recruit Baloch youths

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directed Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M. Asif Sandila on Monday to encourage recruitment of Baloch youths and to continue the policy of induction of women as officers and sailors into Pakistan Navy.

Talking to the new chief of naval staff, who had called on him at the Prime Minister’s House, Mr Gilani said that Baloch youths should be inducted into navy on the pattern of Pakistan Army which had recruited around 6,000 people in the province.

The prime minister said that navy should set up recruitment centres, educational institutions and hospitals in remote and less developed areas of the country, especially Balochistan, Sindh and southern Punjab.

He said the completion of road between Gwadar and Ratodero would provide connectivity between the port city and the rest of the country and boost trade.

“It will also increase many times operational activities at the port,” he added.

Mr Gilani said the government would continue to extend all possible support to beef up the defence capabilities of Pakistan Navy.

He prised the relief efforts of Pakistan Navy for people affected by heavy rains in Sindh.

“Navy conducted well-planned operations in Sanghar, Tharparkar and Mirpurkhas to save lives in the aftermath of unprecedented rains,” he said.

Admiral Sandila expressed gratitude to the prime minister for reposing confidence in him and said he would spare no effort to come up to the expectations of the nation in the defence of the country.

Cross-border attacks from Pakistan on the rise: US

WASHINGTON: Cross-border attacks emanating from Pakistan against US-led forces in Afghanistan have increased since the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the Pentagon said Monday.

Asked if there was a recent rise in artillery or rocket fire across the border into Afghanistan, press secretary George Little told reporters in an email: “This summer, June-August, we did see an increase in cross border incidents.”

The Pentagon offered no other details and did not link the trend to the May raid by Navy SEAL commandos deep inside Pakistan that took out al Qaeda’s leader.

But US soldiers at bases in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province told the New York Times that rocket fire had dramatically increased from Pakistani territory since May.

It was unclear if the fire, usually 107mm rockets, was the result of an emboldened insurgency, retaliation by the Pakistani military or some mixture of both, the Times reported Monday, quoting US military officers.

In some cases the rocket fire came from insurgent positions just inside Afghanistan, with crews then rushing back across to Pakistan, the newspaper wrote.

There were at least 102 “close-border” attacks against three US outposts in Paktika since May, compared to 13 such incidents during the same period last year, it said.

When contacted by US troops, Pakistani military officers at the border often say they are not aware of the rocket fire or cannot see it, even though the fire is often coming from positions next to Pakistani military or Frontier Corps posts, the Times reported.

Given the degree of sophistication and coordination displayed in the attacks, some US officers strongly suspect the Pakistani military or intelligence service is involved in the rocket fire, the paper said.

The rise in cross-border fire comes amid deep strains in US-Pakistan relations in the aftermath of the Bin Laden raid and following accusations from former top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen that Islamabad was supporting Haqqani militant attacks on US forces in Afghanistan.