Mediaboss Marketing

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor in an interview with a private TV channel on Tuesday called for Afghanistan to abandon its 'anti-Pakistan lens' and devise policies with Pakistan through an 'Afghan lens'.

Ghafoor's statements come as Pakistan steps up a crackdown against militancy through Operation Raddul Fasaad after a recent surge in terror attacks across the country, with top officials talking tough on Afghanistan.

Following the attacks, the Foreign Office lodged a protest with Kabul over the use of Afghan soil for launching terror attacks in Pakistan. The government also shut down border crossings with Afghanistan and troops pounded 'terrorist targets' near the border.

As the crackdown intensifies, politicians and rights organisations have raised concerns about the apparent racial profiling of Pakhtuns in Pakistan by authorities, which the government denies is the case.

Speaking to 92HD, DG ISPR Asif Ghafoor stressed the importance of political engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying, "Even if one claims such things [terror attacks] are being planned in Afghanistan, it doesn't mean that all of Afghanistan wants to engage in such activities. They themselves are suffering through this issue [terrorism] and have made huge sacrifices themselves."

"One can't delink terrorism from foreign countries," Ghafoor said. "Afghanistan has been a battleground for various powers."

"First and foremost, Afghanistan has to think about what is best for itself, and for them it is best that they view their security situation and ties with Pakistan through an 'Afghan lens', not an 'anti-Pakistan lens'," he said.

"Until Afghanistan sees its relationship with Pakistan through the lens of its own interest, these things will continue happening," the DG ISPR contended.

The army's spokesman said military-level engagement between both countries is ongoing, as suggested by Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa. "That engagement will proceed positively," Ghafoor said. "The Pak-Afghan border mechanism needs improvement and we are hopeful it will improve in the coming days."

However, he said, border closure is not an indefinite measure. "There are some things Afghanistan should be doing before the border reopens that can be decided through shared discussions," he said. "So that when the border reopens, no one from our side should be able to go there and no one from their side should be able to come here for terrorism."

Ghafoor denied that recent attacks represented a 'resurgence' in terror in Pakistan. "Resurgence is a strong word to use," he stated.

Operation Raddul Fasaad seeks to consolidate gains made during previous military operations, he said. "When we cleared these [northern] areas, the remaining terrorists fled to the vacuum near the Pak-Afghan border created by an absence of troops."

"They went there, regrouped and realigned, and they successfully hired facilitators and sympathisers in different pockets along the mainland in Pakistan. But it doesn't mean there is a resurgence of terrorism. They have the capabilities and have done such things. Their leadership claims they did so while physically sitting in Afghanistan. They have the full support of enemy powers, whether [Indian spy agency] Research and Analysis Wing or others it can't happen without their support," he asserted.

The military, through Operation Raddul Fasaad, seeks to fracture this connectivity between terrorists and their facilitators, Ghafoor explained.

When questioned about the veracity of claims that Pakhtuns in Punjab are being targeted in the crackdown, Ghafoor denied that any party, province or sect has been specifically targeted.

On Monday, an HRCP press release had claimed that administrative officials in some Punjab districts had issued formal or informal orders "asking the population to keep an eye on suspicious individuals who look like Pashtuns or are from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and to report any suspicious activity by them."

The statements prompted Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah to issue a statement earlier today, saying that Pakhtuns have the complete right to reside in Punjab, and the allegations being raised in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh of their victimisation were only attempts to "spread hatred".

"We are all Pakistanis," Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said. "Provinces come later. Terrorism has no religion, country, province or sect... The operation targets are determined after receiving proof of involvement in terrorism and it is not for any specific province. All arrests made have been across the board," the DG ISPR claimed.

When asked if any foreign powers were involved in this 'conspiracy', Ghafoor replied, "For sure, there must be."

"Whoever wants to see Pakistan unstable will observe faultlines and they will exploit them."

Original post:
Afghanistan needs to abandon 'anti-Pakistan lens': DG ISPR - DAWN.com

VIENNA Iran's official stock of enriched uranium has fallen by half after large amounts stuck in pipes have been recategorized as unrecoverable under a process agreed with major powers, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Friday.

But before that process began last month, Iran came close to reaching a limit on its uranium stock, one of the most sensitive aspects of Tehran's nuclear deal, a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obtained by Reuters made clear.

The agreement that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia reached with Iran in 2015 restricts Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

"As of 18 February 2017, the quantity of Iran's uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent U-235 was 101.7 kg," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a quarterly report on Iran, its first since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, a vocal critic of the deal.

That was about half the limit of 202.8 kg, but only after 100 kg of material at one plant alone was deemed unrecoverable and not included in the calculation.

The deal also caps the concentration of the highly fissile U-235 isotope to which Iran can enrich uranium at 3.67 percent, far below the roughly 90 percent of weapons-grade uranium.

The major powers and Iran published agreements in December and January specifying types of uranium that would be considered unrecoverable and therefore not considered part of its stock of low-enriched uranium.

"DOWNBLENDING"

One of those agreements defined a process by which Iran would flush out low-enriched uranium (LEU) from pipes and other equipment at a plant in Isfahan and "downblend" it to the level of natural uranium.

That process started on Jan. 31, the report said, at which point 99.9 kg of LEU was excluded from the total stock. Friday's report was the first to specify the size of the stock, since the papers published clarified what should be excluded. Previous reports had said only that it was within the limit.

Iran's stock of heavy water - a moderator used in a type of nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium - was within a 130-tonne limit at 124.2 tonnes, but that did not include 11 tonnes that Iran has shipped to Oman.

The Obama administration criticized Tehran after it went over the limit on heavy water for the second time last year, adding that the deal specifies that excess heavy water must be delivered to a foreign buyer.

Iran shipped 11 tonnes to Oman with a view to selling it later, which defused the standoff. But it continues to produce heavy water and the issue could yet attract the attention of Trump, who has said he wants to "police that contract so tough (the Iranians) don't have a chance".

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

NEW YORK U.S. demand for gasoline hit record levels last year, averaging 9.326 million barrels per day, surpassing 2007 levels, according to new monthly figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

LONDON OPEC has cut its oil output for a second month in February, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, allowing the exporter group to boost already strong compliance with agreed supply curbs on the back of a steep reduction by Saudi Arabia.

The White House on Tuesday denied that President Donald Trump planned to issue an executive order to change the national biofuels program, after the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) said Trump's team had informed the group an order was pending.

Read more:
Iran's Enriched Uranium Stock Halves after Flirting with ...

Forbes

Key Problems Trump Needs To Address On The Iran Nuclear Deal Forbes Iran's recent ballistic missile test was the latest manifestation of its enmity toward the international community and its disrespect for its commitments under UN resolutions and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal ... Iran's recovery faces US and nuclear deal risks, IMF warnsFinancial Times Don't get fooled again on IranThe Hill (blog) Iran's Trump CardsForeign Affairs Fox News -Bloomberg -Salt Lake Tribune all 34 news articles »

Go here to read the rest:
Key Problems Trump Needs To Address On The Iran Nuclear Deal - Forbes

An Iranian infant who was delayed in entering the U.S. due to the recent travel ban has successfully undergone heart surgery to fix a genetic defect, hospital officials said.

Fatehmeh Reshad, a 4-month-old infant from Iran, arrived in the U.S. to undergo tests and treatment earlier this month to fix a genetic heart defect, according to officials at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The infant was born with a condition where two main arteries are reversed.

Fatemeh had been scheduled to arrive for treatment and heart surgery on Feb. 5 because there was no hospital in Iran that provided the complex operation that would save her life. The infant and her parents had been working with lawyers and other officials when President Trump's executive order was implemented, which temporarily banned most travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations.

The family arrived on Feb. 7 after working with the Department of Homeland Security, according to the family's attorney Jennifer Morrissey. And while the delay was only two days, her medical condition made the delay serious, Morrissey said.

Fatehmeh underwent surgery on Friday and is currently recovering, said Dr. Laurie Armsby, associate professor of pediatrics and interim head of the division of pediatric cardiology at OSHU's Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

"She's in the ICU and recovering as we would hope she would," Armsby said at a news conference on Monday. "Her heart function looks beautiful, so, we're very pleased with how she's recovering."

Armsby said the family did not want details of the surgery or Fatemeh's current condition released to the public.

Sam Taghizadeh, Fatemeh's uncle, said it felt like "a miracle" to get Fatemeh and her parents in the U.S. for surgery.

"In the beginning, I didn't have any hope about my family coming here," Taghizadeh said during Monday's news conference. "I said, 'Who is going to listen to me?' ... I was surprised how the people in the U.S. helped."

Morrissey said Fatemeh's family was informed of the cancellation of Jan. 27, when the travel ban was announced.

"The delay was just a few days, but obviously every day was critical given her medical condition," Morrissey said at Monday's news conference.

Taghizadeh, who lives in Oregon, said so many people reached out to help that Fatemeh's parents couldn't believe the strangers weren't friends of Taghizadeh.

"They asked me, 'Why these people [helping us]?" Taghizadeh said. "They couldn't believe it."

Taghizadeh also thanked the many people -- including lawyers, lawmakers and doctors -- who helped to get Fatemeh in the country for medical treatment.

"English is a second language for me and I couldn't find the words to say thank you," he said.

See more here:
Iranian baby delayed by travel ban recovering after heart surgery - ABC News

For days now, large swathes of western Iran have been covered in dust literally. Dust storms have overwhelmed the oil-rich province of Khuzestan. Air quality is reportedly some 30 to 60 times the healthy level. Power stations have broken down; banks, schools and offices were closed; water supplies were disrupted; and flights to and from Ahvaz were cancelled including, ironically, one scheduled for the regimes top environment official.

Wipe the dust off of Irans scenic Khuzestan province, and youll see an even uglier truth. What is happening in Khuzestan exemplifies the disastrous policies implemented by Tehrans fundamentalist rulers. While it spends billions to wage sectarian conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the Iranian regime has systematically and unabashedly neglected the countrys ecosystem and economy for the past 40 years.

For years, Washington has viewed Tehran as the worlds worst state-sponsor of terror while, by some twisted logic, trying to placate the mullahs. The West, in general, has never taken into account how the ruled view their rulers. The Iranian people are grappling with unprecedented, devastating challenges caused by the ruling regimes policies.

Ahvaz, for example, has been described as the worlds most polluted city by the World Health Organization. Khuzestan lies in the Fertile Crescent, with more than one million hectares of agricultural land. Destructive policies, such as the unbridled construction of dams (producing enormous wealth for the select few), have caused rivers to dry up, and the climate has taken a turn for the worse.

For decades, industrial waste and sewage poured into the Karun, Irans largest navigable river, without the slightest state interference. Khuzestan is reeling from unprecedented unemployment, a recession, a housing crisis and lack of access to education.

Add a lack of basic civic services to the environmental mishandling, and the systematic failure of public services, including water and electricity, and you get thousands of people pouring into the streets to protest.

It is clear those responsible for bringing on this enormous scale of ruin and tragedy will not be willing or able to offer genuine remedies. This is a regime, after all, that puts greater emphasis on Syria than its own provinces.

In 2013, a former commander of intelligence for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) proclaimed: Syria is our 35th province, and is a strategic province for us. If the enemy attacks us and seeks to take Syria or Khuzestan, our priority would be to keep Syria, because if we keep Syria, we can take back Khuzestan at a later date. But if we lose Syria, we would lose the capital Tehran.

It is no wonder that the Iranian people, choking on dust and without jobs, despise the IRGC and everything for which it stands. It should be equally self-evident for the U.S. administration that the IRGC is a terrorist entity, and should be so designated. The IRGC must be evicted from Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other countries of the region before any resolution to the regional crises can be found.

For years, some in Washington naively hoped that elusive moderates within the regime would solve everything. But even after the nuclear deal signed in the summer of 2015, the Iranian regime has been neither able nor willing to resolve the Iranian peoples multitude of problems and real-life crises. Now, with the death of their most notable moderate figure, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the chances are more remote than ever before.

Last week, the so-called "moderate" president Hassan Rouhani visited Khuzestan and unashamedly tried to deflect blame from the regime by saying that the catastrophic situation in the province is the result of "divine punishment" for the residents' inability to promote righteousness and to protect the environment.

So, instead of pinning its strategy on self-delusion, Washington now has the opportunity to find a real partner in the Iranian people and their organized opposition. For the sake of American security, policymakers need to decouple Washingtons future from Tehrans failing Islamic extremists and, instead, reach out to the people of Iran who want change, democracy, and a better life.

The regimes next presidential elections are scheduled to take place in May. In 2009, millions of protesters poured into the streets after those same elections, but, unfortunately, the Obama administration stood silent. The resentment of the population is now even deeper than it was eight years ago. The current administration should not repeat the same mistake.

Washington should adopt a firm policy against the Iranian regime and its terrorist and repressive arm, the IRGC, while vociferously standing with those who seek genuine democratic change.This time, we shouldnt stand idly by and let the dust settle in Iran.

Ali Safavi (@samsafavi) is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is dedicated to the establishment of a democratic, secular and non-nuclear republic in Iran.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.

See the article here:
Failure to aid province highlights Iran's misguided priorities - The Hill (blog)