UNITED STATES
Nawa-i-Waqt Edit, Jang Edit, Roznama and Dunya have welcomed President Obama’s phone call to PM Sharif and his appreciation for Pakistan’s effort in countering terrorism.
In their editorial comments these dailies say “It is essential that Sharif should ensure better coordination between the Punjab Government and the Army to eradicate the increasing terrorism in Punjab before it is too late. Supports Nawaz Sharif’s decision to cancel his US visit and remain absent from the Nuclear Security Summit in the wake of the Lahore terror attack. Another Although the US always assures its cooperation to Pakistan in its war against terrorism, US does not take any action against the nation that is involved in spreading terrorism in the region. It is a well-known fact that there are terrorist camps in Afghanistan and now they have also been traced in Iran”. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit, Jang Edit, Roznama Dunya Edit)
INDIA
JI Chief Siraj-ul-Haq has said that to end terrorism, democratic forces and the military leadership would have to reduce the gap between them. Simultaneously, policies towards India should be reviewed he said and added that the nation was disappointed since PM Nawaz Sharif didn’t refer to the arrest of RAW agent in his address. (Jasarat)
India is desperate to have consular access for arrested RAW agent, Kulbhushan Jadhav, but Pakistan has made it clear that it would not allow such access till India accepted its crimes. (Jasarat, Roznama Dunya, Urdu Point, Daily Intekhab)
Serious conflicts has emerged between RAW and Indian Navy after the arrest Kulbhushan Jadhav in Balochistan; Admiral Robin K Dhowan contacted NSA Ajit Doval and RAW Chief Rajendra Khanna and protested that due to a leak within the secret agency, the naval official was arrested and this has affected the image of the Indian Navy.
According to diplomatic sources, Indian Navy officials were disturbed that RAW had put the life of an experienced Navy official in danger. Naval Intelligence was also distressed and it was expected that the Navy official would make a demand with the Indian PM for a joint investigation in the matter. Important diplomatic sources in New Delhi have informed ‘Ummat’ that after Kulbhushan’s arrest officials of the Indian Foreign Ministry were reluctant to meet other foreign diplomats. (Ummat)
The largest network of RAW was in Karachi and many Indian agents were living in different areas along with their families. (Ummat)
After the arrest of RAW agent, Kulbhushan, Karachi CTD decided to once again interrogate RAW agents who had been imprisoned in the Karachi Central Jail. (Roznama Dunya, Urdu Point)
Religious scholar, Shah Owais Noorani, has said that a no holds barred operation should be launched across Pakistan under National Action Programme (NAP) against terrorism. He blamed RAW’s involvement for the deteriorating situation in Karachi and Balochistan. (Khabrain)
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
SSP-Khairpur said at a press conference that acting on a tip off a wanted terrorist, Hafiz, has been arrested. (Jang)
Sensitive agencies have arrested terrorist named Hamid Ullah belonging to a banned group and recovered weapons buried at a factory in the Manghopir area. (Jang, Roznama Dunya)
Security forces have arrested three (3) terrorists in an operation in Qalat. (Roznama Dunya)
CTD had arrested a terrorist, Abdullah, from Uch Sharif; he was involved in the Multan attack. According to the CTD, he belonged to the Qari Imran group of TTP. (Roznama Dunya)
Military Police and Rangers have been deployed in Lahore, under NAP, along with Punjab Police to eliminate terrorists and anti-national elements. (Roznama Dunya)
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Senior PPP leader and noted jurist, Aitzaz Ahsan, says it appears as though the younger Sharif (Shahbaz) was conspiring against the senior (Nawaz). Till date, it is unclear as to how the PML -N government functions. While the Interior Minister told Parliament categorically that there would be any deal with the protestors at D Chowk (Islamabad), other minister were holding talks with the protestors. (Awami Awaz)
Senior analysts like Salim Safi, Mazhar Abbas, Shahzad Chaudhary, and Imtiaz Alam have criticised the government strategy in dealing with Sunni Tehreek protestors. Appearing on Geo TV, they said that by making a deal with the protestors, the government has weakened the writ of the state more so as there was religious extremism on full display. The government has not yet framed a policy to deal with sit-ins and street agitations, and therefore even in the future, the government would remain confused should fresh protests erupt in Islamabad. (Jang)
Naseem Bukhari writes in Ibrat: “There is a growing feeling that the PML (N) is soft on religious parties. This impression gained strength during the protests in Islamabad. On all the four-days of sit-in, the protestors not only held the nation to ransom but also caused heavy loss to the government properties, assaulted the Police, and kept threatening that their demands be acceded to. The world community has started wondering about Pakistan’s future and whether the current weakness of the Federal government could get worse in the days ahead. (Ibrat)
Vishal Amir writes in Ibrat that the situation during the four-day protests in Islamabad were so volatile that every minute it appeared that the situation might go out of control, and the country might see toppling of the Nawaz Sharif government. (Ibrat)
Sohail Sangi writes in Kawish that a strange scenario is emerging following the Lahore terror attack, as two conflicting operations are underway in Punjab. One of these operations was a result of the meetings held by the PM on March 27 and 28. The other ops has started following the orders from the Army Chief on the night of March 27. In the Army-led operation, neither the Punjab Police nor the provincial government is involved but the Rangers has been drafted for duty with the intelligence agencies also would report to the Lahore Corps Commander. The other ops is being conducted on the Chief Minister’s orders without any help from the Army or Rangers. It is strange that while dealing with Sindh the Federal government had followed a different yardstick. It is wrong to presume that all is well between the civil and military leadership; it remains to be seen as to how the operations in Punjab would conclude and with what impact. (Kawish)
Sunni Tehreek said that its movement would continue till the imposition of Nizam-e-Mustafa in Pakistan. (Nawa-i-Waqt)
While protests happen globally, Pakistan is the only country where even rioting is branded as a protest. If a line is not drawn between rioting and protests then the country will keep facing incidents like the Islamabad protests. If there was one actor that looked weak during the four days of protests, it was the government. As such the government will have to come clean on the charge that it had facilitated the protest. (Editorials in Awami Awaz, Ibrat, Jang Edit, Roznama Dunya)
BALOCHISTAN
Banuk Karima Baloch, Chairperson, Baloch Students’ Organisation- Azad (BSO-A), rejected the allegation attributed to the arrested RAW agent Kulbhushan that RAW has been in touch with them and that it has been funding their organisation. “Kulbhushan’s statement (to the interrogators) is misleading”, she said. Voicing the apprehension that atrocities on the Balochis were likely to increase in the days ahead, she said the Baloch people would not allow anyone who intended to loot our resources to invest in Balochistan. (Daily Intekhab)
POK / G-B NEWS
It is rumoured that candidates contesting the forthcoming Gilgit-Baltistan Council Election are ready to pay Rs.1 crore for one single vote. (Daily K2)
The tender papers issued for the Gilgit-Skardu road project excluded the plan for extending the road till Kohlu as was previously intended. (Daily K2)
Government should exploit the natural resources in Gilgit-Baltistan to improve financial ability and increase employment. (Edit in Baad-e-Shimal)