Bharat Rakshak

A_Rai wrote:TTP will open a front against India if its army did not stop ‘unprovoked attacks’ on POK.

Lilo wrote: Are those real guns at least ?
Looks more like a "propah replica"s

Union Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid categorically ruled out talks with Pakistan in the wake of the recent recurring incidents of violations of ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

QUETTA: Four people were killed and over 10 were wounded during an attack on the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express on Friday, AFP reported.

The train, which began its journey from Quetta, was attacked with rockets in the Dozan area near Machh Town in Balochistan’s Bolan district. Women and children were among the casualties.

“We have taken two dead bodies and 24 injured to the hospital, the condition of most of the injured was critical because of excessive bleeding,” Zubair Kurd, a local government official in the area told AFP, warning that the death toll may increase.

Kurd said the attackers were hiding in the mountains and first started firing and then fired at least three rockets at the train.

“They managed to escape. We have launched a search operation,” Kurd added.

Security forces, backed by a military helicopter, launched a search in an effort to trace and arrest the attackers, AP quoted railway official Kashif Khan as saying.

Friday’s attack comes just over a week after gunmen disguised as security personnel killed 11 civilians and two security men after kidnapping them from Punjab-bound passenger coaches also near Machh Town.

The coaches were coming from Quetta and the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the killings.

The news from the Line of Control (LoC), in Kashmir, is not good. Five Indian soldiers were reportedly kidnapped and murdered by terrorists wearing Pakistan Army uniforms. The Pakistan Army denies any part in this. This action, like similar actions in the past, has most likely been carried out by jihadi groups, who would very much like to derail any process of rapprochement between India and Pakistan. Nevertheless, this has caused tempers to flare across the border — the Indian establishment has sounded off against Pakistan and its support for terrorists. On the Pakistani side, the reaction has been much more muted. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his concerns at the escalating tensions.
All this comes against the backdrop of positive developments over the last several months where the ground was being prepared for reopening the dialogue between the two countries.
It is really important that both countries keep their eye on the ball and do not get distracted by such incidents, once again. This is exactly what the jihadi groups — who are responsible for the violent incidents on the LoC — want.
Notwithstanding the troubles mentioned above, I think the current circumstances in Pakistan are most favourable to move forward on this matter. The new government has the necessary political space and mandate, and has shown the will to do so. Very soon after Nawaz Sharif took office, he dispatched a special envoy to India to sound out the government there.
The Pakistan Army chief also made a critical statement a few months ago, saying that the major threat to Pakistan is from the Taliban and associated terrorists, rather than India. In his speech at the Pakistan Military Academy, in Kakul, he again dwelt at length on this threat and how Pakistan has no option but to meet it head on, hardly mentioning India in this context.
More importantly, if we look at the matter of Kashmir closely, we see that the interests of both Pakistan and India are surprisingly similar — both India and Pakistan want to keep control over their parts of Kashmir and both have, hopefully, realised after three wars that they cannot get the other part.
Two major opinion surveys conducted on both sides of border in Kashmir, over the period 2007-2010, have shown that less than 10 per cent of the Muslim population of Indian-occupied-Kashmir would like to join Pakistan. Likewise, Pakistani Kashmiris do not want to join India.
Therefore, it seems time has moved on and the situation on the ground has changed, since 1947. A division along the LoC, i.e., a formalisation of the status quo, is in the best interest of both India and Pakistan.
Please note that agreement on these lines only formalises the defacto situation on the ground and does not require any changes which could result in a breaking point. It would, therefore, be the easiest to implement.
In view of the high payback possible from defusing this flashpoint between two nuclear armed countries, it is imperative that political leaders of both countries (with encouragement of the international community) spend the necessary political capital to come to an agreement. It may get them the Nobel Peace Prize if they do!

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon before embarking on a two-day visit to Pakistan, in an interview with the New York based APP correspondent, underscored the need for both Pakistan and India to resolve the longstanding Kashmir issue. He said that he was prepared to mediate if both sides thought it useful and agreed on such an initiative. The Secretary General by giving this statement has regrettably tried to absolve the UN of its responsibility to have the dispute settled as enunciated in 23 resolutions of the world body. Perhaps, it is also an endorsement of the Indian view that the resolutions are no more relevant after the signing of Simla Agreement, which stipulates the resolution of all outstanding issues between the two countries, including Kashmir, through bilateral negotiations. One could understand such hypocritical statements by the US, its Western allies and those who have strong political and economic bonds with India, but it was simply untenable and regrettable to hear such utterances from UN Secretary General.

President Barack Obama during the pre-election campaign of his first term expressed his commitment to have the Kashmir issue resolved. But after coming into power, he took a somersault, and even refused to mediate between the two countries, subscribing to the Indian view of handling the dispute through bilateral channels knowing fully well that even after nearly 39 years of signing the Simla Agreement, no headway has been made towards its resolution. It is assumed that New Delhi has invariably used different pretexts to suspend the dialogue process. The US instead seems more focused on propping up India as a superpower, supporting its bid for permanent membership in the Security Council, and giving it an enhanced role in the post-withdrawal period of US-Nato forces in Afghanistan. With the passage of time, perhaps, its priorities and strategic interests in the region have changed and it is no more interested in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan, unfortunately, does not figure in the scheme of things visualised and purported to be unleashed by the US in the South Asian region.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his election campaign and after assuming power has been expressing his resolve to improve relations with India and accordingly has extended the hand of friendship by offering to restart the suspended dialogue between the two countries. But the Indians have reignited border skirmishes on the Line of Control in Kashmir, which are likely to affect the resumption of peace talks. No person in his right mind can take an issue with the proposition that improvement of Pak-India relations is in the best interest of both the countries, provided it eventually paves the way for the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir. That would usher in an era of peace, tranquillity, and shared economic prosperity in the region. It may sound rather pessimistic, but by looking at the track record of the bilateral negotiations and the changing geopolitical and strategic environment, the possibility of achieving a breakthrough on the Kashmir issue remains as elusive as ever. Another point that forces one to draw this inference, perhaps, is India’s claim of Kashmir being its integral part, maintaining that the question of accession has already been settled by the Constituent Assembly of Occupied Kashmir in 1957; despite the fact that UN through its Resolutions 91 and 122 repudiated the Indian stance reiterating that the question of accession could not be resolved by any means other than enunciated in the UN resolutions. Contrary to the Indian view, the bilateral agreement does not change the legal status of the dispute. It also does not preclude the possibility of raising it again at the UN in case the agreement fails to deliver. Article 103 maintains: “In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the members of the United Nations under the present Charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under the present Charter shall prevail."This means that UN resolutions on Kashmir will take precedence over all other international agreements on it. So Pakistan is very much within its right to invoke UN resolutions, after having been frustrated to find solution through the bilateral arrangement. The resolutions on Kashmir adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter remain legally binding on the parties; Article 25 also reiterates their obligatory nature. The Security Council has the power to enforce its decisions and resolutions militarily or by any other means necessary; the powers that it had used during the Korean War in 1950 and in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. It is abundantly clear from the foregoing that the legal status and obligations of the parties to the dispute under UN resolutions, and that of the Security Council, to have its resolutions implemented remain unaffected. One would have welcomed a statement by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressing the resolve to fulfil UN obligations under Article 25, rather than toeing the line of the powers that hold sway over its policies and are hell bent to refashion the world to fulfil their imperialistic designs.

Dipanker wrote:Somebody should tell this moron that all UN resolution regarding J&K are under charter VI and thus non-binding.

So when is Pakistan going to implement the UN resolutions, get the ceded territory back from China and pull its army back from PoK?

http://tribune.com.pk/story/590507/open ... and-peace/

ISLAMABAD : As promised assistance from the Islamic Development Bank could not arrive on Thursday, Pakistan’s low foreign currency reserves will drop further as it returns today (Friday) another tranche of $145.4 million to the International Monetary Fund.

This will be the 18th tranche to repay an IMF loan taken in November 2008. On August 26, Pakistan will pay back another $258.5 million SDR or about $393 million to the IMF.

With these two big payments of about $538 million, gross foreign currency reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan will fall below $4.5 billion until some assistance comes from abroad.

On August 2, the gross reserves stood at $5.2 billion. By excluding forward contract liabilities of over $3 billion, net reserves of the SBP remain at around $2.2 billion, sufficient only for half a month of imports.

Pakistan on Friday said all channels are open for dialogue with India to improve the relations and resolve all outstanding issues to ensure peace and development in the regionCommenting on the statement of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the spokesman without directly responding to the statement said Pakistan has always clarified that its soil would not be used by any terrorist against any country.He said law enforcing agencies are vigilant in this regard and fully determined to check the activities of the terrorists.

Despite the hysteria, more visible on Indian television news channels than outside, it is more than likely that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will meet in New York next month. It will be absurd not to when talks can be far more potent than guns with far-reaching and hopefully, better consequences.Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid was particularly good on television recently where he exposed one of India’s ‘nationalist’ anchors, who has been spearheading the ‘teach them a lesson’ campaign, as ill-informed and shallow. Unfortunately, the minister did not confirm the meeting but in the South Asian context, one can perhaps, revel in the fact that he did not rule it out either.The ‘no talks’ formula cannot work in suspended animation and will have to be followed by action of some kind. The logical course of such macho-functioning can only be conflict and war because if the suspension of dialogue does not produce desired results, it can only be followed by military action. Fine, so we go to war. And, what then? We (this applies to both India and Pakistan) teach ‘them’ a lesson but can we do that without incurring losses that will set our economies back by decades, not to mention the loss of lives and the irreversible trauma on our peoples? Do we seriously believe that war is a solution in the 21st century?
. The composite dialogue that was in its time a major step forward, has become a dead agenda without periodic review at the highest political levels. The political leaders should seriously review the composite agenda, flag the problems, tick mark the positives and see how best to proceed, instead of going through the motions without thought or sight. And for the war-mongers: dialogue is not a sign of weakness but a platform that can be used to express dissent, anger, fury when need be in the knowledge that the talks will not snap and measures taken to address issues.This hostility has to end. Those who attacked and killed Indian soldiers need to be brought to justice. But the response to this cannot be an attack on the Pakistani mission in India or the vandalising of Pakistan airlines’ offices in Delhi. No one here in India is fooled into looking at these wanton acts of violence as spontaneous. Vested groups in Pakistan have to stop looking at terrorism as a means to an end. Both countries have enough ground in common to work on, provided they realise that they have no option other than peace and dialogue. The schizophrenic war to peace to war transformations are taking a heavy toll, on both India and Pakistan and the entire region.

Peregrine wrote:Reserves under pressure : Pakistan repays another $145m to IMF today

These forces should understand that if government can hold talks with hijackers then why not with Taliban

Hassan blamed some secular forces

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elementary and secondary education minister Atif Khan on Friday said his government would rectify the mistake of removing Quranic verses on jihad from the curriculum

PTI is in alliance with Jamaat-i-Islami in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Mr Atif Khan, who belongs to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, said Islamic teachings would be the basis of his government’s steps regarding curriculum

He said the mistakes in the curriculum, including mention of Kashmir as an undisputed area and taking meal with left hand, and removal of Quranic verses on jihad, would be rectified.

He said instead of Arabs, heroes and celebrities of the land and people like Rehman Baba, Khushaal Baba and others had been included in the textbooks.

Pakistan Air Force must prepare for two-front scenario: Air chief marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt
PTI | Aug 8, 2013, 12.49PM IST
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force must prepare for a "two-front" situation because of its involvement in anti-terror operations and its historic adversarial role with neighbour India, its chief has said.

"We are now faced with a definite two-front scenario: external as well as internal," Air chief marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt said.

"While we have always prepared for the traditional and ominous external threat, the new predicament did take us a while to get up to speed with," he said, referring to PAF's "adversarial role" with India and its recent involvement in anti-terror operations.

"Airpower can achieve much more in a short span of time if employed with clear understanding of its capabilities. Its inherent flexibility has enabled nation states to successfully deter their conventional adversaries as well as prosecute irregular outfits," Butt said.

While participating in anti-terror campaigns, the PAF learnt "on the job quickly and (was) efficiently supporting our ground troops in all their operations against militants", he said in an interview with Jane's Defence Weekly.

Butt said the PAF is set to attain the capability of carrying out aerial refuelling of its frontline JF-17 Thunder jets by the end of this summer.

"The ground tests have been very successful and I am satisfied. The (mid air refuelling test) will be done successfully by end of this summer," he said. {400% surely!}

The in-flight refuelling of the JF-17s by Il-78 fuel tankers will allow the combat jets to remain airborne for longer. The JF-17 was jointly developed by Pakistan and China.

Pakistan acquired the Il-78 fuel tankers from Ukraine in 2010 and these are being synchronised with the JF-17s.

Butt claimed the capability would enhance the marketability of the JF-17, which is being monitored by several countries due to its cost effectiveness.

"The JF-17 programme has been an excellent project to pursue... All this would also not have been possible without the cooperation of China," Butt said.

Besides an "attractive price tag", the JF-17 can carry a variety of weapons and "would become the PAF's mainstay", he said. The PAF plans to induct around 200 to 250 JF-17 jets.

Asked about the induction of Chinese-built ZDK-03 airborne early warning aircraft, Butt said the plane has shown that its "capabilities work well over sea, plains and mountainous terrain".

The PAF is maintaining and operating a sizeable fleet of US-made F-16 jets and its personnel are experienced in handling the system.

"The PAF received its last batch of F-16s in the recent past and even now, there are US Congressional clearances available for the provision of additional F-16 aircraft. Owing to requirements (and) compulsions in the future, there exists a possibility of acquisition of additional F-16 aircraft," he said.

The alleged LeT operative Syed Abdul Karim alias Abdul Karim Tunda, has been arrested on Saturday by Delhi Police from Indo-Nepal border, according to NDTV reports.

One of India's most wanted terrorist, Tunda, wanted in over 40 blast cases in India, is among 20 most wanted in dossier sent to Pakistan post-26/11 attacks.

After allegedly being arrested in Kenya in 2006 only to be told that they may have arrested the wrong person, Syed Abdul Karim alias Tunda, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who has been under the scanner of Indian intelligence and security agencies for a long time, was arrested early on Saturday.

Here’s what is know about him:

- It is known that in the early ’80s Tunda was initiated into terrorism by the ISI and he crossed over to Pakistan where he underwent training in making improvised explosive devices.

- Karim joined the Tanzim Islahul Muslimeen (TIM), or Organisation for the Improvement of Muslims while in Mumbai.

- Karim allegedly travelled to Bangladesh and after working under top Laskhar-e-Taiba operative Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi created a network for the terror group in India.

- He also reportedly helped raise funds for the terror group in the Middle East and also helped forge ties with the criminal network of Dawood Ibrahim.

- The hunt for Karim was almost closed in 2000 when Intelligence agencies received news that he had been killed in a blast in Bangladesh.

- However, Abdul Razzak Masood, a Dubai-based Lashkar operative told the Delhi Police in 2005 that he had met Karim, re-opening the hunt for him. It was then learnt that he had two wives and sons.

- In 2006 he was reported to have been arrested in Nairobi but it was later said that they had arrested the wrong person.
- Tunda, wanted in India for the 1997-98 serial bomb blasts in Delhi, Ajmer and Mumbai, is also wanted in connection with the Mumbai serial train blasts in 2006.

- He is wanted in 33 criminal cases and is alleged to have been involved in 40 blasts carried across the nation.

- As this detailed profile of Karim documents, he was born to a lower middle-class family and after moving to Pilkhuma near Ghaziabad started a homeopathic store and then came to Mumbai to start another business.

sum wrote:^^Apparently, he was deported

One of India's most wanted terrorist, Syed Abdul Karim alias Tunda, accused of masterminding over 40 bombings in the country, has been arrested by Delhi Police from the Indo-Nepal border after he was apparently deported from one of the Gulf countries.
70-year-old Tunda, an expert bomb maker of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, would be produced before a court by Delhi Police later today, official sources said.

Describing Tunda as a major catch, the security agencies say he would be able to throw some light on Lashkar-e-Taiba's operations in India. The details about his arrest were sketchy but Tunda, against whom an Interpol Red Corner notice was issued in 1996, was apparently deported from one of the Gulf countries and his arrest was effected at the Indo-Nepal border.

A resident of Pikhuwa in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, Tunda was one of the 20 terrorists whose extradition India had demanded from Pakistan after the 2001 attack on Parliament House. This list included Lashkar chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and his Jaish-e-Mohammad counterpart Maulana Azhar Masood Alvi.

The CBI had charged Karim with organising LeT's major terror attacks outside of Jammu and Kashmir a series of 43 bombings in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Rohtak and Jalandhar in which over 20 persons were killed and over 400 injured. He had also triggered explosions on inter-city trains on December 6, 1993 that claimed two lives.

Besides being an expert in bomb making, Tunda had a major hand in spreading Laskhar-e-Taiba's network outside Jammu and Kashmir. Before joining the ranks of the terror outfit, he ran a homoeopathic shop in the early 1980's. The sources say that though he was not directly involved in perpetrating bombings after 1998, he acted as mentor for a younger generation of Lashkar operatives, financing and organising operations across India.

He was known as Tunda (handicapped) after he lost his left hand in a bomb-making accident. Many stories had been floated earlier about his whereabouts and the hunt for him virtually ended at one point when it was believed that he had been killed in a blast in Bangladesh.

India needs to strengthen the hands of the civilian government in Pakistan against the military, which desperately needs an external threat to justify the disproportionate share of the resources it enjoys in that country, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor has said.

He was delivering the 23rd Achutha Menon memorial lecture on ‘India’s foreign policy in the 21st century’ here on Friday.

Mr. Tharoor said India could not afford to be tied up in its own backyard by the hostility to Pakistan. “It is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a civilian government is being succeeded by another one, and not a military ruler. We have no choice but to pursue better relations with the government.”

Mr. Tharoor said any attempt to inflict a crushing blow on Pakistan would serve no purpose but to mobilise the people in that country behind the army. Diplomacy, aimed at strengthening the hands of the civilian government, was the only solution. “For one, the Pakistan Army is not the army of 1971. The country is armed with nuclear weapons and a nuclear war will lead to the death of millions. Besides, the world will turn against India if it decides to go to war with Pakistan.”

SSridhar wrote:India has no choice but to talk to Pakistan: Sashi Tharoor - The Hindu

India needs to strengthen the hands of the civilian government in Pakistan against the military, which desperately needs an external threat to justify the disproportionate share of the resources it enjoys in that country, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor has said.

He was delivering the 23rd Achutha Menon memorial lecture on ‘India’s foreign policy in the 21st century’ here on Friday.

Mr. Tharoor said India could not afford to be tied up in its own backyard by the hostility to Pakistan. “It is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a civilian government is being succeeded by another one, and not a military ruler. We have no choice but to pursue better relations with the government.”

Mr. Tharoor said any attempt to inflict a crushing blow on Pakistan would serve no purpose but to mobilise the people in that country behind the army. Diplomacy, aimed at strengthening the hands of the civilian government, was the only solution. “For one, the Pakistan Army is not the army of 1971. The country is armed with nuclear weapons and a nuclear war will lead to the death of millions. Besides, the world will turn against India if it decides to go to war with Pakistan.”

SSridhar wrote:I won't be surprised if Tunda has some serious ailment and may not have much time left.

The well regarded Tamil daily, Dinamani, says that Tunda was arrested by Indian security agencies in KSA.

New Delhi: Top terror suspect Syed Abdul Karim alias Tunda has been arrested by the Delhi Police and brought to India. Sources say he was detained in UAE earlier and on identification he was deported, brought to Delhi and arrested. But there are conflicting reports with the Delhi Police saying he was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border.

Jhujar wrote:Gunman demanding Sherriraat keeps capital on toes for hours
Malsi Cometh Soon

ISLAMABAD: The drama involving an armed lunatic and the apparently untrained police – staged in the high-security Red Zone of Islamabad – ended after almost six hours with the arrest of the man, who had been demanding implementation of an Islamic system in Pakistan.The episode began with the man, identified as Sikandar, waded into the Red Zone in a car at around 5pm on Thursday and opened fire, putting a question mark on the capability of police and other law enforcement agencies to control the situation.Hit by surprise following the panic created by the ‘dangerous’ man dressed in black, police and Rangers cordoned off the area and barred enter for everyone. The police also rushed towards him and tried to convince him to lay down the arms. Sikandar, in no mood of negotiating with ‘junior cops’, asked for police high-ups to come in for talks. When they did, he made a demand that stunned all those around –establishment of Shariah in Pakistan.Many senior police officials, including SSP (Operations) Dr Rizwan, and renowned politician Nabeel Gabool were also present at the scene to control the situation and persuade the man to surrender peacefully, but he refused to give up. Dr Rizwan said that the man was carrying two automatic weapons – a Kalashnikov rifle and an SMG. “I want safe passage and Islamic rule in the country,” the man demanded. “As our country is an Islamic republic, we want Shariah imposed in Pakistan,” he said in a telephonic call to a private news channel. “I am against vulgarity and immorality. My associates have taken up positions in the whole of Pakistan,” he said“Police said they were trying to tackle the situation with utmost care, as the gunman was apparently using the woman and two children as shields. But we succeeded in arresting him alive,” said Dr Rizawan while talking to the media at the climax. “The woman named Kanwal, who claims that the armed man was her husband, said she had no idea what he was up to.”There were reports that Sikandar’s first wife lives in the UAE and has a son, who is in the custody of the Emirates police on murder charges. ( Perfect Share a raat candidate)