Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - Jan 04, 2014

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 20 Mar 2014 09:47

http://www.dawn.com/news/1094308

Five aircraft of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) fleet have been grounded because of the breakdown of supply chain of spare parts, according to inside sources.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 20 Mar 2014 09:53

Anujan wrote:http://www.dawn.com/news/1094308

Five aircraft of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) fleet have been grounded because of the breakdown of supply chain of spare parts, according to inside sources.

the specific part of the supply chain that has broken down will be the bill paying part.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 20 Mar 2014 10:07

http://tribune.com.pk/story/685065/poli ... s-peacock/

Three police officials deployed at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Jaati Umra residence in Raiwind were suspended on Wednesday and issued show-cause notices for negligence by SP (Security Zone 3) Syed Junaid Arshad. The police personnel were suspended after a cat devoured one of the several peacocks kept at the residence.
A police official said a gardener found the peacock’s body on Tuesday morning on the lawns of the premier’s house where the birds wander freely. He said the incident was reported to SP Arshad who summoned the constables deployed near the house.

durvasa · Post by **durvasa** » 20 Mar 2014 10:49

Anindya wrote:How does this happen?

Pakistani militant kills self, family in DIY bomb accident: Official

Aalim Deen Mehsud, a local commander of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the North Waziristan tribal area, was trying to remove explosive material from a mortar shell, triggering the blast, a security official said.

"He was trying to cut the shell with a hand saw and take out the explosives when the explosion occurred, killing himself, four women and a child of his family," the official

waste of precious human resources. Sad! Each of them could have brought real Islam in some parts of Karachi or 'slamabad. Anyway, no one is indispensable!

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 20 Mar 2014 11:27

Anyway they say if one dies a martyr several take his place. Verily this is true mashallah.

Brad Goodman · Post by **Brad Goodman** » 20 Mar 2014 16:30

One killed inPeshawar IEDexplosion

An improvised explosive device (IED) planted by miscreants killed a man and injured two others in Shah Qabool area.According to a police spokesman, one person was killed and two others were injured when the bomb planted to the house of a milk seller, Mushtaq Khan, in Gul Bacha Mohala in Sarki exploded. The injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to police half-kilogramme explosive was used in the bomb. The Shah Qabook Police Station officials have opened an investigation into the attack.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 20 Mar 2014 16:38

so terrorists became miscreants

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Mar 2014 16:42

krishnan wrote:so terrorists became miscreants

May be the effect of the 'uninterruptrd & uninterruptible' peace negotiations with the TTP.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 20 Mar 2014 17:14

No reason to believe Pakistan government knew about Osama bin Laden's presence: US

AS US officials have said, we have no reason to believe that anyone in the highest levels of the government knew about the location of bin Laden. That continues to be true," White House National Security Council spokesperson Laura Lucas Magnuson told PTI, when asked about the news report.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 20 Mar 2014 17:15

Yes there won't be a reason when the biatch has got unkil by his balls. US and TSP deserve each other.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Mar 2014 18:04

At every turn, every step, the US has been an unabashed supporter of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and has even participated in that. It comes as no surprise that either the SD proposes and the DoD disposes or vice versa or both concur while all the time the beneficiary is Pakistan. This has been the case whether it has been nuclear or missile proliferation, jihadi terrorism, diplomatic opposition to us etc.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Mar 2014 18:17

From that Carlotta Gall article on bin Laden,

[Hafiz]Saeed and [Mullah]Omar are two of the ISI’s most important and loyal militant leaders. Both are protected by the agency. Both cooperate closely with it, restraining their followers from attacking the Pakistani state and coordinating with Pakistan’s greater strategic plans.

The bolded part above is not entirely true, IMHO. While Hafeez Saeed is completely under the PA control (at least as of this moment), Mullah Omar is not and has never been. There are times when he violently disagreed with the PA/ISI. Besides, Mullah Omar would not entirely agree with the strategic goals of Pakistan.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 20 Mar 2014 19:31

Police van attacked in Orangi Town

KARACHI- Unidentified opened fire at a police mobile van in Orangi Town today, killing a policeman and critically injuring another.

According to police sources, the mobile van was on routine patrol through Orangi Town's area of Islam Chowk, where it came under attack. Two police were critically injured in the ambush.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Mar 2014 19:40

The future of democracy in Pakistan - DT, Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg

The distrust shaped into open defiance by Air Chief Marshall Asghar Khan who urged General Ziaul Haq to dismiss Bhutto’s government and hang him to death. General Zia obliged and took over as a military dictator.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 20 Mar 2014 21:04

ISPR dubs NYT report baseless

RAWALPINDI : DG ISPR, Major General Asim Bajwa has dismissed allegations made by journalist Carlotta Gall in her story published in The New York Times on March 19.

According to the DG ISPR, the story was ‘baseless and ridiculous’ adding that there was nothing new or credible and all speculations had already proven false.

Cheers

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Mar 2014 00:47

Lo Kar Lo Baat!

ISI chief knew whereabouts of Osama bin Laden's hideout : NYT

According to The New York Times, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha knew where the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding.

The newspaper alleges that a Pakistani official stated that United States had direct evidence about the ISI chief knowing Bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad at the time.

“He knew of Osama’s whereabouts, yes,” the official said.

According to an inside source of the paper, there was a special desk for the Bin Laden case at the ISI. The desk worked independently and was led by an officer who did not report to any higher authorities.

The New York Times also reported that the Pakistan government was providing a haven to the Taliban. Further, the newspaper alleged that former president Pervez Musharraf was involved in the conspiracy to remove Benazir Bhutto from power.

The paper also alleged that a former ISI chief and retired general, Ziaddun Butt said that he thought that former President Pervez Musharraf had arranged to hide Bin Laden in Abbottabad. However, he did not have any proof.

Cheers

Joseph · Post by **Joseph** » 21 Mar 2014 02:39

SSridhar wrote: While Hafeez Saeed is completely under the PA control (at least as of this moment), Mullah Omar is not and has never been.

Will it take a trigger event for Hafeez Saeed to slip out of PA control or will it be a gradual drift over time?

partha · Post by **partha** » 21 Mar 2014 07:03

Peregrine wrote:Lo Kar Lo Baat!

ISI chief knew whereabouts of Osama bin Laden's hideout : NYT

Some RAPEs were of the opinion that report should not be taken seriously because the author has not given any evidence!!

Everyone owes them proof but they don't owe anybody any explanation. They want the world to believe that 26/11 attackers were Hindus because of the color of their wrist band but want more proof in case of OBL even though he was found in a huge house right next to their military academy in a city close to capital.

partha · Post by **partha** » 21 Mar 2014 07:30

Shri MJ Akbar argues that Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be like a princely state of India. Freedom for Pakistanis to come and go (to India) as they like. RAPEs harbor the same dream. This has been discussed on BRF time and again. He also argues that is one of the reasons why Jinnah never sold his Bombay house even though Nizam of Hyderabad offered him Rs. 10L.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Mar 2014 07:31

Joseph wrote:
SSridhar wrote: While Hafeez Saeed is completely under the PA control (at least as of this moment), Mullah Omar is not and has never been.
Will it take a trigger event for Hafeez Saeed to slip out of PA control or will it be a gradual drift over time?

If we look at the state-sponsored terrorist outfits, especially ideological ones and more especially Islamist ones, they invariably bite the hand that fed them. Even swallow the hand. So, one can be sure that the same fate awaits the PA-LeT combine. It would most certainly be a swift and clean break. There is no possibility of a gradual drift in such relationships.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 21 Mar 2014 08:11

Joseph wrote:
SSridhar wrote: While Hafeez Saeed is completely under the PA control (at least as of this moment), Mullah Omar is not and has never been.

Will it take a trigger event for Hafeez Saeed to slip out of PA control or will it be a gradual drift over time?

I am gradually veering round to the view that Hafiz Saeed is a zero without Paki army. He speaks their words for them. Paki army in turn is zero without US help.

It would be interesting to see how TTP might view Hafeez Saeed unless he speaks up about his opposition to the US. Right now he is simply a mouthpiece and terrorist recruiter for Paki army.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 21 Mar 2014 10:27

http://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/leasing-out-pakistan/

The truth is that Pakistan has agreed to supply, among other weapons, anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to the Saudis. Mr Aziz says the End-User Certificate conditions will guarantee that these are not used outside Saudi Arabia. This is a load of nonsense. Why the Saudis should suddenly turn to Pakistan for these weapons when traditionally they have tapped the US and Europe has, however, given the game away. These potential game-changing weapons are clearly meant for use by Saudi-backed Wahhabi-Salafist rebels in Syria who are fighting to overthrow the Baathist secular Asad regime. The Americans haven’t supplied the Saudis because they don’t want such radical Islamist forces any more than Al-Qaeda to succeed in Syria and are therefore having serious second thoughts about regime change in Syria. Indeed, the Saudis’ sudden embrace of Pakistan portends shifting sands in the Middle-East.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Mar 2014 11:12

^The above TFT report is generally true as far as supply of missiles and other arms by Pakistan to Syria through KSA. But, I contest one other contention therein namely, the Americans are unwilling to be involved there because "they don’t want such radical Islamist forces any more than Al-Qaeda to succeed in Syria and are therefore having serious second thoughts". The Cold War is slowly creeping back in, in all its glory and Syria is becoming a playground as well as Ukraine now. Just like the Pakistanis, the Americans also operate on a tactical basis and because of their power and clout, they have been avoiding strategic defeats so far (unlike their mistress). They would therefore have no qualms in bedding the Al Qaeda in the Levant. One can therefore only charitably say that the Americans do not want to be seen supplying weapons openly to Syrian rebels who are almost entirely Wahhabi-Salafi Al Qaeda types. This was the same tactic they employed in the Afghan jihad in the early and mid-days of the war, buying Russian weapons and giving them to the Mujahideen until they began to secretly supply the Stingers. We can be pretty sure that the arms supply is progressing under American guidance, wink and nudging. We can also be sure that TSP would have exacted a heavy price from the Americans vis-a-vis India and Afghanistan for this, just as they have done with the 'brotherly' KSA.

PS: Some of these arms are going to end up with the Afghan Taliban after 2014 mysteriously. The US will find an excuse to exonerate TSP & KSA.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 21 Mar 2014 11:35

Also little birdie tells me that the chatter is that Bahrain is angry with Iran for having incited a revolution and wants a payback with paki help.

Many of the shia journalists are coming out with columns that this is a bad idea.

Also apparently the MFN thing isn't happening any time soon. Not that any of you would be surprised by that news.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Mar 2014 14:42

SSridhar wrote:Pakistan may grant MFN status to India on Friday - DAWN

Pakistan will grant on Friday Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India with a condition of receiving a substantial concessions in trade from New Delhi.

The decision is expected to be announced after a special cabinet briefing . . . [/b]

Well, TSP has just announced the decision.
Pakistan to strike trade deal with new Government in India - Economic Times

On December 6, 2011, I bet both my testimonials here in BRf that the MFN will not happen. I shall remain uncastrated. AoA and all that.

Ramu · Post by **Ramu** » 21 Mar 2014 15:33

This MFN thingy is a double edged sword.
I think its too much of a ech an dee loss for the bakis if we remove the MFN.
I don't understand why we don't threaten to remove it more often.

Personally I think the MFN status should be removed right now and given to bangladeshis based on cotton trade.

saip · Post by **saip** » 21 Mar 2014 19:58

Strange physical test this. one of the Motorhams seems to be running in a burkha (with her head uncovered)!

Link

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 21 Mar 2014 20:47

saip wrote:Strange physical test this. one of the Motorhams seems to be running in a burkha (with her head uncovered)!

Link

Running barefoot as well.

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 21 Mar 2014 21:02

^^Quite surprising actually. I thought they would test them on the most important skill they actually need, downhill skiing...

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 21 Mar 2014 21:15

MJ Akbar's video starts with the assertion that Indians and pakis are the same people.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 22 Mar 2014 00:53

rgsrini wrote:^^Quite surprising actually. I thought they would test them on the most important skill they actually need, downhill skiing...

In a way, street running is downhill skiing metaphorically. Most of the TFTA momeens look like they are running from a riot/arson and the cops are about to lathicharge them.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 22 Mar 2014 01:18

svenkat wrote:MJ Akbar's video starts with the assertion that Indians and pakis are the same people.

MJ Akbar is one of those "liberal" Muslims in the subcontinent who merely prefers Akbar to Aurangzeb. That's about as far back as he's willing to let our racial memory as "Indians" go. According to them, it must not - nay, cannot - hark further back.

Moreover, he wants to confine the vision of India to a mere "India-Pak" comparison, and so tries to inflate our balloons by crowing about how India is doing better than Pak. This is a ruse to confuse. Pak was never meant to be a successful, stable state - it is still reliably fulfilling its founding role as a foil-state against India, that's all. A real patriot like Modi will compare India to the best in the world, and let us see the bigger picture.

MJ Akbar types will flatter Hindus about how India is more stable and progressive than Pak, and about how his daddy came to India after partition because East Pak was "too boring". But I have not seen him share in the pain of Hindus, who have lost civilizational land and continue to be persecuted there and even within. For them, Pak is still a useful and necessary dagger in India's side, for the security and comfort of their own identities within India. They are unable to merge with Bharata to help it expand.

"Louder" dialogue: Right foot forward

Don't get me wrong - I respect MJ Akbar ji, and whatever we are today is because of his generation. But I don't think they have much to contribute to the next necessary iteration of India's unfoldment - and in fact may be willing to undo whatever little good they may have done so far out of spite.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 22 Mar 2014 03:04

svenkat wrote:
MJ Akbar's video starts with the assertion that Indians and pakis are the same people.

Once upon a time we were part of the same country. We are no longer the same people. We have evolved. They have devolved.

Seema Goswami said it best awhile ago:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed ... 83154.aspx

"It was easy to believe – as we sat down to large meals and an even larger dose of nostalgia – that we were indeed the same people, with the same roots, the same tastes, the same culture, but just divided by a border created by political forces beyond our control. "

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 22 Mar 2014 03:56

^^ very nicely written in a non-jingo way. Should become a permanent link at the top of TSP thread, IMO.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 22 Mar 2014 06:08

India frowns at Pak delay on nondiscriminatory status - Business Line

The Government is disappointed with Pakistan’s move to defer a decision on extending non-discriminatory market access status to India. This would have ended the on-going stalemate in the trade liberalisation dialogue.

The Nawaz Sharif Government postponed a meeting of its Cabinet scheduled on Friday that was to take up the issue of granting India NDMA status — a move that will result in removing import ban on 1,209 Indian products and open up access through the land route.

“We are disappointed with the postponement. We hope another meeting is convened soon and the issue doesn’t get put off till after India’s elections,” a senior Government official told Business Line.

Pakistan has to ‘unconditionally’ deliver on its promise to grant India NDMA status if the trade liberalisation dialogue is to proceed further, the official said.

With India set to get a new Government in the next two months the Nawaz Sharif Government would now want to strike a trade deal with the new regime, Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Pervaiz Rashid was quoted as saying in Pakistani daily Dawn.

The Indo-Pak trade dialogue, which has the potential of increasing bilateral trade from the current $3 billion to an estimated $20 billion, was stalled in January 2013 following violence at the Line of Control in Kashmir.

The Commerce Ministry, which has been steering the trade dialogue process, argues that India has done whatever it was required to do as per the road-map and it is Pakistan’s turn to deliver.

“They have to do their part. The ball is in their court,” Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said when asked on the issue.

Kher said that India had committed to take on a reciprocal basis further steps for giving greater market access to Pakistan after NDMA was bestowed. “India will simultaneously or with a time lag do its part, but Pakistan has to deliver now (on NDMA),” the Secretary said.

NDMA is a more politically acceptable term for the Most Favoured Nation status that India had accorded Pakistan way back in 1996 during the World Trade Organisation’s Uruguay Round. It basically means treating a country same as other countries without discrimination.

wig · Post by **wig** » 22 Mar 2014 08:32

on the SRI Ratnaeshwar Mahadev temple in Karachi -Pak rights body seeks CJ's intervention to save Karachi temple

A 150-year-old Hindu temple in Karachi is facing threat due to construction of underpasses and flyovers in the area and the country's rights body has sought intervention of the Chief Justice to protect it. The chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed deep concern over the adverse impact that the construction could have on the Sri Ratneswar Mahadev temple located in Clifton area.
"Ground vibrations from excavation and from the eventual highdensity traffic running so close to
the temple could cause collapse of this irreplaceable place of worship,"
the HRCP chairperson said and sought the intervention of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to protect the temple.
In a letter sent to the Chief Justice, the HRCP chairperson noted that business interests in complicity with officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had started construction of multiple flyovers and underpasses
around the Clifton seafront without any prior notice.
She noted that such a major venture "which would vandalise the very face of a historical part of the city, has not undergone the Environmental Impact Assessment (with public hearings) mandated by law".
The HRCP chairperson that every year thousands of Hindu and Sikh devotees visited the temple.
She said that the Hindu community in Sindh had been experiencing escalating human rights
violations over the past few years."The Laxmi Narayan Mandir, located at Native Jetty, near the
Jinnah Bridge on M A Jinnah Road, had its access, privacy and environs severely affected a few years ago by another commercial project, Port Grand." The letter called upon the Chief Justice to summon the KMC officials
to explain the matter and ensure that all necessary steps were taken to protect the temple.

http://epaper.dailyexcelsior.com/?id=MTUyMjk=

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 Mar 2014 09:54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AicSHkCmuMM

THis PakiKitanu claims Bakistan have toatl 3 Crore electric Connections .

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 Mar 2014 10:00

Zaid Hamid: The Debate Ep 37 -- The Treason on Kishanganga

Pakistan gave Rivers to India

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 22 Mar 2014 11:25

Apparently gulf countries are paying for the expenses of arming and training 30,000 TFTAs to be kept on the ready for contingencies like revolutions attack by Iran etc.

partha · Post by **partha** » 22 Mar 2014 11:29

^
Yes.

Details - http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/840/7895.htm

A report in Roznama Dunya says Pakistan will provide 30,000 troops to GCC

On March 18, 2014, the king of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, arrived in Pakistan on a three-day visit, which was seen as a move by the Sunni regime of Bahrain to seek military assistance from Pakistan to curb growing protests by the Shia majority in the country. The delegation comprised Bahrain's top leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak bin Hamad Al-Khalifa; Chairman of the House of Representatives Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani; Chairman of the Shura Council Ali bin Saleh; Lt. Gen. Sheikh Muhammad bin Isa Al-Khalifa; and Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Salman Al-Khalifa, among others.

It should be noted that in recent years Bahrain has witnessed protests by Shia Muslims, who constitute the kingdom's majority population. Currently, soldiers and policemen from Pakistan are hired by the rulers of Bahrain to protect the Sunni monarchy. In the recent past, there were incidents of Pakistani policemen being beaten up in Bahrain. In April 2011, MEMRI released a report titled "Pakistan's Blackwater – Recruitment of 'Mercenaries' for Deployment in Bahrain", which examined how Pakistan's active duty as well as retired security forces were hired by Pakistani jihad-advocating ex-servicemen societies, for deployment in Bahrain.[1]

The March 18-20 visit to Pakistan by Bahrain's King Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa was seen primarily as an attempt to boost bilateral military cooperation, especially as the visit came soon after a visit by Saudi rulers which was also meant to boost Pakistan-Saudi defense cooperation. In February, it emerged that Saudi Arabia had sought Pakistani military forces and weapons for use in Syria.[2]

On the subject of the Bahraini king's visit to Pakistan, a number of Pakistani writers and columnists warned Pakistan against supporting the Sunni regimes in the Middle East. On Twitter, noted columnist Raza Rumi warned: "the day is not far when Pakistan will be a member of the Monarchies' Commonwealth – Al Bakistan, Saudi Arabia, & Bahrain!"[3] The name "Al Bakistan" is a pun on Pakistan becoming an Arab country, as the letter "P" isn't available in Arabic and is instead rendered as a "B." Blogger Nilofer Afridi Qazi tweeted: "Pakistan, Bahrain agree to enhance military relationship? What does that mean? We will support suppression of Shia rights/democratic movement?"[4] In a tweet, journalist Raja Arsalan Khan reminded that Pakistan's General Zia-ul-Haq had early in his career led a Jordanian force to crush the Palestinians: "#Pakistan will cooperate with #Bahrain in defense sector. Are we going to reproduce the job executed by #Zia in #Jordan."[5]

Roznama Dunya Report: "Bahraini King's Visit To Pakistan Should Be Seen In The Context Of The Middle East As The Region … Where The Shias Are In Majority, And In Conflict With The Sunnis [Who Control Regimes]"

According to a report in Roznama Dunya, Pakistan will provide 30,000 Pakistani troops for the defense of the Sunni regimes in the Gulf. The report quoted Saudi Arabia-based Pakistani columnist Rashid Hussain as saying that in the Gulf "there is a buzz that in order to reduce tension in the region, Pakistan will provide at least 30,000 troops for the defense shield force of the Gulf Cooperation Council, though the officials of the Pakistani foreign ministry are describing the current visit of the king of Bahrain as purely related to trade and business."[6]

Currently, bilateral trade between Bahrain and Pakistan stands at $40 million, which is in favor of Bahrain by $8 million dollars, the report noted. According to the report, international affairs expert Dr. Ejaz Hussain said that the "Bahraini king's visit to Pakistan should be seen in the context of the Middle East as the region is rich with Bahraini oil where the Shias are in majority, and in conflict with the Sunnis [who control regimes]."[7]

While the Pakistani government has sought to discourage media reports that Pakistan's engagement with Bahrain is aimed at defense cooperation, The News, a leading English-language Pakistani newspaper, headlined its report: "Pakistan, Bahrain agree to enhance military ties."[8] The Urdu-language Roznama Jang published a report titled: "Pakistan, Bahrain Agree To Boost Military Cooperation; 15 Agreements And 2 Pacts Signed."[9] Roznama Express, an Urdu-language daily, carried a front-page headline: "The Bahraini King Visits The Joint Staff Headquarters, Agreement To Boost Military Cooperation."

The Express Tribune: "Pakistan Had … Helped Bahrain Set Up Its Naval Forces, And 18 Percent Of The Gulf State's Air Force Comprises Pakistani Personnel"; "Almost 10,000 Pakistanis Are Serving In Security Services Of Bahrain"

The following are excerpts from a report by The Express Tribune, a liberal Pakistani daily, on the visit of the Bahraini king:[10]

"Pakistan and Bahrain discussed expanding their existing defense cooperation after high-level talks held at the Joint Staff headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday [March 19, 2014]. King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa … visited the Joint Staff headquarters, where he was received by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with the chiefs of the three services, including Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.

"During their formal talks, the countries discussed options to strengthen their defense and security cooperation. Historically, Pakistan and Bahrain enjoy strong defense ties. Pakistan had reportedly helped Bahrain set up its naval forces, and 18 percent of the Gulf state's air force comprises Pakistani personnel. It is estimated that almost 10,000 Pakistanis are serving in security services of Bahrain. During the Arab Spring, Bahrain is believed to have hired the services of retired military and police officials [from Pakistan] to quell the revolt.

"According to the official statement issued after the talks, the King of Bahrain lauded the professional competence, training, and courage of the defense forces of Pakistan. He said Pakistani armed forces have rendered matchless sacrifices for the defense of the country."

So Urdu press in Pakistan broke the news.