Sunni Terrorist Fragments of Unstable Pakistan- November 7, 2016

[Peregrine]

X Posted on the PESW Thread


Cheers

[Peregrine]

X Posted on the Indian Railways Thread.

If Pakistan does not agree to India-Afghanistan Trade and Transit then how will it allow India Access to Iran and Turkey?

Does the Indian Government not remember the wholesale Looting and Destruction of US-NATO Containers transported from Karachi to Afghanistan?

India takes lead to run freight train from Dhaka to Istanbul

Codenamed the ITI-DKD-Y corridor, the container train’s route is scheduled as Dhaka-Kolkata-Delhi-Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul.

Taking a leaf from China’s run to Europe, India is going to showcase its might in freight movement by running a trans-continental container train full of goods from Dhaka to Istanbul, covering a 6,000-km journey across five countries — Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.

Codenamed the ITI-DKD-Y corridor, the container train’s route is scheduled as Dhaka-Kolkata-Delhi-Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul. Eventually, Yangon will also be connected to Dhaka. The missing Tamu-Kalay link in Myanmar is still to be built.

Indian Railways has called South Asian railway heads involved in the project to work out the nitty-gritty at a high-level meeting on March 15-16. Pakistan railway chief Javed Anwar is also being invited. There is one issue with Pakistan that needs to be fixed. While Pakistan allows freight trains and passenger trains from Delhi to Lahore via Attari, it has historically cited security reasons to not allow movement of containers on this route. For the demonstration, Indian officials said, it will not be a problem as it is a one-off run.

What energized the project is that a long missing link of 150 km in Zahedan, in the Baluchestan province of Iran, has now been established, connecting the country to the Pakistan Railway network on the border. So the Trans-Asian Railway Southern Corridor, as it is formally named, under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is good to go all the way to Turkey after certain operational exchange of notes and coordination between the nations concerned, which India is anchoring this month.

“The demonstration run will happen very soon in 2017 and we will sort out all the issues with the countries concerned. It’s a great leap for South Asian regional connectivity in the rail sector. This will also demonstrate to the world that there can be a real, commercial trans-Asian container corridor of this magnitude in the rail sector,” Mohammad Jamshed, Railway Board Member (Traffic), told The Indian Express.

Currently, goods take a long, roundabout route from Ludhiana to Lahore which otherwise are just a few hours apart by rail. The March 15-16 meeting is aimed at discussing some common technical and operational parameters between the railway systems of the countries involved.

So far, in communications between the railway systems, all countries have on paper endorsed the project and have said that the demonstration is technically feasible.

India, on its part, had already sent a high-level team of officers from the Railway ministry and Container Corporation of India late last year to Dhaka on a reconnaissance of the proposed route. It was found that the rail bridge over the Padma river cannot carry the load of heavy freight trains and allows only passenger operations. So it was agreed to keep the demonstration train relatively light, filling it preferably with a cargo of cotton garments.

Past the Dhaka border, there is the inland container depot in India which will service the rail cargo train on its way to Kolkata. From Kolkata to Delhi and then to Attari and Lahore will be smooth sail, officials said.

In January this year, China sent a container train from East ‘China’s Yiwu all the way to London via Germany, covering a distance of 12,000 km and demonstrating that it can be cheaper, even faster mode of freight movement between the Asian giant and countries in Western Europe and all in between.

“In the recent past, countries across the world have realised the potential of carrying out trade through land routes which existed in ancient eras and much is being done to revive the same, the policy document on the project says. The project can provide a new lifeline for trade in South and South West Asia.
Cheers

[kapilrdave]

For what it's worth, an interesting question/answer on Quora.

Do Pakistani acknowledge their Hindu ancestry? Do they think that their great-grandfathers were Hindu?

Imran A, Software Engineer in Adelaide, South Australia
Written 8 Nov 2016
I am from Pakistan and I would like answer your question.

Ordinary non-Sindhi Pakistanis think of Hinduism as something not related to them directly (not necessarily in a bad way; they just think Hinduism is something that is in the neighbouring country). This is because they don’t get to interact with Hindus on day to day basis and who remembers 1000 years old history?

But with Sindhis, it is different. At the moment, most (probably all) Hindus in Pakistan are ethnic Sindhis (while Hindus are 1.6% of overall population of Pakistan, they are about 10% of ethnic Sindhi population, which is sizeable minority of us (I am Sindhi too)). Since Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan are relativley more educated with high social mobility, Muslim Sindhis are more likely to interact with Hindu Sindhis on daily basis in jobs, Universities and life in general. For example, in our Engineering class of 40, there were 5 Hindus (12.5%) and this was considered unusually low because it was higher in other classes. Since most Sindhis have either Hindu friends or Hindu neighbours, we get to think about how we are related to them and hence we DO acknowledge our Hindu heritage and our Hindu forefathers.

Contrary to what your media tells you, we (at least the educated ones) don’t hate Hindus. Some of us like to be friends ONLY with Hindus (believe me, it is true). It was cool on our University campuse to celebrate Holi or take days off on Dipwali. Many of us consider Maharaja Dahar, the king who defended Sindh and subsequently died in the process when Arabs invaded us and forced their religion down our throats, as hero. Many of us consider Mohammad bin Qasim, the leader of Arab invaders, as a very bad guy. Many of us wish, we were still Hindus. Many of us read stories written by Sindhi Hindu authors before partition, which are still on bookshelves and love their perspectives on our society. Did you know that, at the time of partition, one British official observed and wrote in a book (darn it, I tend to forget names) that the Hindus who were leaving Sindh were receiving hugs from very sad Sindhi Muslims, who did not want them to leave; the British fellow considered it an odd behaviour compared to the rest of subcontinent, where there was bloodshed. Bloodshed in Sindh started only when Muslims from India (UP, Bihar etc) arrived and they wanted Hindus to leave so that their homes can be “allotted” to them. And yes, our grandparents were on the side of Hindus. Your media paints all Pakistanis with same broad brush but we are not monlithic people; many of us think differently and believe things went really bad at the end of British Raj.

Finally, just an FYI, in 1951 census, West Pakistan (currently simply Pakistan) had 1.6% Hindu population and East Pakistan (now known as Bangladesh) had 22% Hindu population. I don’t know about Bangladesh but, in 2016, same 1.6% of population is Hindu. We are not driving Hindus out of Pakistan (a mythical meme in India apparently). In fact, many people (at least the educated ones) want Hindus who left Pakistan in 1947 to come back because they realise it is unfair that someone has to leave their 5000 years old home for stupid religious reason. I wish our differences could disappear someday.

[Lilo]

^
Folks frequenting the paki dhaagas,
Please to supplant the word "Ancestry" in context of Pakis with the neologism of "Incestry" henceforth going ahead.

First time I came across this usage by Archan ji in context of a qandeel baloch video being conphused with that of gumrah kaor

ramana ji, sahi pakde hain. The song is also paki so she could be an enlightened moderate from the elite baki incestry.

an example of usage

Paki nanha abdul:Abbajan, are we oph Hindu ancestry ?
Paki abbajan abdul: No my diyar munna, we are descendents of arap fourfathers and have bure paki incestry.

Also request Armenullah to add a brf dictionary entry for both incestry & fourfathers.

[Falijee]

Pakistan circular debt rises to unbelievable levels once again

ISLAMABAD: On February 15, 2017, the total overdue amounts to the power sector, including GENCOs stood at PKR 414 billion.In a statement issued by the Independent Power Producers Advisory Council (IPPAC), approximately PKR 160 billion out of this relates to overdue payments from CPPA-G owed to GENCOs and NTDC while the balance is for IPPs. When, 40% of the debt of 414Rs is overdue, what are the chances of collection is anybody's guess ; time for another "begging bowl" trip abroad

Payments owed to WAPDA for hydel generation are in addition to this. This is despite the oil prices having dropped by more than 50% over the last three years; and this number is steadily rising. So, inspite of all the fancy short term and long term plans and visions set for the country ( for the benefit of the foreign lender ) and the constant trumpeting of the "outstanding performance" of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, it is finding it difficult to meet day to day "normal living expenses" !

These are amounts verified and audited by the relevant departments for electricity already supplied to the system, and are past the payment due dates.

Repeated attempts have been made by IPPAC and its Members to meet the senior officials of the government to resolve the long outstanding, audited and verified, overdue amounts, as well as to address pending policy issues on taxes and outstanding dispute resolutions, all to no avail. IMO, I still agree with the view espoused by a famous Noble Prize author , who stated, 30 years ago, in a best -selling book that Pakistan can be compared to a vast "Criminal Enterprise", where two groups of people do good ; those who have "money" and those who have "sifarish" or "influence". The rest don't count !

PS: In the above case , If you are financially powerful, your "bill" will be paid promptly ; if you bring in "high sifarish", your bill will be paid promptly

[Falijee]

In-Fighting Breaks Out In The Paki Foreign Ministry Over Allocation Of Prized Oversees Postings In DC, Geneva, Hague , Amidst Charges Of Nepotism, Favouritism And Ethnicity

Tug-of-war rocks foreign ministry

SLAMABAD - The tug-of-war between the eligible and the “blue-eyed” officials to grab prized jobs before outgoing Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry vacates his office, has rocked the foreign ministry, The Nation has learnt.Chaudhry, who will fly soon to Washington to take over as Pakistan’s ambassador, had issued some posting orders, which were widely criticised among the officers who saw them as “favouritism”.

Chaudhry had run the Foreign Office in the last few years strictly by his "likes and dislikes," some officials said on condition of anonymity. Bad -Mouthing your boss ?

Hamid Asghar Khan, an officer of “tainted reputation”, who is the son-in-law of columnist Ayaz Amir, has interestingly done all 'A' category postings --- London (twice), and Germany, and intensely-lobbied for last assignment as Pakistan's consular general in Los Angeles.Sources say he is again lobbying to get a prized posting. Can his father -in-law help him

Pakistan ambassador to Brazil Burhanul Islam has his own case as he claims to have been refused promotion to grade-21 for being a Bengali.The disgruntled diplomat wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claiming he was victimised on alleged racial grounds.In his letter, Burhanul Islam said he was a “Bengali” not a “Bihari” who was being denied his rights.The senior diplomat then goes on to say that the 90-year-old Jamaat-e-Islami man executed by Bangladesh was his first cousin and that his family is paying sacrifice till today for Pakistan.Sources, however, said Burhanul Islam did not have an exemplary record especially during his tenure in Frankfurt.The foreign ministry was also abuzz with rumours of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi’s sacking but those reports were never confirmed.

. If , going by all these "juicy gossips" , it is no wonder , that in the absence of a full time Foreign Ministry, Paki Foreign Policy is in a mess, and has not been able to make any headway with the Trump Sarkar in DC

PS: Proves once again, that jobs are not given on merit, but on "sifarish" and nepotisim !

[Peregrine]

Badhaiyan Ji Badhaiyan! Congratulations and Facilitation!

India may not engage with Pakistan in near future

NEW DELHI: For a casual observer, it may seem that a new spring in the air for Indo-Pak relations. India climbed down on the new Saarc secretary general, India and Pakistan exchanged fishermen lodged in prisons and earlier this week, New Delhi softened its declared hostility to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by agreeing to send the Indus Commissioner for a meeting of the Indus Commission in Lahore later this month.

However, it appears terror might still be the deciding factor for India to reboot its ties with Pakistan. Senior government sources say India will monitor terror activity by Pakistan before deciding its next course of action. With the snow set to melt in the upper reaches, India will look for infiltration attempts by Pak-based terrorists and its actions to foment unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

Last year saw some of the worst protests in the Valley where, the sources said, they had detected substantial involvement of the Pakistani establishment. Also last year, India went through terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota, all with Pakistani footprint. Hence, the government is more cautious this year.

However, India doesn't want to keep the silence at the hostility level. Therefore meetings and prisoner exchanges will go on as usual, which will serve to reduce the temperature without both sides having to go in for substantive dialogue.

On the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), India had opposed the World Bank's decision to go through the dispute settlement process using two parallel tracks asked for by both countries. It led an incensed India to threaten to walk out.

Subsequently, the World Bank stopped both, and has gone back to the procedures laid down in the treaty which escalates from commissioners' meeting to a neutral expert to arbitration. In response, India lifted its objection to a meeting of the Indus commissioners in Lahore.

World Bank sources, however, indicated that there is "status quo" between the two sides. In the days after the Uri attack, India decided to "review" the treaty, utilise the eastern rivers fully, with the PM laying down a red line which said "blood and water cannot flow together". On Saturday, India announced resumption of construction of a dam project on the eastern rivers, which had been stalled for over a decade.

Cheers

[arun]

To solve this external funding problem Pakistan should get Sweeter than Honey Iron Brother PRC to fund a new CSF named CPEC Support Fund. Better still since CPEC is claimed to be a Regional Game Changer, regional countries should also be asked fund this new CSF.

External sector reels under unceasing CSF reliance

[SSridhar]

To solve this external funding problem Pakistan should get Sweeter than Honey Iron Brother PRC to fund a new CSF named CPEC Support Fund. Better still since CPEC is claimed to be a Regional Game Changer, regional countries should also be asked fund this new CSF.

arun, brilliant.

Now, wait for sometime before the Pakistanis demand the same. There are Pakistani lurker-beggars here.

[Peregrine]

Khanani group launders billions of dollars: US report

WASHINGTON: A US State Department report released on Friday labelled the Altaf Khanani group as a money laundering organisation and accused it of laundering billions of dollars for organised crime and terrorist outfits.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William R. Brownfield told a briefing in Washington that the State Department had delivered its 32nd International Narcotics Control Strategy Report to Congress on Wednesday. “It is, however, the first time that we are discussing and rolling this report out before the media in nine years,” he added.

In its section on Pakistan, the report notes: “The Altaf Khanani money laundering organisation (Khanani MLO) is based in Pakistan. The group, which was designated a transnational organised crime group by the United States in November 2015, facilitates illicit money movement between, among others, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States, UK, Canada, and Australia.”

Cheers

[Falijee]

Afganistan "Talks Tough" With Pakistan

Afghanistan to airlift citizens if border is not reopened within two days: Ambassador

Afghan Ambassador Omar Zakhilwal on Saturday said Pakistan does not have a justification for the continued closure of crossing points on the Pak-Afghan border, and that his country might send in chartered flights to airlift stranded Afghans in case the border is not reopened soon.In a message posted to his Facebook page, Zakhilwal said he had talked with Pakistan's de facto foreign minister, Sartaj Aziz, to convey that if an opening was not allowed for the return of stranded Afghans within two days, he would ask his government to send chartered flights to lift them.“This, however, would reflect very poorly [for Pakistan],” he added. Inspite of all the "so-called brotherly ties", the days are gone, when Pakistan considered Afghanistan as it's backyard !

The envoy emphasised that the closure of crossing points hurts bilateral trade between the two countries, with Pakistan losing more as a result of the closures.“Pakistan's declining export share in Afghanistan is indicative of that,” Zakhilwal said.
He also said the closure is in direct contradiction to the theme, objectives and messages of the recently-held Economic Cooperation Organisation summit in Islamabad.

The government had decided to seal the Torkham border crossing for an indefinite period on February 16, in the aftermath of a suicide attack at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar which killed 90.The border was ordered closed for all kinds of communication due to 'security concerns'.

[Falijee]

"Daesh" Coming To Pakiland !

Body found with ‘Daesh Al-Bakistan’ written on victim’s dress

Another ploy by the "Deep State" to secure funding ?

[Falijee]

Diplomatic isolation of Pakistan is growing every day ! The latest example is when the Press Attache in DC has to write "rebuttal" to opinion pieces in THE HILL !


Rebuttal: Pakistan is working alongside United States for peace, not manipulating it

By Zoobia Masood, Press Attache, Pakistan Embassy .

We have noticed with keen interest the article ‘Let’s stop being manipulated by Pakistan” by Mr. Christopher Kolenda published in The Hill on 21st February. We welcome the sentiments of all those who emphasize the importance of bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. We are moved by these sentiments since it is Pakistan, more than any other country, that continues to suffer on account violence and instability in Afghanistan for nearly four decades.

Goebbel's propaganda theory of repeating a "lie" so often that it becomes the "truth"

However we would like to draw readers' attention to remarks of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson on 13th February where he expressed disappointed with some of the perception based assertions and insinuations made in U.S. based reports on Afghanistan (soft sell approach?)

Pakistan chose to stand with the international community for a common cause following the tragic attacks of 9/11 and has paid a staggering human and financial cost. This has also been Pakistan's longest war costing over 60,000 fatalities and $118.3 billion in resources. Pakistan alone has lost more soldiers in this fight than the number of soldiers from all the 40 coalition partner countries combined. Pakistan has undertaken this momentous effort, while hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world and operating under the limitation of an unregulated border. This is not the first time, that this "broken record" has been played ![/quote]

Thanks to the remarkable success of our decade long military operations in FATA, especially Operation Zarb-e-Azb and continued law enforcement activities, Pakistan has been successful in destroying and eliminating the command and control structure of terrorist outfits operating from Pakistan-Afghan border. Racial profiling of Pashtuns re-defined as Zarb-e-Azb !

A significant decline in incidence of terrorism in Pakistan is now an empirical reality widely acknowledged by international observers. This success has been made possible only after all the organized terrorist groups were indiscriminately targeted and eliminated, wherever found. Senior U.S. officials and congressional leaders have had the opportunity to personally witness the enormous change in the ground situation on our side of the Pak-Afghan border. Subtle request for more funding

Pakistan has consistently called for a negotiated peace settlement in Afghanistan, which remains the responsibility of all parties to the conflict. Pakistan has also argued strongly against steps and actions that complicate the conflict and result in loss of innocent lives. It has also been highlighted a number of times that Afghan soil should not be used against its neighbors.
Moreover, on a number of occasions in the past, Pakistan and the United States have agreed at the highest level on the criticality of border management and settlement of refugees as fundamental issues in achieving any degree of success in Afghanistan.Sadly, even when there are serious policy debates on the larger issue of borders and refugees in other parts of the world, no serious attention is being given to Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the discussion.

Pakistan has consistently called for a negotiated peace settlement in Afghanistan, which remains the responsibility of all parties to the conflict. Pakistan has also argued strongly against steps and actions that complicate the conflict and result in loss of innocent lives. It has also been highlighted a number of times that Afghan soil should not be used against its neighbors.Moreover, on a number of occasions in the past, Pakistan and the United States have agreed at the highest level on the criticality of border management and settlement of refugees as fundamental issues in achieving any degree of success in Afghanistan.Sadly, even when there are serious policy debates on the larger issue of borders and refugees in other parts of the world, no serious attention is being given to Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the discussion.

So, it is left to the "poor" Press Attache to "repair" the damage already done to Paki- US relations . Her task is "almost impossible" in view of the recent infighting going on in the Paki Foreign Ministry (to get plump oversees assignments ) and the absence of a full time Foreign Minister. And last not the least the "tremendous influence" of the NRI lobby in Massaland

[svenkat]

Amrullah Saleh‏
@AmrullahSaleh2

In this not very covert language ISI tells Afg either surrender to Pak dmands or V will continue 2 support terorism.
Afghanistan needs to abandon 'anti-Pakistan lens': DG ISPR

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor in an interview with a private TV channel on Tuesday called for Afghanistan to abandon its 'anti-Pakistan lens' and devise policies with Pakistan through an 'Afghan lens'.

Amrullah Saleh‏ @AmrullahSaleh2 Feb 20

Pakistan sets a NEW NORMAL in diplomacy by summoning Afg ambassador to GHQ. A reciprocation is now must & what the Afgh people want from NUG

Amrullah Saleh‏ @AmrullahSaleh2 Feb 28
Amrullah Saleh Retweeted 1TVNewsAF
Reciprocated. Pak set a NEW NORMAL & we are into it. Thanks NUG 4 reciprocation.Tet for tat. Closed border means less un-hyinic items.

http://1tvnews.af/en/news/afghanistan/28120-afghan-military-summons-pakistan-ambassador-warns-of-border-clashes

Amrullah Saleh‏ @AmrullahSaleh2 Feb 24

For decades they killed 10ks of Afgh & displaced million in the name of Pashtune rights. Now they do racial profile.

[Falijee]

Inspector killed in encounter with terrorists: CTD officials

One person's "terrorist" is another person's "freedom fighter"
All these "terrorists" ( in Pakiland !) are fighting for the greater glory of Malsi ! Islam is the answer to Pakistan's problems !!!!

[chetak]

Diplomatic isolation of Pakistan is growing every day ! The latest example is when the Press Attache in DC has to write "rebuttal" to opinion pieces in THE HILL !


Rebuttal: Pakistan is working alongside United States for peace, not manipulating it

By Zoobia Masood, Press Attache, Pakistan Embassy .

We have noticed with keen interest the article ‘Let’s stop being manipulated by Pakistan” by Mr. Christopher Kolenda published in The Hill on 21st February. We welcome the sentiments of all those who emphasize the importance of bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. We are moved by these sentiments since it is Pakistan, more than any other country, that continues to suffer on account violence and instability in Afghanistan for nearly four decades.

Goebbel's propaganda theory of repeating a "lie" so often that it becomes the "truth"

However we would like to draw readers' attention to remarks of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson on 13th February where he expressed disappointed with some of the perception based assertions and insinuations made in U.S. based reports on Afghanistan (soft sell approach?)

Pakistan chose to stand with the international community for a common cause following the tragic attacks of 9/11 and has paid a staggering human and financial cost. This has also been Pakistan's longest war costing over 60,000 fatalities and $118.3 billion in resources. Pakistan alone has lost more soldiers in this fight than the number of soldiers from all the 40 coalition partner countries combined. Pakistan has undertaken this momentous effort, while hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world and operating under the limitation of an unregulated border. This is not the first time, that this "broken record" has been played ![/quote][/color]

So, it is left to the "poor" Press Attache to "repair" the damage already done to Paki- US relations . Her task is "almost impossible" in view of the recent infighting going on in the Paki Foreign Ministry (to get plump oversees assignments ) and the absence of a full time Foreign Minister. And last not the least the "tremendous influence" of the NRI lobby in Massaland

there are many khobragades in the Indian MEA too.

Each of them has gobbled up more than their share of resources and still continue to do so. One or more presidential families amongst such privilege grabbers.

[Peregrine]

Country's tallest national flag unfurled at Attari border

AMRITSAR : Nation's biggest tricolor measuring 120 X 80 feet was unfurled Sunday at country's tallest 360 feet long flagpole at Attari international border by cabinet minister Anil Joshi. The flag which costs around Rs 3.5 crore can be seen fluttering high in the sky from Lahore's Anarkali Bazar.

Amritsar Improvement Trust has announced to give contract for the maintenance of nation's tallest flag to a private company.

Cheers

[Falijee]

Mush Cautions Raheel

Musharraf opens up on Raheel Sharif joining Islamic military alliance
The Express Tribune > Pakistan

Former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday said General (retd) Raheel Sharif should think before accepting Saudi Arabia’s offer to lead the Islamic military alliance.“Raheel Sharif served as the army chief of Pakistan and he should think over the issue,” Musharraf said while responding to a question during an interview with a private channel. The question came amid reports that the former army chief had been appointed as the commander of the Saudi-led 39-nation military coalition. This, from a person, who "sweet talked " late King Abdullah in gifting him millions of dollars . And now he has the audacity to criticize his successor, for treating the Saudis- in the name of Islamic unity - as a "cash cow"; what a hypocrite

Pakistan has a large Shia population and it should not be involved in such a serious sectarian matter, the former president maintained. “Pakistan should think 100 times before being involved in any sectarian issue,” he said. But he, as a Syed and a Shia, had no hesitation in ethnically cleansing out his " Shia brothers" in Gilgit Baltistan, when he was in-charge there !

Musharraf denied that the new military leadership isn’t extending him the same support General (retd) Raheel Sharif did. Responding to a question whether a lack of guarantee from the new military leadership was the reason why he wasn’t returning to Pakistan, the former president said, “This military is mine and I am proud of it.” Not answering the question !

Some retired military officers accused the government of launching a deliberate smear campaign against the former army chief. Lt Gen (retd) Amjid Shoaib told The Express Tribune that Gen Raheel’s heading of the coalition was conditional to the Pakistan government’s decision of joining it. So, in all of this , Ganja Sharif seems to be the ultimate winner ! He is still safe and sound on the throne !

[Falijee]

Country's tallest national flag unfurled at Attari border

AMRITSAR : Nation's biggest tricolor measuring 120 X 80 feet was unfurled Sunday at country's tallest 360 feet long flagpole at Attari international border by cabinet minister Anil Joshi. The flag which costs around Rs 3.5 crore can be seen fluttering high in the sky from Lahore's Anarkali Bazar.

Amritsar Improvement Trust has announced to give contract for the maintenance of nation's tallest flag to a private company.

Cheers

PEREGRINE-JI:
High on the agenda of the next Corp's Commander Meeting in Pindi:
- Salvage Enchendee! Do an = =; request "taller than mountain" fliend for "technical assistance and funding" (like the nuclear bum !) to build something taller than "India's tallest flag"

[venug]

Will the ISI spy now get his 72?
Suspected IS Loyalists Execute Pakistani Spy Agency Officer

Police and witnesses in central Pakistan say that suspected Islamic State militants have executed a kidnapped officer of the country’s prime intelligence agency and dropped his chained body on a busy road before driving away. Police in the city of Multan, where the rare incident occurred, say they found the body early Saturday morning and it was dressed like detainees at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Officials identified the slain man as Umar Mobeen Gilani,

[Peregrine]

Country's tallest national flag unfurled at Attari borderAMRITSAR : Nation's biggest tricolor measuring 120 X 80 feet was unfurled Sunday at country's tallest 360 feet long flagpole at Attari international border by cabinet minister Anil Joshi. The flag which costs around Rs 3.5 crore can be seen fluttering high in the sky from Lahore's Anarkali Bazar.

Amritsar Improvement Trust has announced to give contract for the maintenance of nation's tallest flag to a private company.

Cheers

PEREGRINE-JI:
High on the agenda of the next Corp's Commander Meeting in Pindi:
- Salvage Enchendee! Do an = =; request "taller than mountain" fliend for "technical assistance and funding" (like the nuclear bum !) to build something taller than "India's tallest flag"

Falijee Ji :
Cwapistan's DMC Campaign :

1. Apploach Stlongel than Steel, Mole Plecious than Eyes to have Election of their Flag included in CPEC Ploject.

2.Once refused will apploach the Band flom the Land of Sand.

3 If no Joy than Beg flom You Ess A and if still unsuccessful will sue India for Loss of "Sun Shine" due to the Flag's Shadow.

If all fail then declale the Flag as Non-Halal.
Cheers

[Falijee]

Afghanistan will never recognise the Durand Line: Hamid Karzai.

Amid increasing tensions on the western border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai in a tweet on Sunday said Pakistan has "no legal authority to dictate terms on the Durand Line".Karzai's comment followed Pakistan's decision to close the border between the two states for an indefinite period on February 16 after a recent surge in terrorist attacks across the country.The border closure has strained Pak-Afghan relations. Even the Taliban (strategic allies of Pakistan ) agree with Karzai on this important matter !

"While we wish freedom for the people of [the Federally Administered Tribal Areas [Fata] from Frontier Crime Regulation [FCR] and other repressive measures, we remind the Government of Pakistan that Afghanistan hasn't and will not recognize the Durand line," Karzai added in his tweet.

Karzai seemed to echo the sentiment of many of his country's officials, such as Ambassador Omar Zakhilwalal, who in a Facebook post on Saturday said Pakistan does not have a valid reason for the continued closure of crossing points on the Pak-Afghan border.

The Durand Line is the a 2640-kilometre-long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, established in 1893 following an agreement between Sir Mortimer Durand, a representative of British India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan. The agreement expired in 1993 and is therefore not valid !

Afghanistan's national security adviser, Mohammad Haneef Atmar, left for India on Sunday for a three-day-long trip to attend the 19th Asian Security Conference.The conference, titled 'Combating Terrorism: Evolving an Asian Response', is being held in New Delhi, a press released issued by the Afghanistan Office of National Security Council stated.Apart from being the keynote speaker at the event, he will also have bilateral meetins with several Indian security and political officials, such as his Indian counterpart, Ajit Kumar Doval, the national security adviser to the prime minister of India.Atmar will "discuss counter-terrorism measures" as well as strategies to expand "political and security ties between two countries", the statement added.The conference, organised by India's Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), begins on March 6 and concludes March 8. Afghanistan is sending a message to Pakistan that it is an independent country and does not "need" Pakistan to manage it's affairs !

[Falijee]

If Zalmi win final, all team members will shave their heads: Darren Sammy

Praise to Allah, that as yet, no untoward accident/incident has been reported . The " Sammy " should add some further spice to the "entertainment" and "promise" that Muslim members of the team have agreed to shave their mustachios (keep the beard, shave the mustache - "recommended for the pious " by "The Book" )

[habal]

https://youtu.be/xswWjkOnkYY

speaking of flags, the TSPA munna paradropping with paki flag @ the end of the clip trips on his flag as he lands.

[Atmavik]

https://www.dawn.com/news/1318772

So it bigins....

5 Pakistan Army soldiers killed in cross-border militant attack: ISPR

Five soldiers of the Pakistan Army and more than 10 militants were killed in a cross-border terrorist attack on three Pakistani border posts along the Pak-Afghan border area on Sunday night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

[sum]

Police and witnesses in central Pakistan say that suspected Islamic State militants have executed a kidnapped officer of the country’s prime intelligence agency and dropped his chained body on a busy road before driving away. Police in the city of Multan, where the rare incident occurred, say they found the body early Saturday morning and it was dressed like detainees at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Officials identified the slain man as Umar Mobeen Gilani,

Is there any other mainstream spy agency which seems to loose as many officer level cadre ( not non-org assets they cultivated) as the ISI?

[ArmenT]

^
Also request Armenullah to add a brf dictionary entry for both incestry & fourfathers.

Bliss to name the four fathers and can someone please supply a link for the degree of inbreeding among the Pakis (like an authoritative study or some such). Thanks in advance.

[SSridhar]

Terrorism: a technique of war? - Asad Durrani, DAWN

The former ISI Chief justifies terrorism as a justified instrument of war.

[svinayak]

[asgkhan]

Peshawar Zulmi won the PSL trophy. Does anybody care ?

[Peregrine]

Mumbai terror attacks carried out by group based in Pakistan: EX-Pakistan NSA

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani has admitted that 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan. Has Durrani got the Deep State's Sanction or will be suffer the Effects of the Bull & Cutlet Disease?

At the same time, Durrani, however, said the Pakistani government had no role in the Mumbai attacks.

Durrani was speaking at a conference on combating terrorism at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis in Delhi.

"26/11 Mumbai strike, carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan, was a classic trans-border terrorist event", he added.

The former Pakistan NSA also hit out at JUD chief Hafiz Saeed
.
"Hafiz Saeed has no utility, we should act against him," Durrani said.

India had earlier this month asked Pakistan to reinvestigate the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case+ and put on trial Jammat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed who is currently under house arrest in Lahore under the anti-terrorism law.

India had made the fresh demand in a reply to Pakistan's request to send 24 Indian witnesses to record their statements in the case.

The Pakistan government on January 30 had put Saeed and the four leaders of JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat under house arrest in Lahore under the country's anti-terrorism act.

Saeed, who carries a reward of $10 million, was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by court in 2009.

Cheers

[Philip]

Plain truths for Pakistan from a veteran Pak scribe.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1318202/jingoism-and-jihad

Jingoism and jihad
IRFAN HUSAIN — PUBLISHED 3 days ago

GEN Bajwa hands over a list of 76 terrorists based across the border to the Afghan embassy in Islamabad. The Afghan government hands over a list of 85 terrorists it claims are operating from within Pakistan. Our army chief summons Afghan diplomats to GHQ. The Afghan army deputy chief summons our ambassador in Kabul to his office. And on goes the blame game between the two countries, even as thousands are killed by terrorists on both sides of the border.

Pakistan and India play the same game across their border and the LoC. India blames Pakistan for a string of attacks on its soil, while we blame the Indians for financing and arming nationalist insurgents in Balochistan. While all three countries are suffering from terrorism, they are unwilling to cooperate in order to crush this menace.

In any objective evaluation of the situation, it must be admitted that it is Pakistan that has pioneered the use of non-state actors to further its agenda in the region. And, more often than not, it has used faith as a rallying cry.

It launched tribal zealots into Kashmir a few weeks after independence, and the resulting war with India led to an unending deadlock between the two countries. Before a full-fledged war broke out over Kashmir in 1965, plain-clothed Pakistani soldiers infiltrated India-held Kashmir with the intent of fomenting an uprising.

Invoking the ‘good vs bad terrorists’ doctrine has not worked.
In 1971, the military used the militant wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in an attempt to crush the nationalist freedom struggle there. Millions of Bengalis fled across the border, providing India with a reason to attack and defeat our army. A few years later, president Daud indicated that the PPP government was attempting to destabilise his administration in Kabul.

After the Soviet invasion in 1979, Pakistan joined with the US and Saudi Arabia to arm, finance and train jihadists from across the Muslim world. Then known as freedom fighters, these ‘holy warriors’ committed many atrocities that were conveniently overlooked at the time. And when the defeated Red Army pulled out in 1988, thousands of trained jihadists turned their guns on targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India-held Kashmir. A few years later, the Afghan Taliban began their reign of terror, lasting until they were toppled in the aftermath of 9/11 and then allegedly finding refuge in Balochistan. Since then, they have used the province as a platform for attacks against Afghan and US-led coalition forces.

Another group that has created mayhem in Afghanistan is the Haqqani network. Based in Pakistan’s tribal areas, these terrorists have been largely exempt from attacks by Pakistani security forces. The unstated excuse is: they do not pose a threat to Pakistan, so why provoke them? Groups active in IHK are similarly shielded.

But invoking the ‘good versus bad terrorists’ doctrine has led us to where we are. With this backdrop, should we be surprised that India and Afghanistan are paying us back in our own coin?

I have little doubt of Indian involvement in the Balochistan uprising. Why would Indian intelligence not take advantage of local grievances and nationalist aspirations in our biggest and most backward province? And there is solid evidence regarding Indian assistance for the MQM. Again, most governments would fish in the troubled waters of a hostile neighbour’s biggest city.

Afghanistan, too, has permitted a number of anti-Pakistan jihadist groups to operate from its soil. But in all fairness, it doesn’t control large swathes of the territory along our border. This, of course, was equally true of Pakistan until the security establishment got serious about clearing Fata of the hydra-headed monsters it had itself created.

Most bordering states that have suffered from years of terrorist violence would muster up the maturity to put political differences aside and cooperate in excising this cancer. Sadly, successive governments in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have been too weak and self-serving to take the hard decisions needed to sit down and work together.

The basic problem lies in Pakistan, where three generations of generals have been trained to see the world through Kashmir-tinted glasses. The obsession with the perceived threat from India has blinded them to other security concerns. After having seen the difficulty of crushing rural-based jihadists in ungoverned areas where they have safe havens, they have still been unable to draw the obvious conclusion.

For its part, India has been less than helpful. By fielding around 20 army divisions on our border, it has ensured that it poses an existentialist threat to us, thereby forcing the Pakistan Army to respond. Also, the worst nightmare for our military planners is encirclement by both our neighbours.

But overcoming this threat calls for better relations with Afghanistan. This cannot be achieved by allowing the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network sanctuary in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2017

ps;incidentally.most comments on the piece have been applauded by readers ,one saying that for "20 yrs",the world has know of this.

[SSridhar]

Mumbai terror attacks carried out by group based in Pakistan: EX-Pakistan NSA

Peregrine ji, if one recalls, the then NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani was dismissed for accepting to TimesNow that Kasab was a Pakistani national when the rest of Pakistan was in denial. Nawaz Sharif started off promisingly at that time by agreeing with Durrani but soon changed his mind.

Anyway, the 26/11 led to a series of incidents in Pakistan which we may forget after a lapse of eight years.

In the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, the ISI told a select gathering of foreign correspondents in Islamabad that the attack was a drama enacted by India to distract the world of ‘Hindu extremism’. The WikiLeaks exposure later showed how Nawaz Sharif himself, who was unambiguous earlier about the attackers being Pakistanis, changed his stance later to suit the mood of the Pakistani masses who were in a denial following disinformation campaign by the media and the State itself.

According to the book, Obama's War, written by investigative American journalist Bob Woodward, the then Pakistani ISI Chief, Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha had admitted before his CIA counterpart Gen. Michael Hayden that “the terror strikes had ISI links [retired Pakistani army officers and retired intelligence officers] but claimed it was not an ‘authorized’ operation and carried out by ‘rogue’ elements”. The then U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice in her memoirs, No Higher Honor: My Years in Washington, echoed exactly similarly. Above all, the then CIA Chief, Gen. Hayden himself in his autobiography, Playing to The Edge, has recalled Gen. Shuja Pasha’s admission. The then Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, also confirms this in his book, India Versus Pakistan: Why Can’t We be Just Friends?, that after the meeting, Gen. Shuja Pasha visited Mr. Haqqani’s residence when he confided in him “Log hamaray thay, operation hamara nahin thha’.

In an article in DAWN on August 3, 2015, the former Director General of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, who headed the team that probed the 26/11 Mumbai attacks wrote, “Pakistan has to deal with the Mumbai mayhem, planned and launched from its soil. This requires facing the truth and admitting mistakes. The entire state security apparatus must ensure that the perpetrators and masterminds of the ghastly terror attacks are brought to justice. The case has lingered on for far too long. Dilatory tactics by the defendants, frequent change of trial judges, and assassination of the case prosecutor as well as retracting from original testimony by some key witnesses have been serious setbacks for the prosecutors.”

Pakistan proved its bankruptcy as a worthy nation state when its Foreign Minister openly admitted that after the 26/11 Mumbai attack in circa 2008, it pledged its foreign policy to China allowing it to negotiate anything with India on its behalf.

David Coleman Headley, the triple agent, confessed under oath, both in the US and later in a Mumbai court in February 2016, that the LeT and the ISI operated as one unit and every decision by LeT was taken in consultation with the ISI. While Sajid Mir (a Major from the Pakistani Army on secondment to LeT) and Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi (Overall Operational Commander of LeT) were his handlers from the LeT side, Major Iqbal handled him from the side of the ISI. The arrest and deportation from Saudi Arabia on June 21, 2012 of the Indian national Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal for his involvement in the 26/11 attacks, resulted in corroboration of Headley’s testimony and revealed also more information. This led to the Indian Home Minister, P.Chidambaram, from contending for the first time that state-actors were involved in the 26/11 act.

A former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Shaharyar Khan, no friend of India, admitted that ISI ‘might have been’ involved in 26/11 Mumbai urban warfare after a plethora of information linking the ISI to the LeT surfaced in the USA. Finally, after eight months after the the 26/11 Mumbai incident, Pakistan’s Home Minister, Mr. Rehman Malik, openly told his countrymen that LeT was involved in the attack in Mumbai and revealed the names of those Pakistanis who were involved in planning, training, funding etc. In a Congressional Hearing in the US House panel on South Asia entitled, “Bad Company: Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Islamist Militancy in Pakistan”, the Chairman of the South Asia sub-panel, Congressman Gary Ackerman charged the Pakistani Army for paying compensation to the families of the dead terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26/11/2008.

In mid-November, 2011, an unsigned memo written purportedly by the Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, on behalf of the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in the aftermath of the May 2 Abbottabad operation killing Osama bin Laden, to the US Chief of Staff, Adm. Mullen, surfaced in which the Ambassador was seen requesting the US Army to intervene to stop a military coup in his country after the fallout of the US raid at Abbottabad in May, 2011 to kill Osama bin Laden. The memo also promised six offers to the US icluding the one to ‘abandon the policies that Pakistan has pursued till date vis-à-vis terrorism’ against both India and Afghanistan even promising to hand-over 26/11 Mumbai terrorists to India. An American citizen of Pakistani descent, Mansoor Ijaz, was supposed to have handed over the memo to the US National Security Adviser. Both Adm. Mullen and CIA Chief Hayden vouched for the receipt of the memo. An angered Pakistani Army chief demanded the dismissal of Hussain Haqqani leading to the appointment of the Army-approved Ms. Sherry Rehman as the new Ambassador to the US. This ‘Memogate’ caused so much fuore in Pakistan that the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, temporarily left Pakistan to the UAE feigning medical problems.

Writing in Asian Times, noted Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad described how under the direct control of the then ISI Chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, terrorists were trained for the Mumbai attack and how later the training was carried forward under his successor, Gen. Nadeem Taj. It was in November, 2009 that the Prime Minister Gilani, referring to the terrorism policy of Musharraf, said that he was “running with the hares and hunting with the hounds”

[Peregrine]

Mumbai terror attacks carried out by group based in Pakistan: EX-Pakistan NSA

Peregrine ji, if one recalls, the then NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani was dismissed for accepting to TimesNow that Kasab was a Pakistani national when the rest of Pakistan was in denial. Nawaz Sharif started off promisingly at that time by agreeing with Durrani but soon changed his mind.

SSridhar Ji :

Many thanks for the above detailed explanation.

But, for the Lutyen Sicklur Crowd Cwapistan might have accepted its perfidy and MSA & Co's continuous demand for Interrupted and Uninterruptible Dialogue Demand with Cwapistan - IMO - it (Cwapis) might have made amends by eschewing further Terrorism in India.

Anyway the Beat Goes On :

Five soldiers killed in militant attack along Pak-Afghan border: ISPR

Five soldiers of the Pakistan Army and more than 10 suspected militants were reportedly killed in a cross-border "terrorist attack" on three Pakistani border posts along the Pak-Afghan border area on Sunday night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Despite heavy military presence on both sides of the border, cross-border movements of militants (in both ways) have been a major area of concern.

Cheers

[JohnTitor]

AMRITSAR : Nation's biggest tricolor measuring 120 X 80 feet was unfurled Sunday at country's tallest 360 feet long flagpole at Attari international border by cabinet minister Anil Joshi. The flag which costs around Rs 3.5 crore can be seen fluttering high in the sky from Lahore's Anarkali Bazar.

Amritsar Improvement Trust has announced to give contract for the maintenance of nation's tallest flag to a private company.

Here is the video of the above, though the title is misleading. The largest flag ever flown is a mexican flag

[Atmavik]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 497628.cms

'Sort Afghan mess or Russia will, Pakistan army told US': Pak source to The Telegraph

someone please tell the pukis that the cold war ended in 1991.

[Prem]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1347753/pa ... espionage/
Pakistan claims India's tallest flag an instrument for 'espionage'

Pakistan has raised concerns over India’s tallest ever flag being as an instrument for ‘espionage’, according to The Independent.
The flag, which can be seen in Lahore, was erected at the Attari border and is 110 metres high.This has prompted Islamabad to accuse New Dehli of violating international treaties.Pakistan lodged a complaint to the Border Security Force and has raised suspicions that hidden cameras may be installed on the flag pole for spying purposes.The country has asked New Delhi to move the flag at a further distance so it is no longer visible from Lahore, according to India Times.Whereas, Indian authorities maintain the 200-metre distance from the border is far enough that they have not violated any laws.“It is our national flag and nobody can stop us from hoisting it on our soil,” Anil Joshi, a minister in the Punjab government, told India Today.The flag is 110 metres long, 24 metres wide, weighs 55 tonnes and is expected to become a major tourist attraction at the Attari-Wagah border.New Delhi’s original plan was to fly the flag on 26 January but this was delayed due to technical issues.

[Peregrine]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1347753/pa ... espionage/
Pakistan claims India's tallest flag an instrument for 'espionage'

Pakistan has raised concerns over India’s tallest ever flag being as an instrument for ‘espionage’, according to The Independent.
The flag, which can be seen in Lahore, was erected at the Attari border and is 110 metres high.This has prompted Islamabad to accuse New Dehli of violating international treaties.Pakistan lodged a complaint to the Border Security Force and has raised suspicions that hidden cameras may be installed on the flag pole for spying purposes.The country has asked New Delhi to move the flag at a further distance so it is no longer visible from Lahore, according to India Times.Whereas, Indian authorities maintain the 200-metre distance from the border is far enough that they have not violated any laws.“It is our national flag and nobody can stop us from hoisting it on our soil,” Anil Joshi, a minister in the Punjab government, told India Today.The flag is 110 metres long, 24 metres wide, weighs 55 tonnes and is expected to become a major tourist attraction at the Attari-Wagah border.New Delhi’s original plan was to fly the flag on 26 January but this was delayed due to technical issues.

Prem Ji :

Surely the Size of the Indian Flag stated as The flag is 110 metres long, 24 metres wide is wrong. The Indian Flag Dimensions are Length : Breadth :: 1.5 : 1 i.e. Length is One and a Half times the Breadth.

Just can't trust the Jehidi Terrorist Cwapistanis.

Cheers

[venug]

Saar, imagine this: In Lahore, some ISI abdul looks at the flag and thinks RAW is watching and doesnt even piss fearing evil India is taking pictures.

[Prem]

Saar, imagine this: In Lahore, some ISI abdul looks at the flag and thinks RAW is watching and doesnt even piss fearing evil India is taking pictures.

The Israeli cameras on the flag pole can see through the walls. No place is safe in Lahore. Some naughty Indians might use these cameras to do live streaming of Lahori women doing their daily duties at their homes.