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WASHINGTON - The United States believes that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are “safe” despite a surge in terrorist violence across the country, including Sunday’s assault on Jinnah International airport in Karachi, a State Department spokesperson said.“We know that they (Pakistani government) care about this a great deal and have no reason at this point to think it’s anything but safe,” Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said when an Indian correspondent raised the question of safety of Pakistan‘s nuclear assets at the daily Press briefing on Monday.“We believe the Pakistani Government understands the importance of protecting all of its arsenal, including things related to its nuclear programme,” he said.Meanwhile, in a formal statement, the US not only condemned the terrorist attack on the airport, but also the suicide attacks targeting Shia pilgrims in Taftan, Balochistan.“Regrettably, the Pakistani people face violent assaults from numerous groups,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said, while noting that the same day as the airport attack, 30 Shia pilgrims were murdered in Balochistan, “the latest innocent victims of sectarian violence.” “The United States also sends its sincere condolences to those affected by this heinous attack and strongly condemns those responsible,” she said. “Extremist violence against innocent Pakistani men, women, and children of any faith is an assault on universal human values. We encourage the government to take steps to protect and improve the lives of members of Pakistan’s minorities and take concrete steps to promote tolerance and religious freedom.”
Paul wrote:In the video Haqqani cuts off Fair when she talks talking about the "Wrong Enemy" by Carlotta Gall. Means he is not completely sold out yet and has connections to the Pak establishment.
He is trying to avert complete divorce between Pak US from getting completely solemnized, wants Pak to have at least some bedroom access to Uncle Sam.
During Gall's book discussion 'good' Haqqani wasnt very supportive as he was to Fair. Seems he and CF share good bond.
Adnan had joined the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 1997, before being arrested for his role in an attempt to assassinate Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi on December 14, 2003.
He was subsequently awarded death sentence by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on October 3, 2005 at Chaklala Base of PAF along with six other Air Force men. However, after being convicted, Adnan was shifted to the Bannu Central Jail from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi due to inexplicable reasons, only to be freed by the TTP in a jail break operation.
Everything in Pakiland is murky. Many people involved in the attempt against Mushy went free even when Mushy was the dictator. Omar Sheikh Saeed is a famous example: He even threatened Mushy from Jail. Wonder why this is the case. Did ISI extract some kind of promise from these yahoos or were they confident that they had turned them? Here is an eyepopper
Adnan narrated how his boss granted him four months’ leave to get training at a Jaish training camp in Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
abhijitm wrote:US is so confident as if jewels are no more in pakistan onlee.
If the US said that in a response to an Indian query it pays not to forget that US presidents have sworn in the past that Pakistan does not have and is not developing nuclear weapons.
The US does not have much of a clue or control and says this only to please its munna at a time when Indians are laughing
Pakistan: Update. On 10 June, four or five gunmen attacked a security training facility near Karachi international airport. A gunfight broke out at a checkpoint at the Airport Security Force (ASF) academy, located 500 yards from the main airport complex, according to a camp spokesman. The attackers fled on motorcycles as a heavy contingent of security forces reached the academy, according to Pakistani news reports.
No casualties were reported.
Comment: Today's gunfight seems like a back-handed tribute to the ASF, some of whose personnel died fighting the terrorists on Sunday.
One implication of today's gunfight is that the Pakistani Taliban are in Karachi in some strength and they are bold. Karachi has a large Pashtun population that obviously supports and protects anti-government cells.
The Sindh provincial and the Karachi city governments know that they have little control and less welcome in the Pashtun neighborhoods in and near Karachi. They have little choice but to tolerate some levels of violence and crime
The attacks this week, however, threaten Pakistan's economic attractiveness and prospects. A crackdown will occur, but Karachi is beyond the control of any government. Moreover, the Pakistani Taliban problem has its roots in the tribal areas of the northwest.
The security forces probably will capture some of the people who aided and abetted the latest attacks, but the anti-government cell will survive, if not thrive. The crackdown will be a police crackdown in Karachi.
The Sharif government's security problems pose difficult questions because the Pakistani Taliban have metastasized in the past several years. Nevertheless, they have managed to maintain better coordination of effort across regions than the government's security forces. There can be no Army solution in the tribal agencies without extensive police support in the cities with large Pashtun populations. There can be no police solutions in the cities without Army pressure in the tribal agencies.
Pakistan has yet to craft a balanced, integrated strategy for defeating the Pakistani Taliban and other anti-government groups.{The larger questions are whether Pakistan is at all willing and capable of taking action because these are the very same forces Pakistan is depending upon to defeat the only mortal enemy and the only existential threat, India}
Anujan wrote:Everything in Pakiland is murky. Many people involved in the attempt against Mushy went free even when Mushy was the dictator. Omar Sheikh Saeed is a famous example: He even threatened Mushy from Jail. Wonder why this is the case. Did ISI extract some kind of promise from these yahoos or were they confident that they had turned them? Here is an eyepopper
Adnan narrated how his boss granted him four months’ leave to get training at a Jaish training camp in Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
From DAWN,
When he [Adnan Rashid] was transferred to civil detention facility, he was initially lodged in a death cell at Haripur prison from where he was shifted to Peshawar jail. In Sept last [i.e. Sept, 2011] he was shifted to Bannu prison.One of the reporters receiving regular messages from him said that in almost all the prisons he was having cellular phones. He had to change his number several times as during search operations in the prisons on several occasions he was deprived of his phone. However, after few days he was again enjoying the said facility.
The bolded parts above show how officials are hand-in-glove with these jihadists. Adnan Rashid, being a Pashtun, was transferred to Bannu under some flimsy reason or the other as part of the Taliban conspiracy to raid the prison and free him along with the others. The rot runs very deep indeed.
A senior PML-N member told Dawn News that Sharif felt belittled when there was no joint press conference after the one-on-one meeting between the two Prime Ministers
A senior PML-N member told Dawn News that Sharif felt belittled when there was no joint press conference after the one-on-one meeting between the two Prime Ministers
PsyOps , pure and simple.
Bad cop failed, good cop is also going to fail.
He needed an out when no one reacted from the Indian side. The pukis certainly made for poor & ill mannered guests. The buggers may have also lifted some cutlery.
Modi is not like MMS, panting after the elusive Nobel.
There is 16M traffic at KHI. Most to gulf via umma jamhuri carriers. Those will still fly until next event. Turkish and Thai should follow Cathay lead. Insurance for jamhuri carriers should lead to reduced traffic. This is unavoidable.
A simple boundary wall, and outsourcing of security to some international firm (Blackwater?) can restore some confidence. Traffic at rest of airports is under 5M. If no real change, then soon Ariana (fleet ~10, destinations ~20) alone will eclipse entire 60 plane baki fleet. Planes not flone die a remarkable quick death.
Edit -- afghan civil aviation is surprisingly vibrant. except for real long haul they have already passed bakistan in fleet and service.
Last edited by Shreeman on 11 Jun 2014 18:15, edited 1 time in total.
Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, a veteran Baloch nationalist leader, passed away in Karachi on Tuesday after a protracted illness for which he was admitted to a local hospital in critical condition last week.
He was a leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) – a proscribed Baloch separatist organisation – and was one of the key leaders of the 1970s insurgency in Balochistan. He had returned to Pakistan after the fall of the left-wing government in Kabul after spending several years there in exile. He had six sons – Balach Marri, Jangaiz Marri, Hyrbyiar Marri, Gazain Marri, Hamza Marri and Mehran Marri.
Khair Bakhsh Marri’s son, Nawab Balach Marri, was allegedly killed by NATO forces in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border in 2007.
Pakistan’s hopes of reviving international cricket were smashed when Ireland decided to hold back on its discussion with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on a proposed tour to Pakistan in the wake of the militant attack on Karachi airport, ESPN cricinfo reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, Ireland had been willing to tour Pakistan, if they were provided satisfactory safety and security. However, their plans have been stalled due to the terrorist attacks in and around Karachi airport, resultantly killing 30 people.
"Cricket Ireland is obviously very keen to secure as many fixtures as possible against Full Members, and these proposed games would have been very beneficial ahead of the 2015 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup," Chambers said.
"Cricket Ireland and the PCB were in advanced discussions to play three ODIs in Pakistan in September," Barry Chambers, Cricket Ireland's spokesperson told ESPN cricinfo.
This had been discussed by the respective chairman and CEOs during the course of the past three weeks and had also included contact with ICC, security advisors and government.
Following a preliminary agreement, it was decided that three games would be played between the two teams, subject to a security review by credible experts, as well as a mutual agreement from the players and staff. However, the series will now be held at a later date because of the deadly assault on Karachi airport.
Pakistan has not hosted an international cricket team to tour the country since 2009 when the Sri Lanka cricket team was attacked by gunmen in Lahore.
No Test-playing nation has toured Pakistan since then and the team has been forced to play its ‘home’ matches at neutral venues.
abhijitm wrote:US is so confident as if jewels are no more in pakistan onlee.
If the US said that in a response to an Indian query it pays not to forget that US presidents have sworn in the past that Pakistan does not have and is not developing nuclear weapons.
The US does not have much of a clue or control and says this only to please its munna at a time when Indians are laughing
Slightly wrong. The US is typically aware. It uses Pak as a control rod. When it needs something done... say get rid of the Af mess etc, they need to give in to Pak demands... stuff like terrorist activities against India, secession activities in J&K etc... US will heed to the whims and fancies as it needs to get a hold of stuff it needs to get rid of. Else, US will say NO to those and have a lot more of vehemence in the NO. That way.
All said and done, its a sad predicament that India is an aside and it gets controlled due to the decisions that US needs to take vis-à-vis Pak / other countries whims. The only time that was different was during the Civil Nuclear agreement... but even that has lots of holes if one is to believe both sides of the story.
Not really. US had and has no clue wrt to Paki clown jewels. They had no idea they were stored in kabul under the Taliban and brought back on 9/13 with all those airflights. Even now they have no clue.
The fact that TTP attacked the airport twice and the module was led by a fzzileya jihadi shows they had some inkiling of stuff being there.
TTP needs the clown jewels to get legitimacy and its matter of time.
SS and Paul, the more I look at it is the Pashtun Civil War that is morping into TTP jihad against Pakjab.
vijaykarthik, India is not helpless and has options and is using them. One of them is neglect. See how Badmash has thanked his visit despite all the nonsense peddled by his minions.
After all this tamasha only thing we get is tiny holes in aircraft? We were expecting huge holes in the ground. They just don't make them as good any more.
Baikul wrote:The Irish have to be drunk to go play in Pakistan.
Oh wait.
They will have to get drunk on their own soil before departure or in the air. It can't be that long a tour. Not sure if the Irish can hold out for more than a day or two.
vijaykarthik wrote:
Slightly wrong. The US is typically aware. It uses Pak as a control rod. When it needs something done... say get rid of the Af mess etc, they need to give in to Pak demands... stuff like terrorist activities against India, secession activities in J&K etc... US will heed to the whims and fancies as it needs to get a hold of stuff it needs to get rid of. Else, US will say NO to those and have a lot more of vehemence in the NO. That way.
The US has not managed to control Pakistan any more than a man with incontinence can control his pee. People simply imagine these things based on US bluster, reputation and a blind admiration for non existent American capability; regarding a US which has shown itself to be hamfisted and incapable of doing anything right other than military victories over Grenada, Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan. And they are not going to fight Pakistan - so I see no US victory there. Except one single raid for Osammy for which they deserve some credit - only because the Pakis were watching India.
I think Indians need to get out of this mindset that the US can do all sorts of things. That clouds Indian thinking - sometimes at the highest levels. I have studied the situation too long to believe that naively admiring view of the US. The US does not and will not control Pakistan and can do nothing about Pakistani nukes. The US will fund and bribe Pakistan and arm them in the hope that the Pakis will do things for them. Unless Indians can see the difference between those two things - we will never figure out geopolitical reality. The US is afraid to stop bribing Pakistan because of the damage that the US could suffer - so it is Pakistan that has the US by the balls, contrary to what people imagine.
Uzbek fighters were involved in the all-night siege of Karachi airport that killed 37, insurgent sources said Wednesday, highlighting how the Pakistani Taliban can draw on international militant networks to carry out major attacks.
"Yes, the attack on the Karachi airport was a joint operation of TTP and Islamic Movment of Uzbekistan. "
"At midnight of Monday ten brave martyrdom seeking mujaahids of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan wearing their explosive-filled vests attacked a very special section of Karachi International Airport of Pakistan," the English-language statement attributed to IMU said.
"This martyrdom operation was carried out as the revenge to the latest full-scale bombardments and night attacks with fighter jets by (the) Pakistan Apostate Army," the statement added.
Pakistan "Apostate" Army!! So, if PAA (through its proxy, PAAF) continues its attacks on the al keeda and its multinational conglomerates, can we expect more atish baazi? AoA!
The two had been previously arrested for eating human corpses in the same village in 2011 and served two years in prison in a case that shocked Pakistan.
Since there is no specific offence of cannibalism in Pakistani law, the brothers had been charged under anti-terrorism laws for desecrating a human body.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly on Wednesday asked the government to lodge protest with the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad over recovery of Indian weapons from militants who attacked Karachi airport.
the PPP stalwart called on India to explain as to how militants got Indian weapons to attack Pakistani airport. “"Do India has" no control on its secret agency,” he asked.
Ironic. The grammatically-challenged geriatric is confused about who runs ISI. Meanwhile, since the pakis are at it (filing complaints with the India High Commission), they should also lodge protests with the Chinese Embassy because the attackers were wearing Made-in-China Nikes.
Now look at our internal security policy and strategic defence and offence. It is all about employing irregular ways and irregulars as our first line of defence. When we have a standing army of half a million, trained paramilitary forces and a cover provided by a competent air force and naval fleet, why do we invest in irregulars? It began with irregulars being sent to Kashmir in 1947. We had a claim on the State of Jammu and Kashmir. War is never the best option but even if circumstances were such, what was the point in mobilising irregular tribal warriors?
Then, in East Pakistan, we had irregulars in the form of Al-Badr and Al-Shams. What dividend did they bring? Investing in non-state militias and forces mobilised on the basis of orthodox religious ideologies has not paid us back the way we thought it will in Afghanistan during the Zia regime or elsewhere over the years. Some have turned their guns on us. The rest cannot be trusted either in my humble view unless the powers that be have become too complacent and still think they can control and regulate these outfits which are far more ideologically and commercially motivated than ever before, grossly intolerant of others in nature and increasingly nurturing international linkages.
Perergrine, The origins of the I^3 are the operational experience in WWII of the TSPA or PAA is the TTP calls them: Maj Gen Akbar and Lt Gen Cawthorne.
Pakistan was born in 1947 in a climate of hatred towards Hindu and Sikh Indians.
Today, it’s not just the Hindus. The list of people many in Pakistan hate is long.
1. Hindus and India
2. Jews
3. Christians and America
4. Ahmadiya Muslims
5. Shia Muslims and Iran
6. Baloch and the Bengali
7. Blacks and Africans
8. Gays and Lesbians
9. Poor and Disabled
10. Joy and Happiness
Growing up, I was told Hindus were dirty, ugly and had a slavish mentality, while we Muslims were the people chosen to rule over Hindus because we were better looking, ate beef and had the genes of Arabs and Central Asians that made us “fair and lovely.”
Right here in Toronto I know of Pakistanis who will not eat food prepared by a Hindu chef — but will deny it in public.
But as my ancestors affirmed in Sanskrit, “Satyameva Jayate”: “Truth alone triumphs”
A U.S. drone on Wednesday struck Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, a stronghold for militants, Pakistani officials said, marking a resumption of the drone program Washington had effectively suspended.
Local security officials said at least three people were killed in the latest drone strike, the first such attack this year. The target wasn't immediately clear.
MIHRAMSHAH: The first US drone strike in Pakistan this year Wednesday killed at least six militants in a northwest tribal district where pressure was building on Islamabad to react after a brazen attack on Karachi airport.The missiles hit a vehicle and a compound in Dargah Mandi village in North Waziristan, around 10 kilometres (six miles) west of the main town of Miranshah in an area considered a stronghold for the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.“Four of them were Uzbeks and two were Punjabi Taliban,” said an intelligence official in Miramshah referring to militants from Pakistan's central Punjab province who have taken shelter in North Waziristan.Officials said militants had parked their pick-up truck against the outer wall of the compound.“Both compound and truck were completely destroyed. Local informers told us that both are still on fire,” he said.Another senior security official confirmed the strike and said the death toll could rise.The strike came as Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan said that Uzbek militants had been deployed in a siege of the country's busiest airport that began Sunday night and ended late Monday morning, killing 37 people including the 10 attackers.That attack shredded a tentative piece process that began earlier this year with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who rose up against the state in 2007 in an insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.It also raised serious questions about how militants could strike at the airport serving Pakistan's economic hub, concerns which were underscored by a follow-up attack at an airport checkpoint the next day in which two Taliban gunmen escaped without causing casualties.
abhik wrote:After all this tamasha only thing we get is tiny holes in aircraft? We were expecting huge holes in the ground. They just don't make them as good any more.
Anujan wrote:FWIW this seems to be the attack route. They seemed to have attacked the old terminal first. They were killed in the cargo handling area.
What morons! If they had skipped the old terminal..a few hundred yards ahead and they would have got the prettiest houris in Jannat for a good day's (or night) work in the new terminal. Now they are probably experiencing recycled maal up there.
I still remember the day I wanted to become the prime minister of Pakistan. I was nine years old. My family had recently moved from Karachi to Riyadh (To See and Enjoy the L.nd of Fistfather) so that my father could earn enough to repay our family’s debts. I was angry at my parents for forcing me to move away from my friends in Karachi. In my first year there, August 14 was a punishingly hot, airless day in Riyadh. I didn’t have any friends to go out and play with in the evenings. I began acting up with my parents and kept telling them that I wanted to move back to Pakistan — back to where my friends were.That evening on August 14 (August Chodha By 4Fs)I thought of all the fun I’d be having with my friends and cousins if I was in Karachi. I felt guilty about not being able to buy a Pakistani flag from Karachi’s Allah wali chowrangi that year. Somehow, all these mixed feelings naively translated into a promise I made to myself that night; I wanted to grow up to become the prime minister of Pakistan. I wanted to solve all the country’s problems so that I could live with all my friends in Pakistan, happily ever after. Fortunately, as I grew older, I distanced myself from the promise of the office of prime minister but not from the premise of being able to help solve Pakistan’s problems in one capacity or another. Unfortunately, that premise appears to be dying in the hours after the attack on Karachi’s airport.I still can’t put my finger on why the attack on Karachi’s airport physically caused pain I’ve never experienced before. I didn’t feel the same pain at the news of the two dozen Shia pilgrims being bombed at the same time. I struggle to understand why. Is it because I’m not Shia and I can’t feel their pain? Or is it because I’m a ‘burger’ and the airport hit closer to home because I use it often? Does this make me a bad human being and a bad Muslim? Perhaps, it isn’t politically correct to say these things out loud but the attack made me stop wanting to correct my thoughts. Was this Pakistan’s 9/11? Pakistanis die all the time, why can’t I just vent on Facebook and move on with my life? What’s wrong with my country? What’s wrong with me?
There are two telltale signs that signal you’re stuck in an unhealthy emotional relationship. The first is numbness. An emotional relationship with Pakistan causes daily pain and heartache. As a defence mechanism, we become numb to bad news and make ourselves feel better by calling it resilience. This shields us from daily pain. At this point, we’re still committed to the relationship either because we value the relationship itself or the pain of breaking up is higher than the pain of staying in the relationship. This was my relationship with Pakistan before the Karachi attack.And then suddenly this week, something snapped and I can’t put my finger on what happened. The attack on Karachi’s airport is nothing out of the ordinary for Pakistan but for some reason it’s turning into a breaking point in my relationship with Pakistan. Almost overnight, the numbness has given away to extra-sensitive, intense pain. In the past, whenever my mind used to argue against Pakistan, my heart used to rush to the country’s defence. Today, my heart no longer rushes to defend Pakistan. Instead, my heart wavers. Am I beginning to give up on Pakistan?
MUSAALAMBAD – The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday put a restriction on TV anchorman Mubashir Lucman from conducting any programmes.Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui heard the case against Lucman on a petition filed by the Lal Masjid Shuhada Foundation. In the plea, applicant Hafiz Ahtesham's lawyer Tariq Asad said in court that Lucman defamed and ridiculed people during his shows, adding that he had also derided the superior judiciary.The lawyer further stated that no action was taken against the TV anchor by government institutions. Justice Siddiqui remarked that several complaints were received against Lucman, adding that no action was taken by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority and the Ministry of Information in this regard.Justice Siddiqui also said that Lucman kept on discrediting Justice Jawwad.S. Khawaja while he was hearing a case in relation to the conduct of a television channel. The court inquired about the action taken by Pemra over the complaints that it had received against Lucman.
ramana wrote:That drone strike in Haqqani area doesn't make sense.
My instincts tell me that the target was the cargo hangar (and not the passenger terminals). Maybe there was a high value target in the VIP lounge next to the cargo hangar. That's why they entered from the west. That cockamamie story of "wanting to hijack a plane" is a non-starter.
