ZeeNews

Washington: As a sovereign nation Pakistan has the right to self-defense, so does the US, the Pentagon has asserted amid reports from Islamabad that Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had issued direction that his commanders on the Af-Pak border can return fire without permission. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby told reporters that the last week’s NATO bombing that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghanistan border has had a chilling effect on the relationship between the two countries.

Pak has right to self-defense so does US: Pentagon
“I think it’s safe to say that the incident has had a chilling effect on our relationship with the Pakistani military, no question about that. Both sides deem it to be as serious as it was,” Kirby told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

Pak has right to self-defense so does US: Pentagon
“I’ve seen the comments attributed to General Kayani. I’m certainly not going to speak for him or for the government of Pakistan. But every sovereign nation has the right of self-defense and the right to order their troops to defend themselves. That’s what my understanding is what he did: He reiterated their right of self-defense. We certainly respect that right of his. We have it as well,” Kirby said.

A Swiss couple, kidnapped by the Taliban in the past four months have again appeared in a video appealing to the governments of Pakistan, Switzerland and the U.S. to meet the demands of their captors or “our lives are at risk.” Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) has released two videos of the Swiss couple kidnapped, the Tribune reported Tuesday citing Express swissinfo.ch.

Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 28, appears in the video, flanked by masked gunmen.

Swiss couple kidnapped new video appear in Pak
The TTP is required prior to the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist woman convicted in 2010 for terrorism, to establish the free Swiss couple.

The videos show the couple appealed to the governments of Switzerland, the U.S. and Pakistan to meet the demands of the captors, the newspaper said.

In the video, one of the hostages is saying “our lives are at risk” if the demands are not met, he said.

The two were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Loralai in Baluchistan on July 1.

Swiss couple kidnapped new video appear in Pak
“We call on all the western world to pressure the United States for the release of Aafia Siddiqui,” TTP deputy Waliur Rehman had said.

“If America does not agree to his release then our shura (council) will decide on the Swiss hostages,” he said before.

Pakistan has decided in principle to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday.

Khar made the remarks while speaking during question hour in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament on Wednesday.

She did not provide details as to when the matter would be finalised. She said the India-Pakistan dialogue process had been resumed after a gap of two years.She did not provide details as to when the matter would be finalised. She said the India-Pakistan dialogue process had been resumed after a gap of two years.

“The top most priority of the country is to ensure uninterrupted dialogue with India so that the resolution of (the) core (issue of) Kashmir could be ensured,” she said.

“There are a number of achievements regarding relations with India. We have achieved ground on trade with India.

For the first time in history, the Indian foreign minister attended the reception of the Pakistan Foreign Minister in New York,” she said.

Responding to a question, she said Pakistan wants good relations with India while sticking to its principled stance on the Kashmir issue in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people.

Pakistan wants the Kashmir issue to be determined through a “free and fair plebiscite under UN auspices”, she added.