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Mutual public outreach can help Pakistan, US have candid dialogue for trustful ties

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Thursday, 23 May 2013

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Pak, China friendship is “Unbreakable”: Spokesman FM -

BEIJING, May 23 (APP): The on-going visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Pakistan will further add impetus to the relationship between the two countries as spokesman foreign ministry here Thursday declared the bond of relations as “unbreakable”. The visit speaks that China Pakistan relations is “unbreakable”, spokesman Hong Lei said and asserted that friendship between the two countries withstood the test of time and risen above the changes of the times. Hong Lei expressed these views, while responding to a question at regular press conference on Premier Li visits to India and Pakistan.

Pakistan draws attention to threat to Al-Aqsa; urges resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks -

UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (APP): Pakistan told the Security Council Wednesday that the continuing Israeli excavations and tunnelling under the Al-Aqsa Mosque were threatening the whole structure, and called for early resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.“A 3,000-meter long underground grid is systematically eroding antiquities,” Ambassador Masood khan said after a briefing on the regional situation by Robert Serry, U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, according to council sources.“The whole structure is being threatened,” the Pakistani envoy added.In his remarks, Serry warned the 15-member body that the coming weeks would be critical on two major diplomatic fronts negotiations to halt the increasingly bloody crisis in Syria, and ending the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Masood Khan lauded the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry to get the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to restart their crucial peace talks.

U.S. Administration acknowledges deaths of four Americans in counterterror operations -

WASHINGTON, May 23 (APP): The Obama administration, facing criticism for covert nature of drone operations, Wednesday for the first time publicly acknowledged that U.S. counterterrorism operations overseas have killed four Americans since 2009.The official revelation came in a letter from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to Congress. The letter, however, does not say how the four were killed.The American media reports say those killed include Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The other three killed include Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike;Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan.“These individuals were not specifically targeted by the United States,” Holder wrote in the letter, cited by major newspaper including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Boost in trade can strengthen Pak-China friendship -

BEIJING, May 23 (APP): To commensurate with strong political and military ties, economic and trade cooperation between China and Pakistan should be deepen, experts say.“Compared with political ties, bilateral trade cooperation between China and Pakistan is still weak and the two countries should further encourage their economic and trade cooperation and communication, based on bilateral strategic mutual trust,” said Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce.China is Pakistan’s second-largest trading partner, the second-biggest source of imports and the fourth-largest exports destination. “The Pakistani side expects two-way trade to surpass $15 billion in two or three years,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid as saying.The FTA between China and Pakistan, which was signed in 2006, has fostered China’s economic cooperation with the whole South Asian region. Meanwhile, the two countries have cooperated in infrastructure construction over the past few years.

Obama expected to address drone justification, achievements on Thursday -

NEW YORK, May 22 (APP): President Barack Obama is expected to discuss Thursday at the National Defence University his administration’s justification for drone strikes and what they achieved, with a leading newspaper saying that the number of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has dropped sharply. Strikes in Pakistan peaked in 2010 and have fallen sharply since then; their pace in Yemen has slowed to half of last year’s rate; and no strike has been reported in Somalia for more than a year, the New York Times said in a report on Wednesday.

Sport News

Saleh top seed in Asian Snooker 6-Red Championship

KARACHI, May 23 (APP): Newly crowned Asian Snooker Champion, Saleh Muhammad Muhammadi of Afghanistan has been top seeded for the Asian Snooker 6-Red Championship which goes into action in Qatar from Friday. Saleh, formerly of Pakistan earlier this month won the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship held in Karachi by beating Omar Al-Kojah of Syria in the final. Pakistan’s Muhammad Sajjad, a 2010 Asian Snooker Championship finalist is seeded four while Pakistan’s current World Champion Muhammad Asif is seeded sixth according to draws and seeding received from Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS).

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Mutual public outreach can help Pakistan, US have candid dialogue for trustful ties

WASHINGTON, March 25 (APP): Increased exchange programs and public communication opportunties will help Pakistanis and Americans have a ‘candid and honest’ discourse they need to move past misperceptions on both sides and build a trustful relationship, say senior officials linked to public outreach.“One of the things that we have been working on very consciously, is to be sure that we have a broad array of American voices speaking to the people of Pakistan and informing them what we are doing,” Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale, said in a discussion on the importance of radio in Pakistan.

“I believe passionately, the more we communicate very directly with the people of Pakistan, the stronger our relationships will be,” she stated, citing top American officials’ appearances on the Pakistani TV and Radio programs and their public interactions.
Murtaza Solangi, Director General of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, pointed out the “need to create more opportunities,where governments and people, both at individual and institutional level, can engage themselves in a very transparent dialogue.”
He said there are “misconceptions” on both sides, which need to be removed.“You need to hear a lot of Pakistani voices and engage in a very honest, candid, frank manner. That helps,” he said referring to late Richard Holbrooke’s participation in Radio Pakistan’s programs.
The discussion - moderated by New America Foundation President, Steve Clemons and attended by Alex Evans, a British diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan - touched on the power of connection technologies, the importance of radio to education, grassroots empowerment, and countering extremist voices.
In the debate, McHale and Solangi both recognized difficulties and challenges in the current environment.
“Yes, there are a lot of problems. But, I think, the way to address those problems is a very honest and frank dialogue,” remarked Solangi,who spoke about the massive growth and power of the Pakistani media,the Pakistanis’ use of technologies like cell phones and the vital role of radio in shaping public opinion in rural areas.
“We’ve got to find a way of closing the trust deficit. I agree, I think the more open and honest conversations and discussions we can have, the better off we are going to be. The more information we share about each other, the better off we are going to be,” argued McHale.
She said exchange programs help foster better people-to-people understanding.

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