Refugee leaky boat billboard anger

JANE HAMMOND, The West Australian
October 25, 2011, 12:45 pm

Human rights and refugee advocates have slammed as callous billboards in the Pakistan city of Quetta warning people not to come to Australia by leaky boat.

One of the billboards is seen clearly in the background of pictures shot in the aftermath of a September 3 attack on a Shia Muslim rally that killed 42 people and injured another 80.

Jack Smit, from the WA group Project Safecom, said Hazaras who had escaped persecution in Afghanistan by fleeing to Pakistan were being targeted.

“Recent and reported examples provide evidence of a sharp increase in targeted killings of Hazara in Quetta,” Mr Smit said.

He said photos of a recent incident in Quetta showed people cleaning up the bodies of others killed in a suicide bomb with an Australian Government billboard in the background warning people not to come to Australia in “the illegal way”.

He said getting to Australia legally was almost impossible.

“Australia’s callousness is made larger when you realise that you won’t get anywhere with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan or Afghanistan, that the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR is under resourced, overworked and often inadequate, if not inappropriate,” Mr Smit said.

A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection said the poster was part of a campaign that ended in mid 2010 but many of the billboards had remained in place.

“On behalf of the Australian government, Customs and Border Protection leads and refines the implementation of counter people smuggling communications campaigns in source and transit countries.

“In 2010-2011, we implemented campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to discourage and deter potential irregular immigrants and crew from becoming involved in people smuggling activities,” the spokesman said.

“Customs and Border Protection conducted this advertising campaign immediately after an April 2010 policy announcement by the Australian government regarding the temporary suspension of the processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims.

“The aim of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was to ensure that the government’s policy announcement reached source communities. Although the campaign ceased in mid-2010 some of the campaign posters are still in place.

“To deter and dissuade potential irregular immigrant communities in source and transit countries from embarking on a maritime voyage to Australia, this banner advertising also conveyed messages about the dangers and risks of such a voyage.”

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Threat to Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider | InpaperMagzine

By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible. - File photo

The recent surge in target killings of Hazara community is apparently an attempt to subvert the move for building Iran-Pakistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy pipelines.

Currently, Islamabad and Tehran are undertaking their gas pipeline project despite the US opposition and without India’s participation.

The attacks on Hazara community have been stepped up since Islamabad and Tehran committed to expedite efforts to implement the $7.5 billion IP gas pipeline project, the greater part of which will traverse the restive Balochistan province. In the latest sectarian attack this month, at least 14 Hazara people were dragged out from a bus, lined up and shot dead in Quetta.

This was the third attack after two major attacks on Hazaras last month in which at least 42 people were killed.

All the attacks have been claimed by militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which, many believe, has close association with Jundallah group, a Sunni Muslim militant group fighting for the rights of Baloch population of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, bordering Balochistan.

Instead of IP pipeline, the US has supported the construction of an alternative pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Iran accuses the US of supporting Jundallah, which is believed to have bases somewhere in Balochistan.

So far, Jundallah has been involved in launching terror attacks in Sistan-Balochistan. Now Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is emerging as a new destabilising factor in Balochistan, where from the IP pipeline will make its first entry into Pakistan.

They intend to scare away potential investors in the IP pipeline.

A surge in Hazars’ killings came in the backdrop of US-Pakistan energy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) talks held in Islamabad last month and in both talks, the IP gas pipeline project was key agenda item.

Washington hardened its opposition to IP project and warned Pakistan of the possible impact of US and UN sanctions against Iran during the two-day US­-Pakistan strategic dialogue on energy last month. The US instead offered Pakistan the assistance in TAPI gas pipeline project as alternate to IP pipeline.

Islamabad and Tehran signed a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, 2009, finalising the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan Exactly after five days on May 28, 2009, Iran closed its border with Pakistan following a suicide bomber attack on a mosque in Zahidan that killed 20 people. Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the blast. The diplomatic tension between the two countries mounted at a time when there was no outstanding issue impeding the project for laying a gas pipeline between the two countries.

By pressing Pakistan to shelve IP project, Washington can deprive Iran of the economic bonanza associated with its gas exports to Pakistan, India or China through pipelines, as without Pakistan’s participation, all the proposed pipeline projects from Iran via Pakistan, whether it be the IP, IPI or IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) would not be feasible.

DAWN

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Syed Nasir Ali Shah (Syed Abbas) reflections on his political stand p.2s

Syed Nasir Ali Shah (Syed Abbas)'s reflection on his political stand p.1

Steel consortium asks PMO for financial help in Hajigak project

Expressindia » Story

Priyadarshi Siddhanta,priyadarshi siddhanta
Posted: Oct 24, 2011 at 0020 hrs IST

New Delhi The consortium of Indian companies, which has bid for the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan, has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for financial assistance in executing the ambitious project. The move comes amid a growing realisation among the companies that they may not be able to mobilise adequate money to explore the mine and build infrastructure to evacuate the produce.
In a recent letter to the steel ministry, consortium chief and chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) CS Verma approached the steel ministry to apprise the PMO of the need for providing money in the event of the consortium winning the bid for the Hajigak mines, for which it put out a bid on September 3.

While SAIL officials refused to comment on this issue, steel ministry officials indicated that the consortium wants financial assistance of about at least Rs 3,000 crore. “The consortium has few major players apart from SAIL and mineral giant NMDC. While the Tatas opted out of it, Essar Steel was kept out,” steel ministry sources told The Indian Express.

They said that the matter will be discussed threadbare with the consortium partners before the ministry forms its opinion on the issue.

The consortium is led by maharatna SAIL with 18 per cent shareholding while NMDC and RINL hold 17 per cent each. Among private players JSW and JSPL hold 16 per cent each, while JSW Ispat and Monnet Ispat & Energy hold 8 per cent and 4 per cent stake respectively. The announcement of preferred and reserved bidders was expected to be made by the Afghan mines ministry by October 4 but has been deferred by a month.

The consortium has planned to develop the Hajigak mines located in Afghanistan’s mountainous Bamiyan province, 130 km west of Kabul. The mines have an estimated reserves of about 1.8 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore.

Knowing that the investments needed will be enormous in case Indian consortium won the bid and given the generally depressed financial performance of the steel companies, the consortium has sought the PMO’s approval for monetary support, sources said.

As per the bid conditions of the Hamid Karzai government, the bidders had to submit a refundable bid bond of Rs 2.5 crore each and all royalties, cess and duties will have to be paid by them. Considering that the annual investment needed would be to the tune of Rs 22.5 crore or more, the total estimated investment required would be nearly Rs 700 crore alone for setting up exploration facilities besides a huge spend to be incurred on developing the evacuation infrastructure, including setting up a railway line and setting up a steel making facility.

Rising input costs have exerted high pressures on the margins of the steel firms. SAIL registered a 29 per cent in its net profits, while Naveen Jindal promoted Jindal Steel and Power Ltd posted a 3 per cent dip in its profit margins. Similarly, Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Steel did comparatively much better.

Express India

Taliban not ready for dialogues with Karzai govt. Muhaqiq

South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ October 23, 2011 ⋅

QUETTA (SANA): Leader of Hizb-e-Wehdat-e-Islami, Member Afghan Parliament and Chairman Law and Justice of National Commission for Afghanistan Ustad Muhammad Muhaqiq has admitted that Taliban are not agree for dialogues despite of Karzai desire and efforts, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan bilaterally can meet the challenge of terrorism.

Addressing to a press conference here on Sunday Muhaqiq said that it is a state responsibility to control armed groups, adding that withdrawal of NATO forces would be beneficial for US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Target killing of Hazara community is regrettable, he added.

He said that Afghanistan wants strong and close relations with Pakistan, adding that both brother countries have to fight against terror instead of blaming to each other.

He said that it is unfair to involve Pakistan in the killing of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan should jointly carry out investigations of the killing of Rabbani instead of leveling allegations against each other.

He said that the exchange of parliamentary delegations of both countries could result in improvement of relations between the two countries.
He said that it is not right to divide Afghanistan into north and south, adding that Afghans are one nation and they should be given the right to establish relations with the countries of world according to their interest.

Regretting at the target killing of Hazara community he said that there should be no murder on sectarian basis. I have talked prime minister about this problem.

Earlier Ustad Muhaqiq said in an interview with a private TV channel, that reconciliation process is being forwarded for peace in Afghanistan.

He said that Afghanistan wants better relationship with Pakistan despite of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabani murder.

Ustad Muhaqiq said about his visit in Quetta that he has arrived here for showing solidarity with Hazara community.

Replying to a question about Indian influence in Afghanistan, he said that Afghanistan wants good relations with neighboring countries.