US to rope in China in bid to make Pakistan shut down terror safe havens

China shares some of the concerns of the US about the terrorism problem in Pakistan and Washington is seeking to work with Beijing and other regional players to convince Islamabad about the need to crackdown on terror safe havens, a senior White House official has said. 

As the Trump Administration is determined to eliminate terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which is key to bring stability in Afghanistan and in the region, the official hoped that China will play a helpful role in convincing Pakistan that it is in its own national interest to crack down on these sanctuaries.

Pakistan already has deep historical ties going back to many years and they have close military ties, the official said, adding that the economic relationship is also growing with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"But, China shares some of the concerns of the US about the terrorism problem. The US is seeking to work with other regional players and China would be one of the main ones to deal with this issue. It won't serve China's interests to have terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan," the senior administration official said on condition of anonymity.

The official was quick to point out that China has been playing a more helpful role in terms of encouraging better relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Trump set to end all aid to Pakistan for playing double game with US: Haley

US President Donald Trump is prepared to stop all funding to Pakistan until it stops harbouring terrorists, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Haley's comment came a day after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Haley alleged Pakistan of playing "double-game" with the US for years.

"The president is willing to go to great lengths to stop all funding from Pakistan as they continue to harbour and support terrorism," said Haley.

"Pakistan has played a double game for years. They work with us at times, and they also harbour the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable to this administration," she said.

The US has also announced that it is withholding its $255 million military aid to Pakistan.

"The decision to block aid is connected to Pakistan's harbouring of terrorists," the top American diplomat said.

Pakistan has expressed "deep disappointment" over the allegations, saying the accusations strike with "great insensitivity" at the "trust" between the two countries.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a tweet challenged Trump's claim that the US has given Pakistan more than $33 billion dollars as aid over the last 15 years, saying verification by an audit firm would prove the US president wrong.
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'A serious blow' to India: Hafiz Saeed after Pak court orders his release

A Pakistan court on Wednesday ordered the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, blamed for the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attack, from house arrest that began in January this year.

A Judicial Review Board consisting of judges from the Lahore High Court rejected a plea from Punjab province to extend Saeed's detention after a senior Finance Ministry official failed to convince the board that his release would lead to diplomatic and other problems for Pakistan.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief will be freed on the midnight of November 24 after the expiry of the house arrest order. Saeed and his four aides had been under house arrest since January under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Following the decision, Saeed told media that an end to his detention was tantamount to the victory of truth and called the decision "a serious blow" to India's demands that he be kept in custody and punished for the 2008 massacre, Dawn online reported.

Following the decision, Saeed supporters chanted slogans and showered him with rose petals.

The court had warned the government last month that it would end Saeed's house arrest if enough evidence was not submitted against him.
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Pakistan EC rejects Hafiz Saeed-linked MML's registration application

Pakistan's Election Commission today rejected an application for registration of Milli Muslim League, an offshoot of Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah, as a political party after the Interior Ministry raised objections over its links with the terrorist groups.

The League had applied for registration with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for recognition as a political party so that it could use the platform to contest elections.

The ECP rejected the application after a hearing and asked the party to get clearance from the Interior Ministry which, through a letter, had asked the election commission not to register MML due to its ties to banned terrorist outfits.

"The Interior Ministry's letter mentions that the MML is backed by banned terrorist outfits," chief election commissioner Sardar Raza Khan said.

In a detailed letter last month, the ministry advised the ECP to ban the newly formed MML as it was associated with Saeed, who carries a $10 million US bounty on his head.

Saeed's JuD has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States in June 2014.

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