North Waziristan ceasefire extended

By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: Amid reports of underground talks with the government for durable peace, tribal militants battling security forces in North Waziristan Agency Monday extended their one-sided ceasefire till February 10.

The announcement was made by militants’ spokesman in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), Ahmadullah Ahmadi.

He called reporters from an undisclosed location and said the Shura or council of militants, headed by their central Ameer or commander Maulana Hafiz Gul Bahadur, held a crucial meeting somewhere in the same tribal agency and agreed to extend the ceasefire, as it helped restore peace to the militancy-hit tribal agency.

Quetta-Chaman highway reopened

CHAMAN: Quetta-Chaman highway reopened after successful negotiations between security forces and Ghibzai tribesmen here on Monday. Armed Ghibzai tribesmen blocked Quetta-Chaman highway and set ablaze several vehicles in protest against the arrest of their relatives by the FC in Gulistan early Monday morning. After negotiations, security forces released 26 tribesmen and returned vehicles which they had seized during search operation. Scores of armed Ghibzai tribesmen had entrenched in the area after security forces injured four of their relatives when they were crossing Pak-Afghan border. Brigadier Nasrullah Khan Niazi, Colonel Agha Hasib Haider represented the FC while Abdul Shakoor, Wali Muhammad and Faizullah headed the Ghibzai tribe delegation during the negotiation.

India to offer $1 bn aircraft deal to Lockheed Martin



NEW DELHI: India is set to award a one-billion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin for six Hercules transport planes in the biggest military aircraft deal with the US in five decades, an official said on Monday. A formal contract is likely to be issued next month to US-based Lockheed, which is also in the race for a 10-billion dollar contract to sell 126 fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, a defence ministry official said.

"The reserved RFP (request for proposal) will be issued anytime now," a top ministry source told AFP on condition that he was not identified by name or rank. Lockheed Martin has offered to configure the six Hercules according to India's needs and equip the 30-metre-long planes with missile and radar warning systems, other ministry officials said.

US for early naming of UN Afghan envoy



WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it was important to find someone to take a job as UN "super envoy" to Afghanistan now that British diplomat Paddy Ashdown has withdrawn himself from consideration. Ashdown said he would not take the post after Afghan President Hamid Karzai suddenly revoked his support. Ashdown was top international administrator in Bosnia from 2002 to 2005. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said "Ashdown would have been a highly experienced, extremely capable person to fill that role". He said it is "important that there be somebody to fill that role that President Karzai was talking to Lord Ashdown about".

Bush to seek $ 70 bn for Afghan, Iraq wars



WASHINGTON: The Bush administration will ask the US Congress next week for $ 70 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said the administration probably would not submit another war funding request before it leaves office next January. That would make key decisions on funding the wars one of the first tasks of the next president.

Of the total, the CBO estimated that $ 440 billion had been spent on the war in Iraq. The new request is likely to set up another battle with Democrats who control US Congress and have been highly critical of President George W Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

The Congress has yet to approve most of Bush's fiscal 2008 war funding request. The new request will come on top of the administration's request for the regular Pentagon budget for fiscal 2009, which starts on Oct 1, 2008.

But the two will be sent to the US Congress together next Monday as part of Bush's overall budget request. "We will ask for $ 70 billion in an emergency allowance to support the global war on terror in 2009," Whitman said.

The administration has not yet disclosed the planned size of the 2009 regular Pentagon budget. For the current fiscal, Bush requested $ 481.4 billion for the Pentagon and Congress provided about $ 460 billion. The Pentagon said this would not be possible for 2009, partly because the Congress has yet to approve most of the war funding requested for 2008. "We cannot present another one until we know what we're going to get from last year's request," said Lt-Col Brian Maka, another Pentagon spokesman. The administration has requested a total of nearly $ 190 billion in war funding for the 2008 fiscal, but the Congress has not approved that amount.

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Regards

Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.