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Rs 15.00 Vol ii no 282 22 pages islamabad — peshawar edition
Monday, 9 april, 2012 Jamadi-ul-awal 16, 1433
Zardari’s Dargah diplomacy ‘fruitful’ g
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Indian pM accepts invitation to visit pakistan Raises issue of Hafiz Saeed during pre-lunch talks NEW DELHI
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AFP
RESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday became the first Pakistani head of state since 2005 to visit India, on a one-day trip that he described as “very fruitful” in improving ties between the rivals. During a visit billed as private but of great diplomatic significance, Zardari lunched with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and invited him to visit Pakistan. The meeting has received a cautious welcome from analysts who see it as another sign of improving relations between the bitter neighbours, but the allegations of Pakistani militant activity against India remain deeply problematic. India continues to press Pakistan to prosecute the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, blamed on the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was founded by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Pakistan says it lacks sufficient evidence against Saeed. “We have had some very fruitful bilateral talks together,” Zardari said at a joint news conference during the first presidential trip to India since Pervez Musharraf visited seven years ago. “We would like to have better relations with India. We spoke on all topics that we could,” added Zardari, who was accompanied by a large delegation including his son and Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The lunch — with kebabs and curries from all over India, including the disputed region of Kashmir — was preceded by a 40-minute private conversation between the two leaders. “I am very satisfied with the outcome of this visit,” Singh told reporters. “Pres-
ident Zardari has invited me to visit Pakistan and I’d be very happy to visit Pakistan at a mutually convenient date.” He stressed that relations between the countries “should become normal. That is our common desire.” Analysts had predicted little progress on sensitive topics such as Kashmir, or the presence of anti-India militant groups in Pakistan. Both were discussed, along with “the activities of Hafiz Saeed” and ways to increase trade between the countries, India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters. A visa agreement that will simplify cross-border travel had been worked out and would be signed at a later date. “Both felt that we need to move forward step by step,” Mathai said of the talks between the leaders, which will be followed by meetings between home and trade ministers in the coming months. India broke off a slow-moving peace process to settle all outstanding problems with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, which left 166 people dead, but the two sides have since warily returned to the table. “This is a largely symbolic occasion and contentious subjects will be avoided,” said Brahma Chellaney, an analyst at New Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research, of the meeting Sunday. Pakistan’s foreign policy is seen by many observers as the preserve of the powerful military, and Chellaney suggested Zardari wielded little real power. “You can’t have substantive talks with someone who doesn’t run anything,” he said. Zardari later flew to a Sufi shrine in the town of Ajmer, 350 kilometres southwest of New Delhi, where he offered prayers at the renowned complex of mosques built around the shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti who died in 1236 AD.
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US team arrives to assist in search, rescue operations ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIN
NEW DELHI: Indian PM Manmohan Singh welcomes President Zardari to his residence. afp
Zardari donates $1m to Ajmer Dargah AJMER INP
After the diplomatic stopover in Delhi, President Asif Ali Zardari visited the 13th century Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah in Ajmer, where he spent around 20 minutes and offered flowers and a chaadar. Zardari also donated one million dollars to the Dargah. “The soulful happiness that I have experienced at this holy place is beyond explanation. I pray to Allah to make life easy for the entire humanity,” Zardari wrote in a diary at the Dargah. He landed in the city in a chopper soon after 4pm on Sunday after having lunch with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and several other leaders in New Delhi. Accompanying the president in his Ajmer visit was his 23-year-old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. During Zardaris’ visit, the Dargah was closed to all other visitors. About 1,500 policemen had been posted in and around the Dargah; the security arrangements included rapid response teams and counter-terrorism units. Security inspections were on until late last night in Ajmer. Mr Zardari last visited Ajmer in 2005 with his wife Benazir Bhutto.
The United States on Sunday sent experts to assist Pakistan in its search and rescue efforts in the world highest battlefield of Siachen glacier where hundreds of army troops and civilians are desperately working to search for 135 people buried in an avalanche. “An eight-member team of US experts have arrived in Islamabad to provide technical assistance in the rescue operation,” said an ISPR statement issued late on Sunday. “Discussion will be held with the US team to find out possibilities and nature of assistance required to expedite the rescue operation… technical assistance from other friendly countries also being considered,” it said. Earlier, the US authorities had made an offer to assist Islamabad in rescue efforts in Gayatri sector of Siachen glacier where around 240 Pakistani troops and civilians have been working to search for survivors with the help of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, some of which was flown in on military aircraft. The troops and civilians taking part in the operation struggled to dig through some 25 metres of snow, boulders, mud and slush that buried the rear headquarters building in the Gayari sector early Saturday morning. No sigN: A security official seeking anonymity said there were no signs of any survivor so far and also no bodies had been recovered as of now. “It’s a very hard terrain and the rescue operation is very difficult but the army jawans and civilian rescue workers are trying their best to make headway and make their job done,” he said. geNeral KayaNi: A separate statement issued by the ISPR said Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani visited the site on Sunday to personally supervise the rescue operations for 135 soldiers and civilians. Continued on page 04