Fifteen Pakistani soldiers have been abducted after dozens of militants attacked a paramilitary fort in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
If you remember the inside source I mentioned during Abortabad raid, there is incriminating evidence that AQK used a Pakistani Army C130 to ship some nuklear equipment to Hindustan.Singha wrote:so shouldnt Xerox Khan be hanged for high treason for passing paki secrets to india?
or should he be rewarded for earning forex to help the pakonomy?
seriously, I think its possible we purchased stuff from him to find out the level of tech china had passed on to pak/paks had stolen from urenco...
Seriously speaking: Indian uranium enrichment efforts are not for bums, they are for propulsion in certain class of boats which will carry the bums. India has experimented (one of the Shakthi shots) with U-based bums, but that U was U-233 obtained by irradiating thorium and ergo *chemically* separated from thorium. (We expect to have a pile of U-233 after the 3 stage program has advanced more).RCase wrote: If India had proven a plutonium based weapon, then why would they be wasting their efforts with inferior technology? I am surprised that Pollack doesn't see that.
And the article on which the above is based:Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling SCAF, worked as a military attache in Pakistan, and has made no secret of his admiration for civil-military relationship there. In Pakistan, he believes, politics is the job of politicians but the military maintains the right to change the power equation whenever it wants.....
....US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson is also experienced in Pakistani affairs, following years of work there at a time when political tensions between the two countries ― in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan ― were at their peak.
Patterson is prepared to implement a similar plan in Egypt ― a currently unstable country that has important military and religious waves that need to be tamed to incorporate US interests into their agendas. Having successfully led a similar process in Pakistan, Patterson is the right woman for an Egypt that is transforming into another Pakistan, with the rise of the Salafi-led Nour and the Muslim Brotherhood-led Freedom and Justice parties to power.
Pakistani forces were "unusually accurate"
He said a joint patrol of 120 Afghan and American Special Operations soldiers had come under Pakistani fire as it was entering an Afghan village, endangering Afghan civilians as well as the soldiers, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The report came as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and NATO said in their investigations that mistakes were made by both the US and Pakistani forces.
In a briefing, the Pentagon said that fire from the Pakistani military posts against the US-led NATO forces was the "catalyst of the tragedy" last month that led to the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers.
The NYT, in its report, quoted the unnamed American officer as saying "he believed that the Pakistanis had used night-vision technology {yup, the Amrikhan-supplied ones} because their shooting was unusually accurate, even though there were no casualties."
The paper said that this "important detail", which was not disclosed at the Pentagon briefing, is likely to "further aggravate" US relations with Islamabad.
Two crucial findings of the inquiry report - that the Pakistanis fired first at the joint Afghan-American patrol and that they kept firing even after the Americans tried to warn them that they were shooting at allied troops -- are "likely to further anger Pakistan, and plunge the already tattered relationship between the US and Pakistan to new depths," the paper said.
Providing a chronology of the events of November 26, Brigadier General Stephen Clark of the Air Force, who conducted the inquiry, said the US-led patrol had planned to raid a village about one mile inside Afghanistan's Kunar province near the Pakistani tribal area of Mohmand.
As the patrol hiked up steep "goat trails" on a moonless night, it came under "heavy machine-gun" fire from the ridge above close to midnight on November 25.
However, the Pakistanis continued shooting and the AC-130 gunship opened fire for six minutes starting at 11:24 pm. "That strike was set in motion when ground commanders believed they had been told no Pakistani troops were in the area. In fact, NATO was still checking," the paper said.
Detailing the findings of the investigation, the Defence Department said "inadequate coordination by US and Pakistani military officers" and "incorrect mapping information" that NATO had provided to the Pakistani authorities led to a chain of errors that resulted in the debacle.
Clark said the mistake that the Pakistanis made was not to inform NATO that they had established the border posts, which had been up for about three months. Pakistan refutes this claim.
The joint patrol resumed its mission in the village and seized one of the largest caches of weapons in Kunar Province this year, along with a bomb-making factory, the American officer said. {This is the heart of the matter - the pakis were trying to protect their peaceful ammunition depot in Afghanistan}
The Pentagon did not apologise for the action as Pakistan has demanded.
Pakistan had responded angrily to the attack by closing all NATO supply routes and forcing the US to vacate Shamsi airbase, used by CIA-operated drones. Pakistan also boycotted the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan in protest against the airstrike
The investigation said the AC-130 and Apache helicopter gunships resumed firing on "rudimentary bunkers" from 11:44 pm until midnight.
About the same time, Pakistani officials called NATO saying their outposts were under attack. The NATO liaison gave the Pakistani army only a general location of the airstrike targets, and a "wrong one at that because he had incorrectly configured his digital map."
American officials said the first allied forces' mistake was that Pakistan was not informed about the patrol by NATO and so the Pakistani soldiers were not expecting allied forces in the area. After the allied ground forces came under fire, the Americans tried to inform the Pakistanis that they were shooting at US forces.
"There was no direct verbal communication, but an AC-130 gunship fired flares and an F-15E fighter jet made a deafening, 600-mile-per-hour low-level pass in an effort to signal who they were," the NYT report said. {The pakis were tuned to Masulana Diesel's FM station and could not hear the kaffir plane.}
ISLAMABAD – Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Friday pledged to continue supporting democracy, reiterating the military was not planning a takeover.The Army Chief was speaking in Mohmand Agency where two dozen Pakistani soldiers were killed in November 26 NATO airstrikes. An ISPR statement quoted General Kayani as telling the troops that the military will continue to support democracy in the country and the talk about army planning a takeover was a mere ‘speculation’.His comments came a day after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani spoke of a conspiracy, in a clear reference to the Army.The COAS ‘strongly dispelled the speculation of any military takeover’, the statement said and added the rumours were ‘misleading and being used as a bogey to divert the focus from the real issues’.The statement did not elaborate what the real issues were. Kayani emphasised that the issues of national security need to be considered on merit alone. “He concluded by saying that irrespective of all other considerations, there can be no compromise on national security.He appreciated the successes achieved under trying environment and the sacrifices made in the process. “No one can put a price tag on the sacred blood of those who have sacrificed their lives for the nation,” Kayani said in a firm tone. He added: “The men and women of Pakistan Army are performing their duty of defending Pakistan in accordance with the oath they took. They will continue to do so with the support and prayers of their countrymen, regardless of the cost.”
Article by C. Christine Fair in Foreign Policy gets published in of all places the virulently Anti-American Pakistani newspaper The Nation:abhishek_sharma wrote:Obama Should Apologize: BY C. CHRISTINE FAIR
Pakistan, China sign $700m agreements
…………………. The Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement on Additional Financing for Improvement of KKH ($90 million) was also signed by Wajid Rana and Li Jinzao. …………….
The Loan Agreement on Provision of $259 million Preferential Buyer’s Credit for KKH (Karakorum Highway) Realignment at Attabad between EAD and the EXIM Bank of China was also signed by Wajid Rana and Sun Ping. ………………..
OT but hangu is the gujarati slang for defecation .
Child among four hurt in Hangu clinic blast
sorry could not resist..Was this issue discussed in SeS and Thimpu?Pronouncing the order on Friday, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala came down heavily on the Union government for not making “sincere efforts” for the release of the PoWs and said Pakistan has not complied with the 1972 Simla Agreement. The confinement of the 54 PoWs is nothing but violation of their human rights, the court said.
linkSuicide attack kills six troops in Pakistan
A suicide car bomb attack in northwest Pakistan killed six soldiers and wounded about a dozen others on Saturday, police said.
The attack took place in Bannu city where the bomber targeted the camp office of the paramilitary Frontier Corps troops, who are deployed in militant-infested North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.
...
Hundreds of Taliban militants, disguised in FC uniform and armed with sophisticated weapons, overran a Frontier Corps fort in Mullazai area of Tank early on Friday morning.
..
Six soldiers managed to hide in nearby bushes.
Worse was to follow a few years later when veteran Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar, later to be a member of the Rajya Sabha, scored a worldwide scoop by securing an exclusive interview with Khan at his Islamabad home. As Khan's wife Henny served tea, cake, and biscuits to the two men, Khan confirmed the gist of my earlier investigation, namely that Pakistan was engaged in a massive clandestine effort to become the world's next nuclear power.
Nayar's interview was published in The Observer in 1987, alongside my analysis of how Pakistan was now a "threshold" nuclear power.
) It is not even their military culture to take back their fallen soldiers!!Gen Abbas expressed surprise and frustration that the US refused to apologise for the deaths of the soldiers, something many Pakistanis have demanded. He rejected an American offer to pay compensation to the victims` families, saying the army has its own welfare system.
`Nobody is interested in compensation,` he said. `It is not in our military culture to take money for a fallen soldier. It is abhorred. We will take care of our own,` he said.
Wish one of the uniformed jihadis at the post had captured this on his cellphone and put it on youtube before meeting his 72..The investigation said the AC-130 and Apache helicopter gunships resumed firing on "rudimentary bunkers" from 11:44 pm until midnight.
...........
"There was no direct verbal communication, but an AC-130 gunship fired flares and an F-15E fighter jet made a deafening, 600-mile-per-hour low-level pass in an effort to signal who they were," the NYT report said.
I do not expect this to have been discussed. Did not the Generalissimo conduct an enquiry in 2006 and conclude that no Indian prisoners were there in Pakistani jails ? Did he also not say solemnly that a certain Mr. Osama bin Laden was 400% not there in Pakistan and also a certain Mr. Keskar was not there in Pakistan too 200%, without batting an eyelid ?abhishek_sharma wrote:Move UN court to free PoWs: HC
Was this issue discussed in SeS and Thimpu?
But given his views on Pakistan and why would a party promote him and ask their MLA's to vote for him.JE Menon wrote:Aditya_V
>>Only in our country will MLA's elect someone to Rajya Sabha for partying with a man who supposedly helped the enemy get a bomb which has been used as security for terrorists to kill thousands of Indian citizens.
While this fellow Nayyar deserves no kudos for anything, due to his utter inability to think straight on India-Pakistan issues at least, the MLAs must not be unfairly blamed. There is no indication that they put him in the Rajya Sabha because of his interview with AQK or for that matter even because of his views on Pakistan.
I think he may have been a nominated member to Rajya Sabha. Do not need MLAs to vote for that. I believe he was also appointed as a high commissioner to UK.Aditya_V wrote:But given his views on Pakistan and why would a party promote him and ask their MLA's to vote for him.
Pakistan's minority Hindus protested outside Balochistan provincial assembly in Quetta against increasing incidents of abduction of community members for ransom in the province, close on the heels of a young trader's murder after his family failed to pay money to his kidnappers.
The Hindus staged the protest yesterday after marching through different parts of the city, a month after organising similar rallies in Sindh following the killing of three Hindu doctors in Shikarpur district there.
"We are fed up with the increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom of our community members and the shameful thing is the authorities don't cooperate or listen to our woes," Mohan Chand, a member of the local Hindu Panchayat, said.
The protesters in the city, including children, carried placards and banners inscribed with slogans demanding protection from criminals.
The Hindus' protest in Balochistan came after the killing of Ravi Kumar, a young trader whose bullet-riddled body was found in Quetta after his family failed to pay the ransom money to his abductors.
The members of the Hindu community raised slogans against the government for its failure to protect the minority communities.
Provincial Minister for Minorities Basant Lal Gulshan and Minister for Revenue Zamurkh Khan Achakzai addressed the protesting Hindus and tried to pacify them.
Achakzai said the law enforcing agencies were constantly striving against the kidnapping gangs operating in Quetta and other parts of the province.
"Police have booked many suspects and also carrying out raids in different localities, including Saryab and Pashtunabad areas of Quetta. Soon, the criminals will be brought to book," he ensured.
Pakistani youth is entangled in just one question: Who am I?
Am I a man of the Indus Valley, one of the earliest civilizations? I might be a Dravidian, but not an Aryan or Mongol as they were just invaders. I am surely not British; though I always had a longing to be one. Not knowing much about what we have been through as a civilisation is one of the reasons we still haven’t been able to find ourselves. This confusion regarding our identity will remain until we make an effort to find out what our shared history and culture is. Who we are today, and what our future will be can only be defined by our past. The key problem that we all face today is a result of our poor knowledge regarding our history. We insult our heritage time and time again, believing that the only way to move forward is to erase and disown our past. We live a caged life with no sense of independence. We feel righteous by demeaning our fellow Pakistanis over their varying religious beliefs and backgrounds. We no longer stand united as a nation and are now divided amongst ourselves in different sects. Instead of finding common ground between ourselves, we look for the differences in each one of us and indulge ourselves in endless fights that only worsen our current state. Magnificent buildings that are chroniclers of the past generations and speak of a life lived, rich both historically and culturally, stand in a devastated condition today. Instead of making an effort to save what is left of our historic fabric, we make every effort to wipe them off the face of this planet.
We have travelled the ill-fated journey so far that we have forgotten our history, and are incapable of recognising our heroes and listening to their awakening voice. We await an angel to disenchant us from bewilderment. The angel had already arrived ages ago and even today his dream is continuously whispering to awake the Pakistani youth.
Allama Iqbal dreamt for the youth to become a Shaheen - Eagle, the king of birds. Iqbal loved this bird for its instinctive bravery, egotism, love for freedom, and struggle for living. Sadly, today we as a nation lack such qualities.
Our identity lies in the knowledge of our land and its history. Only then will we realise the significance of this land and move a step towards recognising our true self.
But we must keep his memory alive hain?Gerard wrote:Photochor is still alive? I am most disappointed in the mujahids from the land of the pure.
As I keep reminding you guys, what TSP wants from US is not just compensation, but to be treated as a fellow TFTA, way superior to those smelly SDRE cow-worshipping cowards next door, and as a fellow TFTA, talk about ways and means to help TSP become lord of the subcontinent as the white Moghuls (William Darlymple's phrase) once did. In other words, US must treat TSP as an honorary member of NATO. Instead all US comes up with is condescending compensation.chetak wrote:US compensation offer rejected: Pak Army did not fire first: ISPR
Gen Abbas expressed surprise and frustration that the US refused to apologise for the deaths of the soldiers, something many Pakistanis have demanded. He rejected an American offer to pay compensation to the victims` families, saying the army has its own welfare system.