China most-trusted friend of Pakistan: PM

Islamabad, May 18: Pakistan sees China as its most-trusted and all-weather friend, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said as he began his four-day visit to China Tuesday, reports Wang Zhaokun Global Times.


"We appreciate that in all difficult circumstances China stood with Pakistan, therefore we call China a true friend and a time-tested and all-weather friend," Gilani told the Xinhua News Agency in Islamabad before flying to Shanghai.

The Prime Minister also appreciated that China recognizes Pakistan's contribution and sacrifice in the war on terror.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters Tuesday that China will "unswervingly continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism."

Leaders from both countries will witness the signing of agreements concerning trade, finance and culture. They will also participate in a reception to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, Xinhua said.

 The two governments are also reportedly planning to seal a extending of the Saindak gold and copper mining project.

Gilani's visit has long been planned as part of the anniversary celebrations, but the timing also coincides with the ongoing diplomatic spat between Islamabad and Washington over the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Tuesday, NATO helicopters originating from Afghanistan wounded two Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border attack, triggering a protest from Islamabad.

Andrew Small, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund think tank in Brussels told Reuters that Gilani's visit to China will tell the US, the Pakistani public and the wider world that "Pakistan has other options."

However, Sun Shihai, vice director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that China and Pakistan have long maintained close cooperation with each other at all times.

"I don't think Gilani's visit to China has any special implications for Pakistan-US relations because all parties have their own to play for the regional stability," Sun said.

US APOLOGISES TO PAK OVER DRONE ATTACKS

ISLAMABAD, May 17: The United States has formally apologized to Pakistan over drone attacks, Geo News has reported.
 

According to sources, the US apologized civil and military leadership of Pakistan over the drone strikes that killed nine people in North Waziristan yesterday.
 

The sources added that these strikes were scheduled before the visit of US Senator John Kerry. The US has stated that it would work together with Pakistan on any future operations in the country.

N-capability has saved Pakistan: Dr Qadeer

WASHINGTON, May 17: Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has vigorously defended the program as sparing his country the fate of Iraq or Libya. Writing in a US magazine, Abdul Qadeer Khan said that Pakistan's nuclear weapons had prevented war with historic rival India, which he accused of pursuing a "massive program" due to ambitions of superpower status, reports AFP from Washinton.

"Don't overlook the fact that no nuclear-capable country has been subjected to aggression or occupied, or had its borders redrawn. Had Iraq and Libya been nuclear powers, they wouldn't have been destroyed in the way we have seen recently," Khan said.

'US to deploy troops if Pak nukes come under threat'

LONDON:  May 16: US laid occupational troops will be deployed in Pakistan if the nation's nuclear installations come under threat from terrorists out to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Sunday Express can reveal on Sunday.

The plan, which would be activated without President Asif Ali Zardari's consent, provoked an angry reaction from Pakistan officials last night. Barack Obama would order troops to parachute in to protect key nuclear missile sites. These include the air force's central Sargodha HQ, home base for nuclear-capable F-16 combat aircraft and at least 80 ballistic missiles.

A US source told the Sunday Express: "The plan is green lit and the president has already shown he is wiling to deploy troops in Pakistan if he feels it is important for national security." However, news of the plan has further increased tension between the US and Pakistan with relations already at an all-time low after the Operation Geronimo raid by the US Navy Seal special forces team that killed bin Laden at the house where he had been hiding in Abbottabad, near to a Pakistan military academy.

An angry Pakistani official said: "Pakistan has an elaborate command and control structure and is fully capable of defending its strategic assets under any circumstances and does not need any assistance from any country, including the US, to safeguard its nuclear installations."

The plan reflects growing concern over reprisals for the al-Qaeda terror leader's death. More than 80 people were killed and 140 injured when two Taliban suicide bombers struck at a military academy in the north-western town of Charsadda on Friday.

Alex Neill, of the Royal United Services Institute, said: "The United States places its own national security issues above all other sovereignty issues and trust in Pakistan's abilities are extremely low."

"If Obama can persuade congress that placing US troops at the installations is necessary to protect US citizens from possible nuclear attack, then that's what he will do." The Pentagon on Saturday refused to deny the existence of the plan, with a spokesman saying only: "We are confident that Pakistan has taken appropriate steps towards securing its nuclear arsenal."