Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - Aug 21, 2013

[wig]

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) former General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps has authored an article on Gen R Sharif, PA. Lt Gen Hasnain(R) is a Fellow of the Royal College of Defence Studies, London

General Raheel Sharif, as a protégé of Gen Parvez Musharraf, has a military pedigree many soldiers would envy. As a fellow of the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies, London, he is in the exalted company of his mentor.

Media reports ascribe to him the thinking behind Pakistan’s doctrinal aspects of countering India’s pro-active strategy. While being a great professional citation, this is hardly likely even if he is considered an expert at defensive, and not offensive, warfare because Pakistan’s reaction of moving some of its formations to strategically more viable locations was thought through well before General Sharif rose to the level of a Corps Commander (30 Corps, Gujranwala).

Hamid Hussain’s assessment that General Sharif “is probably not suited to lead an army engaged in a war” needs to be evaluated more comprehensively. Study of history belies the assumption that the body language of senior military leaders and their appearance can lead to definitive deductions about their military intellect, translation into ground execution and leadership skills under duress and stress.

Of Pakistan’s senior leadership it can authoritatively be said that it is outstandingly wily and innovative at ‘conflict initiation’ but astonishingly unprofessional at taking the intent and aim to its military conclusion as part of ‘conflict termination’. This has been borne out in the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict, the actions in East Pakistan in 1971, in the operational content of Exercise Zarb-e-Momin in 1990, the Kargil misadventure in 1999 and in the recent exchanges on the LoC in Poonch, Mendhar and Keran.

None of these events led to any positive gains for Pakistan. In fact, the only decision which led to a possibly positive outcome was President Musharraf’s mutual initiative with the India to bring about ceasefire on the LoC on November 26, 2003, a decision which had far-reaching implications for both armies. Will General Sharif show similar cerebral capability and ‘soft’ approach towards the LoC to enable the task at hand on the more difficult western and internal security fronts, which are wrenching Pakistan apart? In fact, the most important question is how General Sharif will view the Jammu & Kashmir dynamics.

Will it be bravado at the LoC to display an offensive personality in charge? The negative spinoff of any such machismo will be an immediate effect on Nawaz Sharif’s declared intent of treading the peace path with India. Secondly, Pakistan’s current penchant with filling the Valley and Jammu region with infiltrated terrorists to retain options in calibrating the proxy war may well tempt General Sharif to project an offensive character. A reversal of policy is least likely especially when there is a change of command.

With Pakistan’s supposed perception that nothing major is likely on the diplomatic front over the next six months the situation points towards Mr Sharif giving his new army chief time and space to settle, even at the cost of a few flare-ups on the LoC. Although Mr Sharif has had negative experience with his chiefs, it is unlikely he will sully the internal military reputation of the new chief by placing unreasonable controls on him. We are therefore unlikely to see any major change in the policy on Jammu and Kashmir; only time and our response at the LoC will dictate which way the situation will head.

The Indian establishment needs to ensure that traditional assumptions of winter being a period of stability on the LoC are put at rest. The Pakistan defence establishment has been known for its innovations in conflict initiation. Whatever the personality of General Sharif, the dynamics of 2014 will force him to be aggressive on Kashmir. He may be forced by the hardliners to aid and abet the current Kashmir policy.

Some would expect that a personal loss in the form of his elder brother in a battle with the Indian Army in 1971 may have created in General Sharif a latent antipathy against India and this would be an opportunity for revenge. His credentials do not appear to suggest that. General Sharif is likely to think through any initiative.

The label of being less offensive possibly appears due to his track record of appointments and being an Infantryman. Flamboyant commanders are presumed to be black uniformed (Armoured Corps or Special Forces) with a record of commanding units and formations aggressively on the LoC, which General Sharif lacks. Possibly, PM Nawaz Sharif was advised on this and he deliberately chose to have a stable conformist. Infantrymen may not carry flamboyance, but it needs to be remembered that aggression comes naturally to them. On the Indian side the majority of iconic military leaders, Cariappa, Manekshaw and Aurora were all Infantrymen.

Predicting anything about Pakistan is fraught with danger, most of all the panning of personality of its military leaders. However, on balance, General Sharif’s tenure needs to lend stability in the approaching difficult and challenging years of the security scenario in the sub-continent. His politico-military compulsions of keeping J&K on the simmer (not boil) have to be assessed. He is unlikely to kowtow with radical elements beyond current levels knowing that tactical gains will not translate into strategic victory. Lastly, the Indian establishment needs to carefully evaluate whether General Sharif is the man to trust. In short, it is a situation where there are shades and shades of grey in which a black and white mind would only spell paralysis.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131201/edit.htm#1

[SSridhar]

In Pakistani Army, no Chief can afford to be 'pragmatic' with respect to India, even if he wishes to be so, and yet carry along his corps commanders with him. We have to remember that the Pakistani Army has transitioned from being a 'colonial Army' to a 'national Army' to a 'transnational Army' (courtesy, Farzana Shaikh). The 'Iman, Tawqah, Jihad-fi-Sabilillah' is no idle talk as the Generals truly believe in the motto, just like any other citizen of their country. Such an expansion in the role of the Pakistani Army, and hence the nation-state itself, was probably needed to explain away the loss of over half of the nation in 1971 and to take solace in wider role that Pakistan was expected to play henceforth on the world stage.

Unlike what the article fervently hopes that the new General may not "kowtow with radical elements beyond current levels" is flawed for two reasons. The first and foremost is that by no stretch of our tolerance and dignity is the current level of violence by radical elements against India acceptable to us. This is truly shameful that we have come to accept the existing situation of jihad and terrorism from across the border and would be happier to see it not escalate and even assume that such a non-escalation is a positive turn of events in relationship with Pakistan. A touchstone of the General's approach towards us would be to wait and watch how he treats the LeT and Hafeez Sayeed. The linkages among the various terrorist tanzeems and the Pakistani Army are so complex and interwoven that it is simply impossible to cut the relationship. As the denouement in Afghan approaches, this relationship will only grow stronger. Pakistan has not forsaken its twin doctrines of strategic depth in Afghanistan and of inflicting a thousand cuts to bleed India to death. The thousand cuts cannot be dealt by the Pakistani Army and it needs the jihadi terrorists. That's why it is doing everything to further its doctrines as evidenced by its protection of the Kandahari Shura, the Haqqani group, the holding back of Baradar, its insistence of a primary role in Afghan political games to foist Islamabad-pasand rulers in Kabul and more than all these demanding the total exclusion of India from Afghanistan.

The second is that if the General does not 'kowtow' he will be wajib-ul-qitl the next moment. As the principal staff officer of two Generals, he knows exactly what happened. He would not have been selected to that post if he had not been part of the usual loop. The fallacy of expecting a better turn of events from the new General stems from what the above article mistakenly states, namely, "Nawaz Sharif’s declared intent of treading the peace path with India". The rule of the civilian leaders caused the greatest damage for India in terms of terror. These civilian leaders maintained a very close rapport with some of the most dangerous terror tanzeems. The accommodation between Ms. Bhutto and the Sipah-e-Saheba-Pakistan (SSP) in c.1993 or between Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and SSP in c. 2008 and later in c. 2010 as well as the defiant budgetary support his government in the Punjab has been giving to JuD are cases in point.

[SSridhar]

TSP sees 8-fold increase in HIV in 11 years - DAWN

[Brad Goodman]

^^^^^

What
I thought khatna was ijjlamic answer to all STD. Mo had scientifically found out panacea for all the sexual urges of momeen

[CRamS]

Man oh Man, my blood boils after reading this. Who is this Mira Kamdar who wrote this? Another one of those colonial-minded, hooker prize winning Indian "feminist"? Here is her politically correct, disgusting commemoration of 26/11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/opini ... umbai.html

In one breath, see how she does an absolutely irrelevant equal equal with so called "Hindu militants". 26/11 was an act of war and a global state-sponsored conspiracy against. No mention of US duplicity. No mention of TSP state involvement. Nothing. Some listless piece of crap.

In the complicated maelstrom of Pakistan’s domestic politics and its strained relationship with India, the Pakistan-based masterminds of the 26/11 attack have not been brought to justice. The region remains a dangerous one, where alliances of necessity are fraught with mistrust. There were multiple intelligence alerts that an attack on Mumbai was in the works, and Indian intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Mumbai police were aware of the warnings. Yet the city was unprepared.

Over the past five years, homegrown attacks — some by Muslim extremists but others by Hindu militants — have rocked India.

[anupmisra]

Apparently Being Paki idiots is not reason enough for guilt. However, redundancy is.

'Idiots' cleared of endangering PIA plane

Two men were cleared Thursday of endangering a Pakistan International Airways plane after a British court heard that they were “idiots, not terrorists”

Safdar, supported by Subhani, made threats to blow up the plane and kill its crew and passengers after an argument broke out with air stewards 30,000 feet (9,100 metres) above ground

I was under the belief that being of paki-origin was reason enough to be a terrorist. The pilot apparently bailed them out:

Captain Nadeem Sufi told the court that once the severity of the diversion operation became clear he had tried to reverse the decision by telling air traffic control that the men were “laughing and joking”.

[Lilo]

When it comes to Pakis and Airtravel I never get tired of this video.

[Gagan]

When is General Sharif taking over as COAS from Kiyani? Nov 29th or Dec 6th?

Can't they make if Dec 16th hain ji?

[Rajdeep]

India to ask Pak to arrest Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin

The agency has filed a chargesheet against Salahuddin in a 2011 case of terror funding where money was allegedly pumped into his outfit from Pakistan through overground NGOs.
Investigations have established that Rs 13 crore was sent to Hizbul Mujahideen units in J&K through hawala, banking networks and cross-border trade.

NIA sources said that permission had been received from the government to send letter rogatory (LR) to Pakistan asking the authorities to arrest Salahuddin, who has taken shelter in Pakistan since 1989, and seven others named as proclaimed offenders in the chargesheet.

[svinayak]

In Pakistani Army, no Chief can afford to be 'pragmatic' with respect to India, even if he wishes to be so, and yet carry along his corps commanders with him.

Pakistan has not forsaken its twin doctrines of strategic depth in Afghanistan and of inflicting a thousand cuts to bleed India to death. The thousand cuts cannot be dealt by the Pakistani Army and it needs the jihadi terrorists. .

India needs a new doctrine to welcome the New Chief.
It will be called as

'Multi Cold start Doctrine' or
' Double Cold start Doctrine' or
'360 degree cold start doctrine'

[SSridhar]

When is General Sharif taking over as COAS from Kiyani? Nov 29th or Dec 6th?

Already taken over. Nov. 29th

[Dilbu]

Pak rejects Karzai’s request to allow Taliban office on its soil

Islamabad: Pakistan has turned down Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s request to allow Taliban to set up an office in the country, according to a media report today. “Our role (in the Afghan peace process) will remain that of a facilitator {for terrorism} and not a leader…allowing the Taliban to open an office in Pakistan will be contrary to our principled position,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quoted as saying by an unnamed aide.

Instead, Pakistan and Afghanistan will explore options on an “urgent basis” to open a political office for the Afghan Taliban in Turkey or Saudi Arabia, the aide, who accompanied Sharif on an official visit to Kabul on Saturday, told The Express Tribune.

[Dilbu]

Pak govt reviving peace talks with Taliban

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led government is at the "conclusive stage" of revival of proposed talks with the Pakistan Taliban, a senior minister has said.

"Yes, we're (almost) at the conclusive stage to resume talks with the TTP," Information minister Pervaiz Rashid was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune today.

"The government has always had a firm belief in reopening peace talks (with the Taliban)," he said.

His remarks came a week after Prime Minister Sharif said that his government is still committed to the revival of proposed talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Rashid said the government would remove any hurdles existing before talks with the Taliban and would press ahead with the initiative without causing any loss to the state.

Quoting sources, the report said that interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan discussed the resumption of dialogue with the Taliban with the former army chief Gen (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani yesterday.

Initial plans for dialogue were scuttled last month after a US drone strike killed TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

[Prem]

Poaqfools Phooll BarSao, Khalifa E Poaq Ayya Hai:Malsi Bhi Saath Laya Hai
Mullah F azl lullah reaches North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: Mullah Fazlullah,Power Be Upon Him, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief, along with 15 companions have arrived in North Waziristan, Geo News reported.Sources said there were reports that newly appointed TTP chief has reached in North Waziristan Agency from Afghanistan along with his 15 Companion.They further said Mullah Fazlullah will preside over the meeting of Taliban Shura in few days.Fazlullah was made the TTP chief, after the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack.

[vivek_ahuja]

India needs a new doctrine to welcome the New Chief.
It will be called as

'Multi Cold start Doctrine' or
' Double Cold start Doctrine' or
'360 degree cold start doctrine'

Ice cold tasty treat Doctrine?

[Shankas]

Poaqfools Phooll BarSao, Khalifa E Poaq Ayya Hai:Malsi Bhi Saath Laya Hai
Mullah F azl lullah reaches North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: Mullah Fazlullah,Power Be Upon Him, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief, along with 15 companions have arrived in North Waziristan, Geo News reported.Sources said there were reports that newly appointed TTP chief has reached in North Waziristan Agency from Afghanistan along with his 15 Companion.They further said Mullah Fazlullah will preside over the meeting of Taliban Shura in few days.Fazlullah was made the TTP chief, after the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack.

Just said a silent prayer
Hoping to hear there was some bird droppings from the Baki National Bird

[Peregrine]

State Bank to provide dollars to money exchangers, scheduled banks

ISLAMABAD : To stabilise the dollar exchange rate against Pakistani rupee, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will provide money exchange companies and scheduled banks with a large sum of dollars, Express News reported on Monday.

The move comes as a result of orders from Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who had asked the SBP to address the issue of frequently fluctuating dollar rates.

The country has witnessed a steep rise in dollar rates vis-a-vis the rupee, with the dollar moving from Rs99.58 at the start of the current fiscal year to around Rs108 at present.

The increase in dollar rate makes imports, repayment of foreign loans and interest payments more expensive.

The country’s official foreign exchange reserves had plunged to $3.463 billion on November 22, the lowest level in almost 12 years.

Pakistan has recently made another payment of $396 million to the IMF on November 26, which have brought the reserves even below the $3 billion mark.

Cheers

[Gus]

When it comes to Pakis and Airtravel I never get tired of this video.

this is as good as - silence. i keel you.

[Gagan]

So Mian Nawaz Sharif pulled a silent coup on Kiyani by announcing the new COAS's name at the last minute.

This Kiyani was a really dangerous man, ex-ISI chief, then COAS. Imagine what all happened when he held those two posts.
Everything from continuing to hide OBL, to the several terrorist attacks in India, against Indian and US targets in Afghanistan.

His leaving will hopefully result in things improving a bit one would hope.

Let us see what Sharif is like, I take note of the fact that Sharif has to still do his initiation haramigiri against India to prove his mettle to his colleagues amongst the core commanders.

[partha]

Gaganji,

The problem with promoting someone lower in the order bypassing people at the top is that the promoted guy will be under pressure to show that he is fit to be the army chief as you have noted. So things like coup, Kargil etc can be expected. Fighting Taliban in NWA is hard. But launching raids on Islamabad is easy. Even Zia and Musharraf were promoted bypassing more senior people, right?

[Rajdeep]

Gaganji,

The problem with promoting someone lower in the order bypassing people at the top is that the promoted guy will be under pressure to show that he is fit to be the army chief as you have noted. So things like coup, Kargil etc can be expected. Fighting Taliban in NWA is hard. But launching raids on Islamabad is easy. Even Zia and Musharraf were promoted bypassing more senior people, right?

Yes very true , its like the new convert is extra zealous to justify his place in the ummah.

[Rajdeep]

Cross post from Internal Security Watch thread

‘Modi can’t repeal Article 370 even if he is PM for 10 terms’

Addressing a gathering of former army officials from India and Pakistan at the residence of former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Farooq said both the countries will have to live together for prosperity.

The National Conference leader said his maternal grandfather was buried in Lahore but he was not being allowed to visit the place.

[Anindya]

Fresh intelligence reveals 26/11 mastermind Saeed has the ear of Pakistan's top security agency and is 'fanning anti-India sentiment'

An intelligence assessment sent to South Block by the Indian mission in Pakistan, and accessed by Mail Today, says that 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, with the backing of Nawaz Sharif's government, has intensified his anti-India propaganda and operations to influence Islamabad's policy towards its larger neighbour.

The memo says that Pakistan's notorious intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), "listens" to Saeed and "follows his diktats".

Since the ISI is the cutting edge of Pakistan's India policy, and Saeed has thus manoeuvered himself into a position from where he can leave his ideological imprint on it.
.....

According to the report, the big change is that Saeed, who was running his propaganda machine from the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) headquarters in Muridke, is now using Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi as the base of his operations.
....
The internal assessment on Saeed's activities notes that "JuD Amir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has been playing a crucial role in promoting the anti-India agenda smoothly with the assistance and support of the Pakistan government. There seems to be an underlying arrangement between the government and the JuD to provide Saeed some space for promoting his agenda of fanning anti- India sentiment in Pakistanis."
...
The assessment notes that in Bahawalpur, Saeed warned those declaring Kashmir as an integral part of India, that "India would disintegrate if Kashmiri people were not granted right of self-determination".

Then in Karachi, he alleged that the US was supporting the Indian Army and its intelligence agencies in Afghanistan for imparting training to terrorists for activities in Pakistan.

In Hyderabad, he accused India of constructing dams to stop water flowing to Punjab and Sindh. This only lends credence to reports that Saeed is now directing anti-India operations.

The Pakistan armed forces journal Hilal recently invoked the water issue to ramp up anti-India propaganda.

Saeed's enlarged vengeance highlights two trends. First, that the Sharif government is playing a double-game, professing peace through diplomatic channels while unleashing Saeed and the LeT against India.

Second, Saeed's frequent outbursts may weaken the fledgling hopes of peace that the continuation of democracy in Pakistan has raised.

[SSridhar]

Fresh intelligence reveals 26/11 mastermind Saeed has the ear of Pakistan's top security agency and is 'fanning anti-India sentiment'

. . . Saeed's enlarged vengeance highlights two trends. First, that the Sharif government is playing a double-game, professing peace through diplomatic channels while unleashing Saeed and the LeT against India.

What is new ?

That's why I found it inexplicable that an able General like Syed Ata Hasnain said, " He [Sharif] is unlikely to kowtow with radical elements beyond current levels knowing that tactical gains will not translate into strategic victory." in the article posted above.

[Anindya]

SS - I agree. Although, I think in the medium term (or even perhaps the near term) Hafeez and his cohorts will get fully rehabilitated as official representatives of the Paki government.

Having said that, I wonder how long it will take for acknowledged terrorists of other kinds to get such official rehabilitation in Pakistan.

[anupmisra]

TTP may declare war on media

Pakistani Taliban, headed by Maulana Fazlullah, on Friday took a strong exception to the recent statement of their spokesman Shahidullah Shahid regarding Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistani cricket team skipper Misbah-ul-Haq released by media and convened an emergency meeting of the Shura to announce a war against the journalists

media men who don’t stop their anti-Taliban propaganda

the way the media treated recent statement of Shahidullah Shahid regarding the two cricket players, made everyone angry in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan

he said TTP Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid had not issued any statement in particular with the two cricket players

He said some media people had quoted the TTP out of context and gave an impression that Pakistani Taliban were now issuing statements about useless issues such as Cricket.

TTP and useless issues. The twain shall never meet.

[CRamS]

Not that we on BR need to, but Indians by and large need to understand the complete disconnect between India and TSP on terror. Here is the pompous Jihadi Lodhi lamenting no progress on India TSP pappi jhappi because India gives primacy to Mumbai.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9 ... no-outcome

In other words, during pappi jhappi on "all issues", India can talk about 26/11, but TSP can brush it under the carpet by saying more "evidence" is needed or the dosas are mere literature, and instead discuss the modalities of a Kashmir hand over ceremony at the Mughal gardens in Srinagar. Anything else means India is intransigent, and not just according to her, but the "international community". And in TSP's perverted, delusional thinking, that outcome itself is 26/11 justice.

Thats why I completely agree with that Ahmad guy's views I posted a few days back that for at least 10 years, there must be no high-level talks with TSP except for some low key contacts. Let the low lives stew in their own juice until they realize the gravity of the "Mumbai incident" and all of their crimes they perpetrated on India, and shed their delusion of conquering the red fort.

But sadly, under MMS and other WKK perverts like MSA, India has only emboldened TSP into making such brazen demands with their "uninterrupted and uniterruptible" dialogue nonsense.

[Rajagopal]

Not that we on BR need to, but Indians by and large need to understand the complete disconnect between India and TSP on terror. Here is the pompous Jihadi Lodhi lamenting no progress on India TSP pappi jhappi because India gives primacy to Mumbai.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9 ... no-outcome

In the above link, one Dr. G. N. Seetharam has posted a very hard hitting comment. This is equivalent to wrapping a slipper in a cashmere shawl and slapping on the face of Ms. Lodi. I would use this as a keynote speech in all our interactions with Pakistan.

I reproduce this in full with the kind permission of Dr. Seetharam:
"Dear Sir, I have gone through the article.
My advise to Pakistanis is to forget Siachen it will not be a subject for discussion ever again. Public opinion and military opinion in India makes it impossible for any political dispensation whatever its proclivities to even discuss the issue with Pakistan let alone make any concession.
My second advise to Pakistanis is to forget the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The only way by which you can hope to make gains in this area is to launch a military assault on the region and this is not an option for Pakistan at all. Indian armed forces will make it impossible at a very low coast for us. Pakistan army is only a nuisance for our forces and not a threat at all let alone a serious threat.
Your bargaining position vis a vis India is near zero. You have a bankrupt economy which is eleven times smaller than the Indian economy and in a few years only the annual increment in the Indian economy will be greater than the entire annual GDP of Pakistan. You are dependent on American charity even to pay salaries to people.
You are ravaged by unprecedented internal violence. Internationally you are pariah state with every country in the world doing their utmost to avoid you and this includes many Muslim countries. You are not capable of taking on the Indian armed forces in eyeball to eyeball confrontation.
We black, short, ugly dhal eating Hindus will beat the shit out of you tall, fair, meat eating, good looking Muslims as evinced by 1971 when 100, 000 martial race Pakistani soldiers instead of fighting put their hands up and preferred surrender.
The only bargaining chip if it can be called so you have is that you can send "men" like Ajmal Kasab to India who demonstrate their "manhood" by firing from an AK 47 in a railway platform and kill unarmed non violent ordinary people waiting for a train. We will deal with that on various levels and though unlike you we do not make a song and dance about it you can be absolutely sure that we are and will make you pay a heavy price for killing innocent Indians. You can negotiate till the cows go home with us but be utterly practical and realistic in your expectations. The bottom line is ; no siachen - no Jammu and Kashmir not now not ever.
You are a failed state globally marked as an epicenter for terror. You do not have a single neighbor including China which is not concerned about terrorists from your country. Please Jesus Christ do not play the "equal - equal" card. Beggars without any self respect who do nothing to improve their situation and remain hooked on white man's charity have no roman right to place themselves on a similar footing with India which is globally acknowledged as a country which exercises strategic restraint and moderation.
A country which has an even chance of becoming a global economic and military power which besides has magnificent soft power in the form of "Bollywood" which gets friendly feelings for us throughout the East including the world of Islam as also Eastern Europe, Africa and these days even in some parts of the west. Thank you Sir"

Mr. Seetharam needs to be feted and awarded honorary doctorate just for making this speech.

[vishvak]

We need to begin direct and exhaustive diplomatic help and diplomatic support and backing for freedom fighters of Balochistan.

How long will we allow pseudo seculars to dictate any policy that ignores aspirations of genuine Baloch people.

[ramana]

Anindya and SS, If the report is true then the Indian embassy has shown very little intelligence when they say the tail(Saeed) wags the dog (ISI)!!!

[BhairavP]

Man oh Man, my blood boils after reading this. Who is this Mira Kamdar who wrote this? Another one of those colonial-minded, hooker prize winning Indian "feminist"? Here is her politically correct, disgusting commemoration of 26/11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/opini ... umbai.html

In one breath, see how she does an absolutely irrelevant equal equal with so called "Hindu militants". 26/11 was an act of war and a global state-sponsored conspiracy against. No mention of US duplicity. No mention of TSP state involvement. Nothing. Some listless piece of crap.

In the complicated maelstrom of Pakistan’s domestic politics and its strained relationship with India, the Pakistan-based masterminds of the 26/11 attack have not been brought to justice. The region remains a dangerous one, where alliances of necessity are fraught with mistrust. There were multiple intelligence alerts that an attack on Mumbai was in the works, and Indian intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Mumbai police were aware of the warnings. Yet the city was unprepared.

Over the past five years, homegrown attacks — some by Muslim extremists but others by Hindu militants — have rocked India.

She actually lost a cousin and brother-in-law in the 26/11 attacks. Typical nutjob with rich SoBo family.

[vivek_ahuja]

On a lighter note:

Bundaar updates

The Pakistani security apparatus and allied engineers not only produced the JF-17 Thunder prototype in a record period of two-and-a-half years as against a period of 8-9 years taken in the advanced world on the first model of a combat aircraft , they have also taken the Pakistani contribution in the avionics’ preparation to the optimum level of 70 per cent of the Pak-China joint endeavour and to a satisfactory figure of 58 per cent in the preparation of other essential components.

Talking to The News, Pakistani functionaries who had been working in commanding positions in the manufacture of the JF-17 Thunder disclosed that China’s cooperation has been efficiently reciprocated by Pakistani engineers and technicians whose talent has been acknowledged by Chinese scientists.

Given the high level of this talent, the JF-17 Thunder aircraft can be easily compared even with some highly efficient blocks/models of F-16 especially in the area of avionics. Avionics in fact has enabled the JF-17 planes to acquire considerable airpower edge over the adversary’s aircraft.

And in the area of acceleration forces that enable the aircraft to overcome the gravitational pull, JF-17 is a G-8 plane as compared with F-16 that is a G-9 plane (G denotes acceleration force applied against the Gravitational pull to lift the aircraft). In this manner, JF-17 is no less capable and efficient an aircraft than many advanced planes of the world.

While the credit for accomplishing this excellence goes primarily to the Chinese friends, the role of Pakistani engineers, technicians and officials has been equally remarkable as also acknowledged by the Chinese company Avic (China Aviation Import-Export Corporation).

One of the prime factors that provided fresh impetus to JF-17 co-production was the frequent visits of senior functionaries of PAF to different parts of the world to procure international specifications, including those matching with first-class American aviation standards that are rated as the best standards. It was due to these exclusive efforts of PAF seniors or their frequent visits to countries having soft corner for Pakistan that a G-8 aircraft was produced.

As for the difference between G-8 and G-9, that is only due to metallurgy in use of both China and Pakistan. According to sources, producing a G-8 aircraft was not an easy task too. For this purpose the PAF seniors also sought the technical assistance of experts of a Middle Eastern country that is not much friendly with Pakistan. That diplomatic overture of PAF did work well and the aircraft with many capabilities no less than most of the modern warplanes of the contemporary world came into production within a record, brief period of two to two-and-half years.

Chinese friends are happy over the vigorous input of Pakistani engineers and functionaries that they say has resulted in a big success of international level with export orders expected from many countries. Appreciation has been especially expressed for Pakistanis’ fine diplomacy and specification-collecting skills.

When The News posed a question what hope the people of Pakistan should pin on its pride co-production, JF-17 Thunder, the sources replied: “It is now one of the best and most reliable combat planes of the world as, apart from the G-8 versus G-9 factor, its radar range is 60 aeronautical miles which comes on a par with advanced international standards. Moreover, JF-17 is equipped with a far more advanced BVR system i.e. Beyond Visual Range system that gives it an edge over the enemy aircraft which it can hit from a considerable distance and move far away with full speed in a flash after firing the missile.

[vivek_ahuja]

Pakistan behind Ethiopia

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday unanimously decided to constitute a special committee of the House to thrash out recommendations on how to cope with the fast increasing water scarcity in Pakistan.

Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq and Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan will nominate members of the proposed committee.Treasury Senator Mohsin Leghari told the House that Pakistan was today even behind Ethiopia and some other African countries in terms of its water resources.

Welcoming the House decision on the special committee’s constitution, Aitzaz pointed out that the terms of reference of the committee would also be worked out. Sabir Ali Baloch, who chaired the first sitting of the 99th session, referred Leghari’s motion to the proposed committee.

Speaking on the motion, Leghari said it was very unfortunate that in the last 20-25 years, no attention was paid to the issue of water and no attempt was made to ensure better use of available water resources. About Tarbela and Mangla dams, he noted these were essentially water reservoirs and power generation was a bi-product.

He called for the formation of a special committee of the House and urged that the matter should not be referred to Wapda, as it would only look at one aspect and not cover the whole gamut of the issue.

The senator warned that Pakistan’s economy was under a serious threat due to water scarcity, as agriculture was its mainstay that depended on availability of water. He said availability of clean drinking water was also a very important issue as every year 0.2 million children died of water-borne diseases.

He regretted that the governments over the years paid attention on issues that made news and said, “If we failed to address this issue, we will die of thirst in next few years”.The senator called for tackling the water-scarcity issue above party lines and without coming under any kind of pressure.

Senator Lala Abdul Rauf, who is from Balochistan, painted a grim picture of his province and said water level in Quetta was 60 feet deep 20 years back and today it was available below 1100 feet. He talked about orchards going dry due to lack of any serious planning to address the issue of water scarcity and called for building 2-3 dams in each district of the province.

Senator Farhatullah Babar noted that water scarcity was not Pakistan-specific but a global issue now and proposed that the proposed committee should also pay attention to the wasteful use of water resources in Pakistan. He pointed out that water availability per capita was today one-fifth of what it was in 1947.

Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel peeped into history and said under a conspiracy the committee that was tasked with striking a treaty with India belonged to one province only and noted due to this they agreed to three rivers going to Pakistan and other three to India.

He claimed that Sindh River was Pakistan’s own as it did not pass from any part of India but it was also made part of the treaty and thus Pakistan was deprived of a river . “Two and a half rivers each must have gone to both Pakistan and India,” he asserted.

Earlier, senators from both the government and the opposition emphasised that the Parliamentary Committee on Judges’ Appointment should be made powerful and if it was not possible then the chief justice should be asked to appoint judges and make postings and transfers on his own, as he enjoyed powers and not the committee.

The members suggested that the procedure for appointment of judges to superior court be reviewed and that parliament should ensure its supremacy in this regard.

Speaking on the commenced motion on the procedure laid down for appointment of judges to the superior courts, moved by Farhatullah Babar, Senator Saeed Ghani contended that parliament should not have passed the 19th Amendment and asked it to stop acting on the wishes of others.He called for the review of procedure for appointment of judges and whatever was agreed upon should be strictly followed.

“If it is not possible, then a letter should be written to the chief justice to appoint judges and make postings and transfers on his own, as he enjoys powers and not the Parliamentary Committee on Judges’ Appointment,” he added.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said the basic issue was of sense of responsibility and asserted that the element of fear should be set aside. “The legislators must stop fearing some judges, generals and the US and they need not have an NOC from anywhere on taking decisions,” he noted.

He said on the issue of appointment of judges, fear factor had undermined parliament as well as the government and emphasised it was time to take decisions with courage. The senator alleged that due to fear, the IMF was asked by the incumbent government to wait for the retirement of the chief justice with regard to their conditionalities.

Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq vehemently rejected the charge that any message concerning the chief justice had been conveyed to the IMF. He said a sub-committee had been formed under Farooq H Naek to come up with recommendations to make the process of judges’ appointment transparent and acceptable to all.

Haji Adeel said a joint sitting of parliament’s two chambers be convened to enact law for making an oversight parliamentary committee on appointment of judges and regretted that the incumbent committee had been rendered powerless.The House will resume business today at 11:00am.

[vivek_ahuja]

TTP may declare war on media

The war begins:

Three injured as newspaper office attacked in Karachi

KARACHI: The office of a newspaper came under attack on Monday evening for the second time in five months in the Baloch Colony Police area. In the attack, three people including security guard Faizan Ahmed, were injured.

The incident took place outside the Express Media Group offices situated near the KPT Flyover, Korangi Crossing, Baloch Colony. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Abdul Khalique Sheikh said the police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the crime scene.

During investigation, it was found that armed men riding motorcycles stopped at the KPT Bridge a few yards from the building and lobbed a ‘ball bomb’ (cracker) at its entrance.

The attackers also fired shots which were returned by the security guards, forcing the culprits to run away. DIG Sheikh said that due to the cracker explosion, security guard Faizan was injured but is now out of danger.

He said the bomb disposal squad had been called in to collect the explosive material and it has been confirmed that it was a ‘ball bomb’.He said it is too early to confirm the identity of the attackers.

On August 16, 2013, security guard Ameer Ali, 35, and Raheela, 32, were shot at in an attack at the same venue. The attack was carried out by four armed men riding two motorcycles who stopped at the main gate and opened indiscriminate fire.

Muhammed Fayyaz Khan, CID (Operations Wing) chief, told The News that media offices were under threat from certain banned outfits; however, it is not yet clear who carried out today’s attack.

He said they had recently arrested TTP member Hafiz Qasim Rasheed who had disclosed that his group will target media offices in the near future. He said Rasheed had not disclosed the modus operandi of any attack.

It is pertinent to mention that earlier TTP member Altaf Hussain, son of Maula Bux, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Wing (CTW) of the CID. He told investigators that he had met TTP’s Amir Rafiullah alias Aga in Lyari who ordered him to attack the Jang Group offices. He revealed that a motorcycle (CG-125) was prepared with an improvised explosive device and the date of the attack was not then confirmed.

He revealed they were instructed to be ready and after getting orders, they were to park the motorcycle at the parking lot of the Jang Group and later blow it up. However, before the plan could be carried out, Altaf was arrested.

[Anindya]

13 killed as violence erupts in Pakistan's Karachi

KARACHI: Violence rocked Pakistan's biggest city as 13 people were killed in targeted shootings including five suspected Taliban activists, a Shia scholar and two Moroccan students at a religious seminary.

Police said the spate of targeted killings increased late on Tuesday evening when seven people were shot dead in just an hour.

In the latest incident at Nazimabad, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car killing five people.

A senior police official said on condition of anonymity that the killed included two people who had links with militant outfits and used to raise funds for them in the city.

"One of them is Mushtaq Samand who was well-known for raising funds for Jihadi outfits and even contested the recent provincial assembly elections as an independent candidate," he said.

Earlier, two foreign students from Morocco studying at a religious seminary were shot dead outside the Makki mosque in the same area as they came out for a stroll while in another targeted killing in North Nazimabad three people were killed in an ambush.

"All three belonged to Tableegi Jamaat," an official said. The city remained tense with many roads and markets closed after a leading Shia scholar and leader of the Wahidat ul Muslameen, Allama Deedar Ali and his driver were shot dead earlier in the day in Gulshan-e-Jauhar area.

"The killing of Allama Deedar appears to be a sectarian-related one and in retaliation to the target killing of a leading Deobandi Sunni scholar on Monday in the city," SSP Imran Shaukat said.

As news of Deedar's killing spread in the city, violence and firing incidents were reported from many areas with most of the Shia-dominated areas shut down while many other markets and shops also closed down out of fear.

Attacks were also reported from Landhi, Itted town and Korangi where three people were killed....

[Peregrine]

Declining forex reserves – Dr. Ash P Huq

Cheers

[Gagan]

Any interesting funny Pak videos?
Zaid Hamid, Aapas ki baat, Hasan Nisar or Saleem Safi?
Please post...

[Rajdeep]

Any interesting funny Pak videos?
Zaid Hamid, Aapas ki baat, Hasan Nisar or Saleem Safi?
Please post...

Here you go saar


Laal topi langoor dropping his shit balls on the new COAS.

Someone wanted to hear his reaction about badmash no 3's appointment.
Gist is - He is too shareef This just means one thing as suggested before on this thread the new chief WILL do something idiotic on Indian border or inside with the help of PigLeTs.
Laal Topis hatred for Kiyanahi is also expressed Just shows how the paki mind works.

[sum]

Appreciation has been especially expressed for Pakistanis’ fine diplomacy and specification-collecting skills.

[pankajs]

Pakis have perfected the art of Backdoor diplomacy to protect their sauverginity