D S Rajan, director, Chennai Centre for China Studies, analyses the Chinese reaction over closer India-US political and military ties. A signed Chinese language article in the Chinese Communist Party’s theoretical organ, Qiu Shi (September 14), entitled ‘The strengthening of US-India military cooperation will change the strategic situation in South Asia’, is noteworthy for its assessment of the situation arising out of the US-India agreements on expanding cooperation in the fields of military, space and civil nuclear power generation, reached in New Delhi [ Images ] during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s [ Images ] visit (July 19-21). The article by Chinese analyst Li Qiulin has stated that although the agreements did not mean the birth of an ‘alliance’ between the two nations, it is clear that both will seek long-term cooperation in military and political spheres.
Noting that India’s military had been dependent on Russian arms and later on Israel, it has pointed out that the US has now become the most important source for India’s military procurement and that mechanisms to manage the same are gradually emerging. Highlighting in this connection the involvement of the US Boeing company in India, it has revealed that in the first half of 2009, Washington allowed it to sell to India eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine patrol aircraft for $2.1 billion (about Rs 10,500 crore) — cost-wise the biggest US military sale to India. Feeling that the agreements would also lead to more US-India joint military exercises in future, the article has stated that in 2007, during the ‘Malabar’ exercise, India adopted NATO’s operational procedures and that the US permitted the Indian Navy access to its satellite system centre.
Viewing that not only commercial interests, but also those relating to military and politics, would influence arms trade both now and in future, it has argued that the US, enjoying a superior and leading position, will exploit military cooperation for roping in India for the purpose of realising its global and regional strategic objectives. The US will draw India into its strategic orbit and use it for ‘restricting’ third countries. Noting that India had a robust economic growth in recent years and has emerged as a new and important rising power in Asia, the analysis has alleged that the US is increasingly focusing on India’s big power status and geo-political role and considering the latter a ’strategic partner for changing the Asian power balance’. Touching on India’s military modernisation programme, the article has found that the same is being intensified and the country’s expenditure towards arms imports is continuously increasing.
In 2007, India’s arms purchase was worth $10.5 billion (about 52,500 crore), 44% of the nation’s defence budget. In the next 20 years, India will become one of the biggest arms importers in the world, it has added. As the Qiu Shi article sees it, the US hopes are for India’s playing a partnership role in the regional and international security arena. As Washington realises that it can no longer rely on its own strength to guide the world order, it has come to depend on the strengths of its allies and partners like India. The US seeks to utilise India’s bases, ports and military training facilities for facilitating its activities in Middle East and other regions. Also, through having military cooperation with India, the US will be in a position to master the technology relating to Russian-made weapons and develop remedies to deal with it.
Turning to India, the article has said that New Delhi wants to introduce US advanced military technology to its military and diversify arms supply sources. In this regard, it has mentioned that a beginning to the replacement of Russian equipment by American equipment is already taking place. Another Indian aim is to use US support for its attaining big power status and maintaining hegemony over the Indian Ocean and South Asia. It has further mentioned that US-India cooperation can lead to their ‘unified strategy’ on all major regional issues, which can change the strategic situation in South Asia.
Analysis
The fact that the party’s top theoretical mouthpiece has found the article suitable for its publication is itself significant, notwithstanding the disclaimer given that the opinions do not reflect Qiu Shi’s views and are those of the writer.
The following are important to note:
The Qiu Shi article has mostly concentrated its attack on the US, accusing it of using India to restrict ‘third countries’. The People’s Republic of China was not specifically named, but the term ‘third countries’ may allude to China also.
There has been no direct criticism of New Delhi in the write-up, indicating a cautious line towards India. A careful reader could however discern the underlying deep Chinese suspicions in the analysis over India’s attitude vis-a-vis China.
In 2007-08, the topic of US-India collusion as part of Washington’s regional strategy, had prominently figured in Chinese media comments, particularly targetted against the ‘Alliance of Democracies’ concept, the India-US-Japan joint military exercise and the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
After some lull, the theme appears to be surfacing again now, for example following the article in question, a People’s Daily signed analysis (September 15) has charged that ‘the US is tipping the balance between China and India, wooing India away from Russia [ Images ] and China and feeding India’s ambition to match China force for force by its ever burgeoning arms sales to India’. More such comments may follow.
A probable explanation to the Chinese media’s harping again on the topic can be that despite a visible improvement in China’s ties with the US and India in a contemporary sense, fears in strategic terms, to be more precise on containment of China by the US with the help of allies like Japan [ Images ] and a partner like India, seems to continue unabated in China.
The same appears to be getting reflected in some of the current media comments in China.
Chinese media pronouncements can be understood better, if a close look is given at China’s relations with the US as well as India in the framework of two contexts — contemporary and strategic.
Regarding the first, it can be noticed that the character of Washington-Beijing [ Images ] ties has undoubtedly changed now especially due to the former’s financial dependence on China, brought out by the global crisis; symbolising the same are activation of mechanisms like bilateral strategic and economic dialogues and a softening of US posture towards China on key irritants, for example the US now considers that issues like the economy and climate change will take precedence over points of friction like human rights and Tibet [ Images ] (US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Beijing, February).
On its part, China is making suitable responses, for example it has expressed its willingness ‘to work with the United States from a strategic and long-term perspective, to enhance dialogue and exchanges, build up mutual trust and cooperation, respect and accommodate each other’s core interests and properly handle differences and sensitive issues’ (Hu Jintao-Obama talks, London [ Images ], April 1).
Positive changes have occurred in Sino-Indian relations also; the two nations are now looking at the same beyond the border dispute, recognising the global character of their ties and witnessing a big momentum in economic and trade links.
On the other hand, the corresponding picture from a strategic point of view remains complex and less promising. China continues to be wary of US intentions in the Asia-Pacific region including in South Asia; demonstrating the same are the authoritative Chinese statements, for example, Beijing’s latest Defence White Paper has described the ‘increasing US military presence in Asia-Pacific’ as China’s ’security concern’.
On emerging US-India ties, Beijing may have been irked by the assertion made by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates at a conclave in Singapore that there is a genuine convergence of US-India interests and that his country would look towards India as a partner for providing security in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
The Qiu Shi article appears to be more categorical than other Chinese media comments in conveying a message: The US-India ‘unified strategy’ on all major regional issues is possible and that may change the strategic situation in South Asia. This shifts the focus on indications to China’s possible counter moves in the future.
Mention of India’s ambition to maintain its hegemony over the Indian Ocean and South Asia no doubt has precedence. However, the fact that the party journal has carried the same necessitates an examination of it from the point of view of policy perspectives emerging in China to deal with such ambition.
Overall, Chinese media comments had been saying that India as a sovereign nation with a nationalistic population, will not succumb to American pressures on it to join the US camp against China and instead will continue its friendship with China; but such views do not find a place in the write-up of the party organ. Is it an inadvertent omission or indications of China’s doubts on this account.
Globalresearch
Monday 28 September 2009
China worried over US-India military cooperation
In the name of Pakistan China friendship
Labels: International, MiscThis video is to wish all Pakistanis, Eid Mubarak! Your neighbors in China hope you enjoy a blessed festival! Pakistan China Friendship Zindabad! Please leave me a comment, favorite or rate my video if you like it!
Future of Pakistan lies with China say Experts
Labels: International, MiscSpeakers at a seminar here on Saturday stressed the need for enhancing bilateral relations with China with which they said future of Pakistan lies. China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation Seminar was organized by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and Association of Chinese Enterprises in Pakistan (ACEP) with an aim to explore ways and means for further boosting relations between the two countries particularly economic cooperation. Among others, the seminar was attended by Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Ambassador of China in Pakistan, Luo Zhaohui, Counsellor, Yao Jing, Economic and Commercial Counsellor Zhou Zhencheng, Deputy Director of visa office Xiang Shan and representative from ICCI and ACEP.
"Pakistan's future lies in East with China," remarked Azam Khan Swati while speaking on the occasion as chief guest.
He stressed the need for enhancing relations with China on all fronts saying that the Chinese government, business community as well as people have great respect for Pakistan and are interested in enhancing bilateral relations.
Swati was of the view that science and technology was engine of economy and stressed the need for developing Science and Technology Ministry in Pakistan in line with the relevant ministry in China for the better future of country.
In his address, Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said although there were some security concerns in Pakistan, however the government was fully cooperating with Chinese companies and providing conducive atmosphere for them to do business in the country.
He also highlighted the importance of enhancing trade relations between the two countries for mutual benefit.
He said that Pakistan was very much interested in enhancing economic relations with China adding that President Zardari has made four visits to China for seeking cooperation to build Pakistan's economy on sustainable and long-term basis.
Speaking on the occasion, Advisor to Prime Minister on Water and Agriculture Dr. Kamal Majeed said that the current government has signed several Memorandums of Understanding with China which are all operational.
He deplored that about 600 MoUs were signed between the two countries during past 60 years which failed to bring results as they were not followed and thereby implemented.
He said China has agreed to provide Pakistan hybrid technology for enhancing its per acre yield for the better future of the country and save it from food and water scarcity.
He said that once the technology was operational in Pakistan, it would make the country self-sufficient in food for years to come.
Earlier in his welcome address, ICCI President Mian Shaukat Masood expressed the hope that trade volume between Pakistan and China would reach to $15 billion by 2011 which during the last financial year was $7 billion.
He said that trade balance between the two counties was in favour of China and stressed the need for making win win situation for both the counties in bilateral trade.
He said that Pakistan intends to exports several products to China including mango, surgical instruments and leather products however said that there were some hurdles in doing so.
He said that Pakistan's mango was considered best mango of the world but it failed to reach Chinese market due to certain restrictions which he said needed to be removed.
Chairman ACEP also spoke on the occasion while Falak Sher from Board of Investment, Abdul Sattar from Fedeal Board of Revenue, Mateen Khan from Wheather ford Pakistan and Yan Xinde, from CWE gave detailed presentations on various issues aiming at enhancing business cooperation between the two countries. Associated Agencies
Pakistan beat arch-rivals India in Champions
Labels: Misc(CNN) -- Shoaib Malik scored a brisk century as Pakistan beat arch-rivals India by 54 runs in their Champions Trophy clash in South Africa on Saturday.
Shahid Afridi is congratulated after claiming a wicket in the Pakistan win.
Man-of-the-match Malik blasted 128 for his seventh hundred in one-day internationals for Pakistan as they ran up an impressive 302-9 at Centurion Park.
India were up with the run rate but lost wickets at regular intervals to fall to 248 in reply.
Recalled veteran Rahul Dravid battled to 76, but his run out after a mix-up with Harbahjan Singh signaled the end of his side's chances.
Gautam Gambhir made 57 and Suresh Raina 46, but Pakistan's bowlers hit back at regular intervals.
Pakistan have now one both their matches in the four-team group, while Australia beat the West Indies by 50 runs in their earlier game at the Wanderers in Johannesburg earlier on Saturday.
India and the West Indies have yet to open their account with the top two teams going through to the semifinals after the group round-robin.
Lower order batsman Mitchell Johnson blasted 73 not out as Australia totaled 275 in their 50 overs. Captain Ricky Ponting made 79.
An understrength West Indies side were always struggling despite half centuries from Travis Dowlin and Andre Fletcher.
Pakistan accounted for the West Indies in their opening match and owed their big total to a stand of 206 between Malik and Mohammad Yousuf (87) - a record for the fourth wicket against India in one-day internationals.
India were up against it from the start as star batter Sachin Tendulkar fell in the fifth over to 17-year-old paceman Mohammad Aamer.
Gambhir responded with a string of boundaries, but he was run out following a mix-up with Dravid.
Raina also batted superbly with two sixes and five fours, but he was trapped leg-before wicket to Saeed Ajmal, who with fellow spinner Shahid Afridi exacted a stranglehold on the Indian battling line-up in excellent spells
Hurray: Pakistan win against India
Labels: MiscShoaib Malik hammered a robust century to help Pakistan post a challenging 302-9 against India in a Champions Trophy match here on Saturday.
Malik made 128 for his seventh hundred in one-dayers as Pakistan recovered from 65-3 to set a stiff target for India in the day-night match, the first between the two teams in more than a year.
He received valuable support from veteran Mohammad Yousuf, who made a brisk 88-ball 87 and together they added 206, Pakistan`s best stand against India for the fourth wicket in one-dayers.
Both dominated the Indian attack with a wide range of attacking shots on a good pitch, with Malik completing his century in the 43rd over when he cut off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for a four.
The Malik-Yousuf onslaught saw Pakistan plunder 85 in the last 10 overs, much to the delight of fans.
Yousuf fell playing shots in the 46th over, bowled by left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, but not before he had put his team in a strong position having cracked seven fours.
Malik was out in the penultimate over after smashing 16 fours in his 126-ball knock. Nehra was the most successful bowler with 4-55, but hardly received support from the other end.
Pakistan began aggressively after electing to bat as openers Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal helped their team race to 50 in less than nine overs.
Nazir went for shots early in his innings, hitting four boundaries in his 17-ball 20 before top-edging a pull off Nehra to be caught by Harbhajan at mid-on.
Nehra struck again when he bowled Akmal for 19, but Malik continued to gather runs comfortably. None of the Indian bowlers could pressure on Malik and Yousuf.
Pakistan looked in trouble when skipper Younus Khan was caught behind off left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh after contributing 20.
India then had to wait for more than 31 overs for their next success as Malik and Yousuf applied themsleves remarkably well to put their team in a comfortable position.
Meanwhile, Hundreds of thousands of people have come out on the streets all across Pakistan cities including Karachi, Hyderabad, and Lahore to celebrate Pakistan's victory against India by 54 runs in an ODI of ICC Champions Trophy at Centurion park on Saturday night, Geo news reported.
With this win Pakistan have also qualified for the semi final race by beating West Indies and now India in two consecutive matches of their group.
People in jubilation are dancing on drums doing Bhangra (traditional dance) and chanting slogans in spirit of victory.
Young boys are riding motorcycles and doing wheelies on main roads in Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad Read more »»
Kerry-Lugar bill insults Pakistan
Labels: MiscBy Tahir Niaz (Daily Times)
ISLAMABAD: Asking the government to explain how it has accepted the language of the Kerry-Lugar bill, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) legislator Marvi Memon has said it is insulting to Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Sunday, she said that asking Pakistan to "cease support – including by any elements within the military or intelligence agencies – to extremist and terrorist groups" in the text of the Kerry-Lugar bill was insulting and sent a wrong message to the world. She said it had weakened Pakistan's position on the international front. Marvi said the issue of nuclear monitoring was unacceptable to any patriotic Pakistani. The Kerry-Lugar bill mandated Pakistan to provide the US "relevant information from or direct access to Pakistani nationals associated with such networks", she said, adding that it clearly allowed the US access to Dr AQ Khan and others, which was unacceptable as state policy. She said the guarantee that terrorism emanating from India and Afghanistan, which destabilises Pakistan, should be controlled was missing in the bill, which made it (the bill) one-sided. She asked the government to explain whether the aid provided through the Kerry-Lugar legislation was only for civilian projects or whether it also included police reforms, equipment and training.
Friday 25 September 2009
India and Pakistan: the changing nature of conflict
Early last year a group of Indian and Pakistan retired generals and strategic experts sat down for a war-gaming exercise in Washington. The question, predictably enough, was at what point during a conventional war, would the generals in Rawalpindi GDQ reach for the nuclear trigger.
In the event, the simulated war took on an unpredictable turn, which in some ways was more illuminating than the question of nuclear escalation, as columnist Ashok Malik writes in The Great Divide:India and Pakistan, a collection of essays by experts on both sides of the border.
The exercise begins with an Indian military strike on militant camps in Pakistani Kashmir, the most commonly envisaged scenario for the next India-Pakistan war. But the Pakistan response defies conventional logic . They don't order a military push into Indian Punjab and Rajasthan, they don't even attack Bombay High, the most valuable Indian oil asset in the Arabian Sea, and well within striking distance of the Pakistani Air Force.
Instead PAF planes fly all way to Bangalore, deep in the Indian south, to attack the campus of Infosys, the much celebrated Indian IT company.
Strange choice of target ? By all military logic it would seem so. It's not like all of India would be crippled if Infosys were attacked, they don;'t run Indian IT infrastructure. Even the company itself might not suffer lasting damage. Its data would probably be stored in locations elsehwere too, and it wouldn't take it long to rebuild the campus. Besides. the Pakistani planes would be almost certain to be shot down on their way back, if they managed to penetrate this far in on what seems like a suicide mission.
So why Bangalore, and Infosys? Malilk quotes a Pakistani participant as saying they chose the target because it is an "iconic symbol" of India's IT prowess and economic surge. The idea was to strike at India's economic growth and great power aspirations. A raid on the Infosys campus, visited by heads of states and corporate leaders, would underline the dangers of business in India and remind the world that for all its new-found success, it remained a nation of contradictions, and at heart, unstable.
Many people in the room were not convinced by the Pakistani choice. It still seemed more like an academic exercise than anything rooted in military reality. But in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks later that year, and in the light of renewed warnings this week by Israeli intelligence of another Mumbai-like attack coming in the next few weeks, it is clear that India's vulnerability appears to be in economic, rather than purely military, targets.
Indeed last year when tensions rose following the Mumbai attack and there was talk of an Indian military response, it was Pakistan's former chief of intelligence Hamid Gul who warned of Pakistan hitting back where it would hurt the most. India's so-called Silicon Valley will go up in smoke, Gul is widely quoted to have told CNN, if the Indians sent troops to the border.
Pak to raise Kashmir, water issues with India: PM Gilani
Labels: MiscMULTAN: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that talks would be held with Indian leadership on issues of Kashmir and water on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, saying Pakistan has clear stance on lingering issue of Kashmir.
Talking to media men here on Thursday at Multan Airport, the prime minister said that Foreign Secretaries level talks would be held at UN General Assembly followed by talks between Foreign Ministers of both the countries as it was decided during his meeting with Indian Prime Minster in Sharm-ul-Sheikh.
Responding to a question, Yusuf Raza Gilani said that with the resolution of Kashmir issue, sustainable peace would not be possible in the region.
Talking on war on terror, the prime minister said that Pakistan is playing an important role against war on terrorism and the world admitted Pakistan's frontline role, adding Pakistan's Army has proved its ability and professionalism in Malakand operation.
Commenting on Kerry-Logar Bill, the prime minister said that Pakistan would get aid under the bill soon.
Talking on meeting of Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP), he termed it as an important opportunity for Pakistan, saying the meeting would focus on Malakand and Pakistan's capacity building.
Read more »»
Wednesday 23 September 2009
Pak-UK task force on education established Zardari wants access to EU markets
LONDON: The United Kingdom and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to set up a Pak-UK joint task force on education, which would be led by Michael Barber, a renowned and leading British educationist, who has played a key role in educational reforms in the UK.
Talking to media persons along with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after his one-on-one meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said they had extensive discussions on education.
The task force would work for the implementation of the strategy being developed by Pakistan, he said, adding recent reports by the government of Pakistan identified implementation gap and "we are going to use this task force to bridge the implementation gap".
As the extra money comes from Britain, the United States and other countries for education in Pakistan, it would be ensured through the task force that the money is spent on education, he added.
Earlier, the meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly Asfandyar Wali, spokesman for the president Farhatullah Babar, High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Deputy High Commissioner Asif Durrani.
"We had extensive discourse about education in Pakistan. The president has been passionate about the importance of education and the foreign minister as well," said the British foreign secretary. "This brings out the fact that our relations with Pakistan are long term and the children who have school age in Pakistan are the future of Pakistan."
Referring to the FoDP meeting next week, he said: "We will hear from the Pakistani president about very effective way in which the insurgency is being pushed back in the militancy-hit Swat. We will hear about the strategy regarding Malakand, which has really caught the imagination of the international community and has really got very strong support. We will hear further about the way the government wants to extend its comprehensive approach to counter the insurgency in terms of security politics and economics."
Responding to a question, he described the FoDP as unique. "There are very few countries that get the sort of support Pakistan will get next week from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union countries.
Referring to the EU-Pak summit, he said: "We want to escalate free trade between Pakistan and Europe and it will not happen over night. Pakistan's entrepreneurship and Pakistani ideas need to be brought at the international commercial system."
Read more »»
Pakistan Needs Better Access to Western Markets
Labels: MiscBetter access to U.S. and European markets would build Pakistan's economy, helping to sustain democracy and fight fanaticism, said President Asif Ali Zardari. He said his country also needs $100 billion in investment.
"We need trade not aid," said Zardari, 53, in a speech in London today to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a consultant on defense which advises Western governments. "We need to create economic opportunity to the teeming millions."
He said reduced trade barriers would allow cotton and textile exports to triple and cited Vietnam as a country that has overcome war and trauma through trade.
The expansion of south Asia's second-largest economy more than halved to 2 percent in the year ended June 30. Pakistan turned to the International Monetary Fund for a $11.3 billion loan with the latest tranche agreed in August. Overseas direct investment fell to $3.72 billion last fiscal year, from $5.4 billion in the previous 12 months, partly because of terrorist attacks.
"The real task now is to make democracy sustainable," he said. "Democracy has united the nation against terrorism."
Zardari was elected last year following the assassination of his wife, presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He's under pressure to defeat pro-Taliban militants in the country's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan while reviving the sluggish economy.
A suicide bomber killed at least 32 people today at a roadside market in the northwestern city of Kohat, the latest in a series of deadly attacks. The government began a 10-week military offensive in May that killed 1,800 militants including Taliban commanders.
Military Technology
Asked whether his wife would have followed the same policies, Zardari said "I think she would have done the same decisions much better than me."
He said he'd like the U.S. and Europe to share more military technology to help defeat the Taliban, especially drones. "We are doing what we can and we would appreciate the world helping us and supporting us," he said.
The U.S. is pressing Pakistan to continue its offensives against the Taliban and other militant groups. President Barack Obama has said a U.S. non-military aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year is conditional on the government cracking down on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in areas bordering Afghanistan.
Read more »»
Pakistan police raid US-employed security firm
Labels: MiscISLAMABAD — Pakistani police say they have raided a local security firm that has a contract with the U.S. Embassy.
Islamabad police official Rana Akram says the Inter-Risk firm is accused of illegal weapons possession.
The raid Saturday comes amid intense coverage in the local media of American use of private security firms in the country, much of it negative.
Akram says police found 61 assault rifles and nine pistols that were allegedly unlicensed.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Rick Snelsire says the embassy's contract with the firm took effect at the start of this year.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A bombing at a mosque in northwestern Pakistan killed a prominent Sunni Muslim official just hours after a suicide attack in a nearby Shiite Muslim-dominated village left 40 dead, police said Saturday.
It was not immediately clear if the two were linked, but the mosque bomb Friday was the third blast in the area in two days, underscoring the relentless security threat in a region riddled with Taliban and al-Qaida and simmering with sectarian tension.
The bomb went off at the mosque in Och village near Hangu town before midnight, killing district Mayor Haji Khan Afzal and wounding three other people, police official Gul Jamal said.
Afzal was apparently praying at the mosque when the blast — 18 pounds (eight kilograms) of explosives detonated by remote control — brought its roof crashing down on him, Jamal said.
The mayor was affiliated with Jamaat Ulema Islam, an Islamist party in the government.
Meanwhile, the death toll from an overnight suicide car bombing at a hotel in the northwestern village of Usterzai on the outskirts of Kohat jumped from 29 to 40. Five of the injured died in a hospital and rescuers retrieved six more bodies from rubble of the two-story Hikmat Ali Hotel, area police Chief Ali Hassan said.
The hotel — owned by a Shiite — was among several buildings destroyed or badly damaged in the attack.
Local media reported that a little-known group calling itself Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Almi claimed responsibility. It is possible the group is linked to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned Sunni extremist organization with ties to al-Qaida.
The Taliban and al-Qaida believe Shiite Muslims are infidels, and their influence has fueled sectarian attacks that have long plagued Pakistan. The latest assaults came just days before Muslims from both sects celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"When the clouds of dust cleared, I saw the dead bodies and the pieces of bodies all around, and everywhere there was blood and wounded people. They were crying," Wagar Ali, who was wounded in the blast, told AP Television News.
TV footage showed some of the wounded in hospital beds and on stretchers. The victims were bloodied, bandaged and seemingly in shock.
Vegetable seller Madad Ali, hurt in the explosion, said he saw the suicide bomber approaching.
"I was working when I saw a van come from the Kohat road. Inside was a man with a beard, and he blew himself up with a very powerful blast," said Ali. "The roof of the shop came in on me and I was stuck underneath. People started to dig us out from the rubble."
Pakistan has launched several offensives against extremist groups in the area over the past year, but attacks persist.
The U.S. is particularly anxious for Pakistan to clamp down on insurgents it blames for attacks on American and NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, six people were wounded when a bomb planted outside a shop in Kohat's main bazaar exploded.
Read more »»
Friday 18 September 2009
Kashmir will be part of Pakistan – InshaAllah
"Pakistan ka matlab kya : La ilaha illa Allah" say a million Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir
In a protest in Indian Occupied Kashmir against Indian rule, about a million Kashmiris chanted "Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan", "Azadi Azadi", "Kashmir baneyga Pakistan, and
Pakistan ka matlab kya : La ilaha illa Allah
Pakistan se rishta kya : La ilaha illa Allah
Azadi ka matlab kya : La ilaha illa Allah
Indians were outraged and very angry and hostile as usual. Pakistan was not behind the protests, around a million Kashmiris themselves went to protest out in the streets of Srinagar in Indian Occupied Kashmir against Indian rule.
Indians were so furious with the chanting they couldnt stand it, so they sent their intelligence agency into Balochistan and tried to make a protest against Pakistan like Kashmiris did in Indian Occupied Kashmir against India, indian RAW failed miserably.
Indian RAW paid a few poor suckers to make a protest and use foul punjabi language, which Balochs dont even speak, against Pakistan.
Not even a dozen people showed up in Indian sponsered pathetic protest. Some filthy hindu indian posted that video on youtube.
Shows the mentality and insecurity of Indians. Humara dushman hindustan bohot ghatyaa hain.
The entire world recognizes Kashmir as a Disputed Territory.
The Line of Control is not an international border.
Balochistan, however, is NOT a Disputed Territory and is recognized by the entire world as part of Pakistan.
Also a lot of indians pretend to be Baloch on the internet trying to create tensions because indians are so jealous of Gwadar Port. Balochs make up only 3.5% of Pakistan's total population. They have more than 50 tribes and only 2 tribes were giving Pakistan headache in the past during Musharaf's era, not now. Those two tribes together make up less than 1% of the total Baloch population. How many could possibly have internet access and youtube accounts?
CUNNING INDIANS! and Lanat on those who are working with kufur hindus to break up Pakistan.
KASHMIR BANEYGA PAKISTAN InshAllah
PAKISTAN KA MATLAB KYA : La ilaha illa Allah
PAKISTAN SE RISHTA KYA : La ilaha illa Allah
AZADI KA MATLAB KYA : La ilaha illa Allah
PAKISTAN ZINDABAD! Read more »»
Is Jinnah was Secular or Islamist?
Labels: Misc“The new state would be a modern democratic state with sovereignty resting in the people and the members of the new nation having equal rights of citizenship regardless of religion, caste or creed.” Mr. Munir claims that these are the words of the Quaid from an interview to Reuters’ Doon Campbell. In reality these words appear nowhere in that particular interview, and in fact they appear nowhere at all (I spent years checking)”
Q) Please tell us briefly about yourself, your education and background.
A) I am a writer born and brought up in the UK. Almost as soon I learned to read, I wanted to write. When I went to Loughborough University I wanted to take a degree in publishing, but for reasons that are not worth mentioning here, I ended up studying Human Biology and obtained a BSc. I had no interest in pursuing a career in my subject area, so I followed my instinct and began writing part-time. At first I was mostly translating short articles mostly on Islam (Urdu-English), and also started a work of fiction, but I became a full-time writer after I wrote Secular Jinnah: Munir’s Big Hoax Exposed in 2005. As a child I was brought up with religious values and always considered myself a spiritual individual. As I grew older I began to question some of our traditional religious teachings and began to study Quranic principles in depth. I became very interested in Islamic philosophy and in particular, ethics, and this study helped me in ways I cannot even begin to describe.
Q) How did you get interested in the life of Quaid-e-Azam, and what inspired you?
A) Until a few years ago I knew relatively little about the Quaid-i-Azam but accepted he was a hero of Islamic history by default. My father got me interested in his life originally, but I only learned about him in detail after I began work on Secular Jinnah. I was inspired in the first instance by Mr. Jinnah’s speeches, which I later referred to as a first-hand resource on his thinking.
Q) The readers want to know what is it that Justice Munir has said in his book that is either wrong or controversial about Quaid-e-Azam?
A) In short, there is a statement that the late Chief Justice Munir quoted in his book From Jinnah to Zia. It reads:
“The new state would be a modern democratic state with sovereignty resting in the people and the members of the new nation having equal rights of citizenship regardless of religion, caste or creed.” Mr. Munir claims that these are the words of the Quaid from an interview to Reuters’ Doon Campbell. In reality these words appear nowhere in that particular interview, and in fact they appear nowhere at all (I spent years checking). In the first edition of my book I explained that since 1979 (when Mr. Munir’s book was released) right up until the present no one had spotted that the quote was a fake. Since then I have learned that the quote has its origins not in 1979, but in the famous Munir Report of 1954. That’s the short story, but in my book I went into much more detail about how this quote has became the favourite amongst even the best-known commentators on Mr. Jinnah to try and undermine his stated cause.
Q) What inspired you to write a rebuttal to Munir’s book?
A) It may sound trivial to go after just one fake quote, but I was inspired to write my rebuttal because of it. When I first encountered the Munir quote in From Jinnah to Zia, I did for a short time wonder whether the Quaid was a true secularist after all. I pursued the original source of the Munir quote purely to find out the truth. But this was before I obtained the original transcript of the interview. If the Munir quote had turned out to be real, I would definitely have accepted and argued that Mr. Jinnah was a secularist – but that would still have had no bearing on my personal thoughts regarding the Pakistan idea. In the beginning I intended to write just a short article detailing the finding, but my research soon showed that Mr. Munir’s quote (which I now call the ‘Munir quote’) has had an astonishing impact on scholarship. Admittedly, I myself found it difficult to believe at first, but I knew I had to write a book.
Q) Tell us about your book. How come it got such high praise from various sections of the readers’ community?
A) Other than exposing the damage done by the Munir quote, my book argued in favour of a ‘Muslim’ rather than a ‘secular’ Jinnah. I have put quotes around these words because I’m aware that they tend to mean different things to different people. The biggest problem in fact, is the meaning and use of words like ‘secularism’, ‘Islam’, ‘sovereignty’, ‘ideology’, etc. But insofar as there are two broad camps arguing over Mr. Jinnah, my research convinced me to side with the much-misunderstood ‘Muslim Jinnah’ camp. To my mind Quaid-i-Azam does not fit into the ‘secular’ category, and I explained why in the first book. I also discussed some of the myths surrounding Mr. Jinnah. The number of people actively backing the ‘Muslim Jinnah’ argument is currently dwindling. This I suspect is part of the reason that my book was well-received by the readership, who probably felt that a new entry from this side was long overdue.
Q) Did Quaid-e-Azam want to create a secular Pakistan or a Pakistan based on Islamic principles?
A) This is the big question. Mr. Jinnah certainly did not tire of talking about Islamic democracy and Islamic socialism. In my book I showed that there are literally hundreds of references to Islamic terminology and principles in Mr. Jinnah’s speeches. Additionally, whilst he stressed the absolute equality of non-Muslim citizens in Pakistan, he never once used the word ‘secular’ to describe the country. There is also some evidence lying around which shows that there were non-Muslims who properly understood Mr. Jinnah’s view of Islam, if you know where to look. These facts should really speak for themselves. People arguing for ‘secular Jinnah’ tend to get upset by this argument because they assume that I, or whoever else, is trying to imply that the Quaid was pro-theocracy. They think for instance that we support a class distinction between religious minorities and majorities, or that we advocate the idea of legislation either being written or authorised by ulema. Yet, as every sensible Muslim and especially Pakistani Muslim knows, a state truly guided by Islamic principles is as far removed from theocracy as is an ideal secular state (I might add that there is not one example of either of these states in existence today). The Quaid himself made this point about theocracy versus Islam, which again I showed in my book. The few people who do support such ideas – taken, unfortunately, from fundamentalist literature, rather than the Quran – usually belong to parties that historically were opposed to Partition and Pakistan. So why give their views special attention, and why assume that every ‘non-secularist’ agrees with them?
Q) How would you describe Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan? How far are we today as a nation from Quaid’s Pakistan?
A) ‘Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan’ as such never had a chance to establish itself. At any rate, it is not right to speak of ‘Quaid’s Pakistan’ when Mr. Jinnah said that it was up to the people and the Constituent Assembly to decide the form of their constitution. But we can safely say that the main difference between Mr. Jinnah’s time and now is that back then, a majority of people truly believed that they would rise out of poverty, be given the chance to educate themselves and then make a positive contribution to the international community, in the name of Islam. Pakistan appeared on the map at a time when the Muslim world was facing a political identity crisis, following the abolition of the Caliphate in Turkey. The end of the Caliphate was necessary, but this left the Muslim world in a void. Many people saw the creation of this new Muslim country as a laboratory where Islam would be established afresh, so to speak, taking account of contemporary political and sociological conditions. For this reason Islam in Pakistan was described as the ‘third way’, representing neither capitalism nor communism, but a form of socialist democracy conforming to Islamic (and thus universal) principles of liberty and justice. There was no question therefore, of recreating an early form of Islamic state which may have had merits in its time but could not be made to work in the twentieth century. Again, exactly how this would work was left up to the people and the Constituent Assembly. The Quaid’s sheer integrity and strength of personality was enough to keep the early leaders of Pakistan together – just. Within a few years of his death however, personal rivalries and a lack of intellectual unity between these same politicians came out into the open, marking the end of ‘Quaid’s Pakistan’ practically before it had begun. Today we see nepotism, despotism, jobbery, and discrimination running rampant in Pakistan – all qualities of the worst type of secular state (not to mention the worst of a theocracy). To even begin to undo all of this, will require first and foremost that the people look within themselves and make a concerted demand that they want things to change. Unity must come first.
Q) What do you think about the new book on Jinnah that Jaswant Singh has just written? Have you read that?
A) I have not read the book, but I have seen the interview in which Mr. Singh described its contents. From what he said there seems to be nothing remarkable or new that hasn’t been said by someone else already. There was an interesting article on this subject by Dr. Waheed Ahmad in Pakistan’s News International recently. He suggests on the one hand that Mr. Singh had courage for challenging the wisdom of certain Congress leaders before Partition. On the other, he mentions that some cynics might question the motives of the author, who is after all a veteran member of a far-right political party. Whom does it suit to be told that Mr. Jinnah never really wanted Partition? Is it not suggestive of a wish to see the two countries reunited as one India? I admit to being one of the cynics.
Q) What is the Jinnah Archive? Is it just a website or some project?
A) The idea behind the Jinnah Archive is to make the speeches of the Quaid-i-Azam easily available online. Most collections of speeches have short print runs and they end up in a few university libraries in random places across the globe. My own difficulty in obtaining collections of speeches when researching Secular Jinnah gave me the idea to try and create a searchable database on the Net. Thereafter I began tracking down and purchasing all the printed collections that I could find, and then I built the website. Some distinguished academics kindly helped by giving permission to make full use of their collections. The whole project is privately funded, is non-profit, and is entirely free to the public. Unfortunately it has been neglected of late because I was working almost completely on my own from the beginning, and other unrelated projects have taken up my time in between. This is however, something I will rectify in the very near future.
Q) How do you want to contribute to Jinnah’s Pakistan?
A) That’s an interesting question. We all should utilise our individual talents to the best of our ability. Mine is writing. I hope that my use of the pen will at least get people to think about the Pakistan idea, and not to give up on it.
Q) How would you describe Jinnah?
A) How does anyone describe an awesome personality such as Mr. Jinnah? He was evidently a man of unswerving integrity, high intelligence, pride, conviction, strength, and with more than a smidgen of dry humour. A true example of a Muslim leader, certainly one of the finest of the twentieth century, if not the finest.
Q) When is the second edition of your book coming out?
A) Soon, though I can’t promise a particular date. It’s close to completion and has already been picked up by a publisher. Unlike the first edition, this one should be made available in Pakistan as well as internationally, in both Urdu and in English languages. It contains much more on the story of Mr. Munir’s literary legacy, and in it I reveal one or two other surprises as well. But I can say no more for now.
Saleena Karim, team PKKH thanks you for giving us time to conduct this interview. Read more »»
The Next World Crisis?
Labels: InternationalDART-THROWING CHIMPANZEES
Whatever analysts attempt to forecast -- the economy, the weather, the progress of epidemics, geopolitical change -- the key problems are the same. Systematic forecasting requires a model that approximates reality. But is this feasible? Many models assume simple linear relationships between variables, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that in the real world, variables often react in a complex, volatile and non-linear way, particularly where extreme events are concerned. Models also rely on the future resembling the past. But Taleb argues that by their very nature, "Black swan" events lie outside of normal experience and up-end traditional assumptions. An even more fundamental spanner in the machinery of many models is that they need to find a way to capture the behavior of a particularly volatile and unpredictable element -- us.
DOOMED?
So where does this leave investors and businesses? Should we just accept we are helpless in the face of unquantifiable risks that we cannot foresee -- what Bremmer and Keat call the "We are all doomed" approach to risk management? Not necessarily. Many analysts say scenario planning and risk mapping provides at least a partial solution. While we may never be able to predict extreme events with any certainty, investors and executives can prepare for the future by analyzing worst-case scenarios and considering how they would deal with them. "Scenario analysis is a particularly useful means of understanding uncertainty and fat tails," said Bremmer and Keat. "The main objective is to inspire creative problem solving and to spur managers to think about unthinkable outcomes." Some companies have put scenario planning at the heart of their decision making -- Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is regarded as a leader in the field.
Thursday 17 September 2009
Controversial US firm Blackwater (Xe) expanding network in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD - Amid strong reactions from different quarters, US' controversial private security company, Blackwater has increased its presence in Pakistan.
According to sources, the company has hired at least seven houses in Karachi's posh Defence area.
It also been learnt that Blackwater has acquired hundreds of acres of land near Pataro in Sindh in order to launch a supposed Agriculture Research InstituteIt may be noted that security officials had apprehended an alleged agent of Blackwater, Craig Davis, from Peshawar.
Davis, who was forced to return back then has reportedly returned again and resumed his activities, The Nation reports.
However, the US embassy has maintained complete silence regarding Blackwater hiring homes in Karachi.
The United States has already made it clear that it is in contact with several US security agency regarding providing security cover to its various establishments in Pakistan, but has never admitted it openly that it has hired the services of Blackwater.
"As far as security agencies are concerned, we are in contact with local security agencies, and similarly the discussions are underway with the US agencies as well," US Deputy Ambassador to Pakistan, Gerald Festine had said. Read more »»
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Pakistan's female fighter pilots break down barriers
Six years ago an ad in the Sunday paper changed a young Pakistani woman's life and made aviation history.
Pakistani fighter pilot cadets go through their paces at Risalpur air base in Pakistan.
The ad read: "Pakistan Air Force recruiting females cadets."
Back then Ambreen Gul was 20-years old and living in Karachi. Her mother wanted her to be a doctor. She remembers her reaction when she told her she wants to fly.
"She was like: 'You're a girl,'" says Gul. "How will you do it? How will you fly?"
The following day Gul took the first step in proving her mother wrong. She was among the first in line at the recruitment center.
For nearly six decades it was only men who had flown Pakistan's fighter jets. Today Gul is one of seven women who are trained and ready to fly Pakistan's F-7 supersonic fighter jets.
"This is a feeling that makes you proud and makes you humble also," says Gul.
Humility doesn't mean lack of confidence.
"We can do everything better than the men," explains cadet Nida Tariq.
"We're more hardworking, more consistent and more patient," adds cadet Anam Faiq.
To become a fighter pilot takes three years of training at the Air Force Academy in Risalpur, Pakistan, where the halls are lined with grainy black-and-white pictures of nearly six decades of male graduates who went on to fly for the Pakistan Air Force.
The training is often intensely physical. Here, equal opportunity means equal treatment.
If they are not good enough as per their male counterparts, we don't let them fly," says commanding officer Tanvir Piracha.
Some of Pakistan's female pilots wear hijabs. Others prefer to go without the Muslim headdress. Most say changing the misconception of Muslim women is just as important as serving their country.
"Islam gives equal opportunity to females. Whatever we want to do we can," says pilot Nadia Gul.
"To tell you the truth I've been given equal opportunity or I suppose more than men have been given," says Air Force cadet Sharista Beg.
Air Force officials say fighter pilots are playing a vital role in the fight against the Taliban. They're training in counterinsurgency, collecting aerial intelligence and targeting militant strongholds in the treacherous mountains of Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border. Ambreen Gul says her goal now is to fly in combat.
"I would give my life for my country," she says.
Sunday 13 September 2009
Hasb-e-Haal - Aftab Iqbal - 13th September 2009
Indian Farmers sell wives after crops fail
Labels: InternationalBy Dielle D'Souza, Press Association, The Independent UK
North Indian farmers are selling their wives to survive, it has been revealed.
Left without money due to failing crops, debt-ridden farmers in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, have reportedly been selling their wives to money lenders for Rs 4,000 - 12,000 (£50-150).
The more beautiful the woman, the higher the price that she fetches, it was claimed.
The deals are allegedly being settled on a legal stamp paper under the heading "Vivaha Anubandh" meaning Marriage Contract. Once the new "husband" is tired of the woman, she is allegedly sold to another man.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) is now sending a team to investigate the reports.
Girija Vyas, chief of the NCW, said: "It is awful and unbelievable that it still happens in the country, and that too in Uttar Pradesh where the chief minister is a woman.
"We are sending a team to find out the details and have asked for the report within 24 hours."
She added that the commission had also written a letter to the state's chief minister.
One of the victims said: "My husband sold me to another man for Rs 8,000 (£100) only. My buyer took me to the court to make our wedding look legal. During the trip I got the chance to escape."
In most cases, the women are illiterate and cannot read what is written in the "contract".
A farmer who helped expose the situation to the Indian media said he is now being harassed.
"I was summoned to the police station and questioned," the man who is known only as Kalicharan said.
"I told them I had spoken to the media because no one was listening to us. But they threatened me and said I was lying. My wife was also called to the police station."
With reports suggesting that thousands of farmers in the region are involved, the situation has spiralled into a major political crisis.
Opposition parties are blaming the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government led by chief minister Mayawati for the problem.
The state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said: "It is a painful situation. I am sending a team of Congress workers to help these women."
A spokesman for leading opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said: "Both the BSP-led state government and the Congress at the centre are responsible for this.
"The centre has been talking of creating a separate authority for Bundelkhand while some factions want a state. Nobody is helping these farmers."
Erratic rainfall in the region this year is one of the main causes of failing crops.
Hussain Haqqani To ISI – Let Blackwater Terrorist In
Labels: Pakistan TodayPakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has written to the foreign secretary and ISI Cheif, warning them that harassing Americans or denying them visas hurts the country’s image and can have severe consequences, CNN-IBN reported on Saturday. According to the channel, Haqqani’s letter, dated July 28, 2009, reveals that Pakistan has a blacklist of US journalists and non-government organisations (NGO) that are critical of Islamabad. The ambassador has warned that Pakistan risked hearings in the US Congress and potential restrictions on aid and military sales if US citizens were harassed or intimidated. The letter mentioned instances where US institutions or journalists were denied visas, harassed or put under surveillance. Haqqani has demanded explanations for these actions and a copy of the blacklist.
Mr. Haqqani’s plea to the Pakistani Intelligence agencies comes at a time when there is effectively a quiet occupation of Pakistan taking place by Americans arriving in one form or the other. There have been confirmed reports of over 200 houses being rented and barricaded all over Islamabad, 300 plus ‘military trainers’ setting up shop in Tarbela, new facilities being granted to the notorious ‘Blackwater’ – now with a new name, Xe Worldwide – in parts of Sindh, and the rather obvious CIA front, Create Associates International Inc (CAII) operating not only in Peshawar but also in Islamabad.
This is what renowned Scholar and Defence Analyst Dr. Shireen Mazari revealed a few days back:
“Ordinary officials at Pakistani airports have also been muttering their concerns over chartered flights flying in Americans whose entry is not recorded – even the flight crews are not checked for visas and so there is now no record-keeping of exactly how many Americans are coming into or going out of Pakistan. Incidentally the CAII’s (CIA/Blackwater) Craig Davis who was deported has now returned to Peshawar! And let us not be fooled by the cry that numbers reflect friendship since we know what numbers meant to Soviet satellites.”
Since these reports first surfaced last month, the chartered flights have stopped and a number of suspected CIA and Xe employees – posing as ‘journalists’, aid workers and employees of certain NGOs – have been denied visas and entry into Pakistan. Existing US consulate personnel and employees of CAII as well as a number of other US citizens have been put under surveillance for suspected involvement in anti-state activity.
It is the duty of Inter-Services Intelligence to defend Pakistan’s borders and block any covert attempts to trample Pakistan’s sovereignty. Mr. Haqqani’s assertion that ejecting Americans found involved in suspicious activity and denying them entry is hurting Pakistan’s image, is idiotic at best and treason at worst.
PKKH requests the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence to take note of Mr. Haqqani’s attempt to undermine Pakistan’s national security – and at the very least, immediately put him under surveillance if not on a lamp-post in Islamabad.
Saturday 12 September 2009
US embassy expansion challenged in SC
LAHORE—The expansion of US embassy in Islamabad has been challenged in Lahore Registry of the Supreme Court by Barrister Zaffar Ullah.
According to a private TV channel, the petition maintaining that the United States has acquired 18 acre land and total number of acres touched the area of 56 acre land and the United States can convert its embassy in to Army Cantonment which is against the sovereignty of Pakistan.
The petition stated that the expansion of the embassy over 56 acre of land equals to area of airport. It was also maintained that Pakistan’s nuclear assets would also be in danger in the presence of US military base. The petition further stated that some Arab countries were also planning to buy 700,000 agriculture land on lease in different areas of Punjab and Sindh and it would not possible to monitor the movement of staff and employees to come in the country. The petition feared that the United States is using some Arab countries and it might be the conspiracy of US. The interior ministry, foreign ministry and the law ministry have been made respondents.
Indian Army To Deploy Prostitutes As A Women Battalion In Held Kashmir
Labels: InternationalChristina Palmer | The Daily Mail A group of experts assigned to probe rising suicides among Indian soldiers in Kashmir have recommended sending the soldiers back to India at least once a month to be with their wives. Since this is not possible, India’s military leadership has taken a leaf from the book of the old Soviet army: A woman battalion at the war front. A committee headed by a Lieutenant General of the Indian army is putting last touches on the new battalion. NEW DELHI, India—The Indian Army is deploying around 200 women prostitutes under the cover of Border Security Force constables in the Indian occupied Kashmir. The new female battalion will be deployed along the Line of Control, the ceasefire line between Pakistan and India, The Daily Mail has learnt through authoritative sources. According to the sources, the decision on recruiting prostitutes for deployment in the held valley was taken some six months back and Indian Army Chief General Kapoor finally approved it. The Daily Mail has learnt that this decision was taken as a result of discussions and consultancies regarding the alarmingly increasing incidents of suicides and killing colleagues by soldiers of Indian army that are deployed in the Indian occupied Kashmir to fight the Kashmiris. The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that the factor of rising suicides among Indian soldiers and the random shootouts on colleagues by Indian soldiers in the held valley had become a big problem for the Indian army top brass. When the figures went up earlier this year, the army leadership approached different consultants and analysts. The consultants and analysts reached the conclusion that Indian soldiers deployed in the valley were committing suicides and killing colleagues out of acute frustration and depression. Medical and psychological consultants and analysts were of the view that since majority of the soldiers deployed in the valley were married and were away from their wives for very long periods, they were in the grip of sexual frustrations which ultimately transformed into mental frustration. These consultants suggested that soldiers posted in Kashmir should be sent back to India on leaves to be with their wives at least once a month. This came as another dilemma for the Indian Army’s top brass as it was not possible at all to send such a huge number of soldiers on leaves with regular intervals. The Daily Mail’s investigations further reveal that upon this a Major General was sent to Moscow to learn from the best practices of the old Soviet army in a country with a big size. Mak. Gen. Kumar returned from Moscow with a very interesting solution. Russian military experts told the Indian army that the since the soldiers in the valley were ‘women-starved’, they should be provided with women to meet their genuine and natural needs. The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that at this stage, the Indian Army Chief constituted a committee under the command of Lt. General. Raj Kumar Karwal who currently posted as Director General of a training facility of the Indian army while Major General. Sanjeev Loomba, Brigadier Anil Sharma, Colonel N. K. Khunduri and Colonel Sanjay Rai were members of the committee. The committee finally came up with the solution that since it was not possible to provide street whores directly to the soldier thus professional prostitutes should be recruited with the title of sex workers and than they should be given basic military training and should be posted in Kashmir as soldiers so that the male soldiers can establish relations with them. It was also decided that the recruitment should not be made publicly and that RAW’s help should be sought as RAW maintained a huge network of prostitutes in different cities of India. The Daily Mail’s investigations reveal that RAW completed the assignment successfully and provided a batch of some 300, semi educated prostitutes to the committee after proper medical checkup of every individual. The committee then approached the Army Chief and it was decided that these new recruits should not be made part of mainstream army but should be adjusted in Border Security Force (BSF) and from there their services would be made available to the Northern Command of the army. The project was completed by the end of August when the new recruited batch of 300 completed a basic military training and Army Chief was informed that recruits were ready for deployment in Kashmir. When contacted by this correspondent, Inspector General of BSF Himmat Singh confirmed that a batch of 178 female soldiers was being sent to Northern Command where they would be deployed along with Indo-Pak border to check the border violations by women, working in the field. Mr. Singh further stated that these women were not fully trained for operational military duties however in the next phase, after further training, they would be given the duties of operational Border security. Mr. Singh refused to admit that these female soldiers were actually prostitutes and were being dispatched to the valley as undercover sex workers. When contacted, Rohit Sharma, a senior defense analyst here in New Delhi, said that the move was a creative step by Indian army leadership as it would boost the medical and mental health of the soldiers.
Indian & Israeli Cyber War Against Pakistani Nuclear Program
Labels: MiscFarzana Shah | BrassTacks
After sea, land and air warfare, traditional arch rivals India and Pakistan are now facing each other in another arena. With evolution of technology over the period another kind of war has been started by Indians with Israeli help against Pakistan since last few years and that is Cyber warfare.
Cyber warfare is complex, more penetrating and detrimental than conventional warfare, fought on cyberspace using different tactics like Cyber espionage, Web vandalism, Gathering data, Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks, Equipment disruption, attacking critical infrastructure, Compromised Counterfeit Hardware etc. The Internet security company McAfee stated in their 2007 annual report that approximately 120 countries have been developing ways to use the Internet as a weapon and target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities.
Like any conventional threat, cyber warfare is rather new battle field for Pakistani government and people alike. India has all the reasons to use this as a weapon against Pakistan, but more recently Israel has joined hands with Indians in this war against Pakistan.
Propaganda, Cyber espionage, Web vandalism and information gathering are known cyber threats for Pakistani security institutes and government offices. Now there are reports emerging that Indian and Israelis are taking these known cyber threats to next level by using money, talent and technology to defame Pakistan and its nuclear program.
How eagerly Indian wanted to gain an edge in cyber warfare technology is evident from what Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told StartPost; “The Indian Armed Forces are increasingly investing in networked operations, both singly and a joint fashion. We cannot, therefore, afford to be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Information Technology is our country’s known strength and it would be in our interest to leverage this strength in developing a formidable ‘offensive’ and ‘defensive’ cyber warfare capability. Harnessing the gene pool available in academia, private industry and the younger generation of talented individuals is imperative,”
Statement of Indian Naval Chief is a further endorsement of our assessment about Indian designs against Pakistan and its security establishment. Clearly India has offensive cyber warfare plans. Naturally these plans will be against Pakistan (as the history of both the countries proves), although Indian military establishment and political leadership used Chinese threat as an excuse for introducing new war tactics and systems in Subcontinent.
The Indian Army conducted a war game called Divine Matrix in March 2009.
The most interesting aspect of this exercise was the scenario simulated by Indian military in which China launches a nuclear attack on India somewhere in 2017. The purpose of the exercise was to describe that how China will launch a cyber attack before actual nuclear attack to take on India. On the other hand Chinese were astonished by the simulated Chinese nuclear attack on India. “We are surprised by the report. Leaders of China and India had already reached at consensus that the two countries will not pose a threat to each other but rather treat each other as partners.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang expressed his views on Indian cyber warfare exercise.
In reality both China and India have been in negotiations since 2004 to boost their economic trade and cooperation in various other fields including defense. Both countries have also conducted military exercises as well. In the backdrop of all this and renewed cooperation between two countries it is very unlikely China would go for a war and that too a nuclear one whereas Pakistan is the only country against whom India has any possibility to go for a nuclear war over any of multiple disputes like Indian water aggression against Pakistan and Kashmir issue.
Limited cyber skirmishes have already taken place between Indian and Pakistan in 2008 when a group of Indian hackers defaced Pakistani website of ministry of oil and gas, government of Pakistan. Pakistani hackers in retaliation defaced many Indian websites. After these counter cyber attacks now Indians are looking to adopt “joint fashion” for cyber warfare against Pakistan with help of Israel.
According to reports Israel recently established a cyber task force for cyber warfare against Islam and Pakistan, besides harming Palestinian cause. A budget of $ 1,50,000,00 has been also allocated to this force to carry out various digital espionage and information gathering operations from various strategic offices of government of Pakistan.
Breaching network security is one aspect of all this cyber war against Pakistan. In a new development Israel has also setup a huge workforce of writers on internet and is still increasing its strength by appealing more persons to join in. Primary task of this force would be to wage propaganda war against Pakistan and its nuclear weapons and armed forces.
Israelis are doing it since long time. Hebrew websites and magazines have been targeting Pakistan by orchestrating near to impossible scenarios about Pakistan’s nukes to deceive world that these are going to fall in the hands of Al-Qaeda. Israelnationalnews.com, IsraelNN.com, and Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine are few to name among these media outfits where Israelis are spiting their venom against Pakistan.
Israeli government first tested these cyber propaganda tools during operation Cast Lead (brutal military operation in Gaza in 2008) when bloggers, surfers and writers were asked by ministry of foreign affairs of Israel, through www.giyus.org (Give Israel You United Support), to promote words like “holocaust”, “promised land” and “murder of jews” on social networking and blogging websites like Face book, Twitter, MySpace, BlogSpot, wordpress etc. Israeli government went to an extent to give written messages which were to be posted on aforementioned websites as if they were personal responses or views of citizen of any country.
Israeli lobbies in US and UK waged similar agenda against Pakistan’s nuclear program in the past through satellite news channels (like BBC, FOX) and news papers (New York Time, Washington Post). New tactics of using social networking and blogging websites on internet has certainly more probability to shape people’s opinion about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons as unsafe. This campaign was also launched from US and Western media when operation Rah-e-Rast was initiated in Swat and Malakand region. The target in that particular campaign was to defame Pakistani government and security institutions as inept and incapable to save the nation from terrorists.
Israeli cyber operation was resolutely counter by young Palestinian bloggers by posting millions of pictures and footages from GAZA over the internet. These photos and footages revealed evil deeds committed by Israeli forces in Gaza during operation Cast Lead. However these Israeli and Indian cyber evangelists were successful in scaring ordinary masses in and outside Pakistan by posing Taliban threat to taking over Islamabad out of proportion. The real intention behind all this Taliban Hoopla was to tell the world that Pakistani nuclear weapons are about to fall into Taliban’s hand.
Like their Israeli counterpart, Indian government also took part active part in this campaign against Pakistan. Indian premier went on saying that some of Pakistani nuclear installations are already in Taliban control. This further sanctioned scare created by “paid” surfer of internet.
Israel helps India against Pakistan and Indians are also waging this propaganda war against Pakistan but on different axes. India’s current focus, after Pakistan’s security establishment, is to deceive and confuse locals of Pakistan’s Northern Areas where Pakistan is about to build three mega dams to fulfill its needs. Indian think tanks, websites and discussion forums are constantly pointing out that Pakistan is going to build dams in disputed territory in DiaMir, Bonji etc. whereas the matter of fact is India is building dams illegally on Pakistani rivers whereas Pakistani plans are all about Pakistan’s own river.
Apart from all this Cyber espionage, Web vandalism, propaganda enemies of Pakistan are adopting more complex to beat cyber operations like information gathering and equipment disruption. US pressurized Pakistan to take dubious Permissive Action Link boxes to be put on its nuclear program to prevent “unauthorized” detonation of bombs but Pakistan quite sensibly refused these locks which are said to be impossible to beat. This is one example of extent to which Pakistan’s enemies are pushing against its nuclear program in Cyber warfare.
Lethality of cyber warfare become palpable by the fact that till April 2009, pentagon has spent more than 100 million dollars in 6 months to fight against cyber attacks on its different systems. Money spent on propaganda operations are apart from this.
Pakistan must build a dedicated professional force to fight against all Cyber warfare tactics. A special wing inside armed forces must also be raised to counter advanced Cyber threat from Israel, India and US.
PM Gilani urges Muslim world to carve out economic order
Labels: Pakistan TodayISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday urged the Muslim countries to work together to build a strong Islamic intellectual base, carve out an Islamic vision of a political and economic order founded on moral principles, egalitarian values and participate positively in shaping the world.
“This is the demand of our times, and we should not fail,” he said while addressing an Iftar-dinner hosted for the ambassadors and diplomats of the Muslim countries at the Prime Minister house.
The prime minister said, “Indeed, building our inherent strengths and taking our destiny in our own hands was the guarantee for advancing our individual and collective interests in a meaningful way. “Only this will help us seek peace and justice for our struggling brothers - be they in Palestine or Kashmir or any other troubled part of the world. Only this will enable us to build a better future for our coming generations, full of promise and hope,” he added.
He said Pakistan had, therefore, welcomed President Obama’s call from Cairo, for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world based on mutual respect and mutual interest. We believe it was the right way forward.
The prime minister said Pakistan would continue to support all the initiatives aimed at building bridges of trust and understanding. “We will actively promote efforts for inter-faith dialogue,” he added.
He said the vision of our founding father Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah consistently emphasized the imperative of Islamic brotherhood, goodwill and cooperation.
Accordingly, he said the Islamic Ummah had always occupied a place of prominence in Pakistan’s foreign policy. “We supported the struggles of many Muslim states against colonial rule, and actively promoted their right to self-determination. We also made our modest contribution to their post-independence national development efforts,” he added.
The prime minister said Pakistan had been in the vanguard of advancing the ideals and objectives of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). “We continue to espouse Muslim causes around the world. We are equally grateful for the affection, support and solidarity that we have received from our brotherly Muslim countries at every important juncture of Pakistan’s history,” he added.
He said Pakistan deeply appreciated that the Islamic countries had been an indispensable source of support and strength to the people of Pakistan whether it was forging closer political ties, deepening trade and economic relations, promoting Pakistan’s development goals or extending relief assistance after the devastating earthquake of October 2005.
“We are proud of the multifaceted relationships we have developed with our brothers in the Gulf, in the wider Middle Eastern region and through the vast expanse of the African and Asian continents. We wish to comprehensively upgrade these relationships,” he added.
The premier said Pakistan’s major priorities included increased exports, more foreign remittances, greater foreign direct inflows and enhanced market access with Free Trade Agreements as the principal instrument. “We are equally committed to deepening our security and defense ties, expanding educational and cultural cooperation, and strengthening people-to-people contacts,” he added.