Tag: Mike Pompeo

  • India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    Former United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed on Tuesday in his new memoir that arch rivals— India and Pakistan— were on the verge of nuclear war in February 2019.

    Pompeo, who served in President Donald Trump’s tenure, has written in ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for America I Love’ that he does “not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019.”

    He says at the time, he was informed by his Indian counter-partner that Pakistan had begun to prepare for a nuclear strike on India. However, he asked him to give it some time to sort out the matter. Later, he reached out to Pakistani former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    The ex-army chief told Pompeo that Indian allegations were baseless. He believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment.

    Moreover, the former US official said that it took them a few hours and remarkably good work by their teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad to convince both countries to desist.

    In February 2019, Delhi launched strikes to attack Pakistan after a militant attack on Indian troops in Kashmir. However, Pakistan shot down two Indian military jets and captured a fighter pilot who later was released.

    In 1974, India became the first country in the region to become a nuclear power while Pakistan attained nuclear power in 1998.

    It is pertinent to mention that neither India nor Pakistan has commented so far on Pompeo’s claims.

  • Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    As United States (US)-Taliban talks continue with the aim of achieving peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif has glorified the fundamentalist political movement and military organisation in a statement that drew strong criticism.

    “You may have the power, but God is with us… Allah is great,” he wrote while tweeting a picture of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

    His statement wasn’t very well received by netizens who trained guns at the ex-foreign minister for having forgotten how the Taliban not only brutalised the people of Afghanistan but also harboured militants who targeted many, including Asif’s boss and former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

    https://twitter.com/ZahirMoein/status/1305395808439799808

    Meanwhile, after nearly two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands, peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban have opened in Doha.

    Key speakers at the opening ceremony at a hotel included Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Chairperson Abdullah Abdullah, Mullah Baradar and Pompeo.

    The negotiations, where the two warring sides will sit face-to-face for the first time, will start today (Monday).

    For his part, Abdullah on Saturday spoke about seeking a dignified and lasting peace.

    “I believe that if we give hands to each other and honestly work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end,” Abdullah said, calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire”.

  • ‘You messed up,’ Gen Bajwa told US secretary of state: ISPR chief

    ‘You messed up,’ Gen Bajwa told US secretary of state: ISPR chief

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor has quoted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa as telling United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that White House’s misadventure in Baghdad was detrimental to efforts aimed at regional peace.

    “The region is making progress towards peace from a very bad situation and the Baghdad incident is detrimental to the peace efforts in the region,” the ISPR chief quoted the COAS as telling Pompeo as US-Iran tensions soar following the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and other officials in a US President Donald Trump-ordered drone strike on Friday in Baghdad.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Maj Gen Ghafoor also said that Pakistan will only play the role of a peacemaker and not take sides in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

    “Pakistan has defeated terrorism on its territory and will not allow its soil to be used against any other country.”

    According to Geo News, to a question regarding claims made in Indian media that Pakistan’s policy towards Iran has changed in the light of US resumption of military training program for Pakistan Army, the ISPR chief deemed it “Indian propaganda” and “fake news”.

    “Islamabad and Washington were in talks for the last four or five months over the issue and linking it as Pakistan aligning with US is Indian propaganda,” he said. “Pakistan Army is a responsible and professional force and has exercised restraint despite provocative statements from Indian leadership.”

    The military spokesperson also said that Gen Bajwa had an important role to play in regional security and Afghan peace process, and Pakistan didn’t want to see another conflict in the region.

    “Pakistan would oppose any thing that is affecting Afghan reconciliation process as it needs focus from all parties. We are of the view that dialogue is the way forward to achieve lasting peace,” he said.

  • ‘Why not Imran?’ asks Twitter as US State secy calls Gen Bajwa on Iran tensions

    ‘Why not Imran?’ asks Twitter as US State secy calls Gen Bajwa on Iran tensions

    With United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss heightening tensions with Tehran following the killing of top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, Twitterati are wondering why did Pompeo choose the army chief over Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan or Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

    The telephonic conversation came after Iran’s top security body vowed to retaliate in the “right place and time” following Revolutionary Guards commander Soleimani’s death in an airstrike ordered by US President Donald Trump on Friday.

    “America should know that its criminal attack on General Soleimani has been the country’s biggest mistake in west Asia, and America will not avoid the consequences of this wrong calculation easily,” the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.

    The dramatic escalation and subsequent fears of “World War III” were followed by both Washington and Tehran alerting their allies.

    “#Pakistan’s Chief of Staff General Bajwa and I spoke today about U.S. defensive action to kill Qassem Soleimani. The #Iran regime’s actions in the region are destabilizing and our resolve in protecting American interests, personnel, facilities, and partners will not waver,” Pompeo tweeted on Friday.

    In another tweet, Pompeo disclosed he spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as well about Soleimani’s killing “to protect American lives at stake”.

    ‘MAXIMUM RESTRAINT’:

    Separately, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) disclosed that the army chief and the US secretary of state discussed “regional situation including possible implications” after the escalation in the Middle East. 

    “COAS received telephone call from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Regional situation, including possible implications of recent escalation in Middle East, was discussed,” the military’s media wing tweeted.

    “COAS emphasised need for maximum restraint and constructive engagement by all concerned to de-escalate the situation in broader interest of peace and stability. COAS also reiterated the need for maintaining focus on success of Afghan Peace Process,” read another tweet.

    ‘WHY NOT IMRAN?’:

    Meanwhile, Twitterati took to Twitter to ask as to why had Pompeo not called PM Imran or FM Qureshi at such a time.

    https://twitter.com/mazharshehzaad/status/1213315972611923968
    https://twitter.com/BILAL_GHARSHEEN/status/1213341499171233792

    The tweets came as Indian journalists such as The Hindu Editor Suhasini Haider pointed out the same.

    While Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has advised both the US and Iran to refrain from taking “unilateral action” against each other and abide by the United Nations (UN) Charter to respect each other’s territorial integrity, the premier has not yet made any statement.