BAHAWALPUR: In an unprecedented move, the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) exhibited their professional capabilities by targeting a drone in front of not only the prime minister, many federal ministers and parliamentarians belonging to different parties but also more than 30 military attaches of different countries, who witnessed the heavy firepower of the Pakistani armed forces on Sunday afternoon in the desert of Khairpur Tamewali near Bahawalpur.
The presence of the country’s top political leadership in a very hot desert boosted the morale of Army troops, who have been engaged in a six-week-long Azm-e-Nau-III military exercise for the last few days.
Here is a chance that India blew to send a strong message for peace with both Pakistan and China. An Egyptian diplomat based in New Delhi apparently offered recently to help Indian Air Force overcome its shabby pilot training program.
According to a report by the Indian magazine Business Standard, the Egyptian official offered a novel solution: An Egyptian Air Force training crew flown from Egypt to India to train Indian pilots using Karakoram-8, the multirole trainer jointly developed by both Pakistan and China and now used by a growing list of countries, including Egypt, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Namibia, not to mention the air forces of both Pakistan and China.
Says the Indian magazine: “Since the offer was not followed up in writing, the Indian Air Force (IAF) was spared the embarrassment of having to reply.”
Islamabad – Pakistan’s security establishment, unmoved by the threat from homegrown Islamic insurgents, is to launch a training exercise this week focused on the scenario of a possible showdown with traditional rival India.
The country’s powerful military is to launch exercise Azm-e-Nau (New Resolve) III to test the capacities of its men against a hypothetical Indian attack, and validate its security strategy.
The war game is the culmination of the new strategies discussed over a period of one and half years at various academic and operational levels, and will be the largest military exercise since 1989.
Director General Military Training (DGMT) Major General Muzzamil Hussain said the forthcoming exercise in the garrison city of Rawalpindi will “focus on India.”
Bharat (aka India) has more than 600 planes in its inventory. It has grounded a couple of hundred Mig-21s which have a hard time defying gravity–more than 250 have crashed. The IAF has also grounded a hundred of the Mig 29s. Now there is news that the IAF has grounded the 20 Kiran Aircraft.
In the wake of Wednesday’s aircrash in Hyderabad, the Indian Navy has grounded its entire fleet of Kiran aircraft.
The Navy has a fleet a 20 Kiran aircraft -12 Mk-I and eight Mk II aircrafts – which are based in Goa. “As per the standard operating procedure, the aircraft will not fly till the time they are cleared by the Board of Inquiry (BOI) looking into today’s mishap”, Navy officials said here.
They added that if the probe team found no problems with the aircraft, the fleet would be airborne soon. A Kiran Mk II aircraft of Navy’s Goa-based Sagar Pawan Aerobatic Team (SPAT) today crashed in Hyderabad while performing at the India Aviation airshow there.
DAMADOLA, Pakistan—Pakistani forces have seized a key al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold along the border with Afghanistan that once served as a hideout for Ayman al Zawahiri, second-in-command to Osama bin Laden.
The capture of Damadola, a district in the Bajaur tribal region, is a major success in Pakistan’s counterinsurgency campaign. The area had long been dominated by insurgents operating on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Pakistani forces seized the scenic district late last month, after several days of fierce fighting that Pakistan said left more than 75 foreign and local militants dead. Pakistan’s military took reporters to the site, which is surrounded by snow-capped mountains less than five kilometers from the Afghan border, for the first time Tuesday.
“It was the main hub of militancy where al Qaeda operatives had moved freely,” said Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan, the regional commander.
RAWALPINDI: The military leadership has announced victory formally against the militants in Swat and Waziristan and stressed on the civilian government to take control of these areas soon hence army will support it.
The announcement to this effect was made during briefing to the Senate Defense committee at GHQ here on Tuesday.
Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani also attended the meeting, who also held meetings with all the committee members.
The senate defense committee headed by its chairman Lt. Gen (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi and its other members included deputy chairman senate Jan Mohammad Jamali, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Haji Adeel, Waqar Ahmad Khan, Prof. Khurshid, Sardar Ali Khan and Maulana Mohammad Shirani.
Indian Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), continues to falter even after 25 years
World Record: 500th Flying coffin crashes
More Duds: The fiasco of the IAFs Mig 29s
The Indian Air Force has ‘grounded’ its fleet of over 100 MiG-27 ground attack fighters for mandatory checks following a fatal crash in West Bengal last week.
A senior IAF official said the aircraft would not be taking part in the Air Force’s biggest ever fire power display, Vayu Shakti-2010, aimed at highlighting its operational and precision strike capabilities by day, dusk and night at the Pokhran ranges on February 28.
The IAF has lost 12 MiG-27 fighter planes since January 2001.
The Pak army chief gets candid about India, and unresolved issues
MARIANA BAABAR
Worldview From GHQ:
Stridently opposed to India’s role in Afghanistan
India shouldn’t train the Afghan National Army
Gains from backchannel diplomacy need not be the starting point, especially on Kashmir
Principal focus remains Kashmir
Worried by India’s military doctrine: Gen Kapoor’s statements on a cold start strategy “under a nuclear overhang”.
For decades now, Pakistanis have watched on their TV screens images of the corps commanders’ conference room at the Pakistan army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The images are invariably beamed every time the generals meet. And invariably, the images would show dour officers seated around a long table, engaged in discussions on the country’s future. Of course, these TV grabs are supposed to evoke a sense of awe, conveying to the audience who really holds the reins of power in Pakistan. It’s in this room that contemporary history has been shaped—generals are known to have walked out to stage a coup, call for election, or reprimand civilian governments trying to assert themselves.
ISLAMABAD: The first squadron of JF-17 Thunder aircraft formally joined the fighter fleet of Pakistan Air Force on Thursday.
“The formal induction of JF-17 aircraft in the PAF is in line with our resolve to face all challenges with poise and self-confidence,” Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said while speaking at the induction ceremony held at a PAF operational base.
He said the PAF had invested in force multipliers like air-to-air refuellers, unmanned aerial vehicles and airborne early warning and control aircraft to enhance its capability to undertake complex operations.
Gen. (R) Hamid Gul says that Washington’s policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan have not borne fruit and that the US military will be ultimately defeated by the Taliban
Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul was a military commander in the Pakistani Army in the 1980s, and served as the head of the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 1987 to 1989.
But Gul’s rise to fame came during the Pakistan-Saudi-US effort to keep funds and logistical support flowing to the Afghanistan mujahidin, who were eventually credited with defeating Soviet military and political forces.
During the Bush administration, the US sought to put Gul on a UN list of international terrorists but their efforts were blocked by the Chinese delegation.
Domestically, Gul has been an outspoken opponent of Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, and has called for the Supreme Court to be reinstated as the rule of law in Pakistan.
Al Jazeera interviewed Gul during a short visit to Doha.
“In the summer of 2001 some Predators were equipped with two of Lockheed’s Hellfire AGM-114 laser-guided anti-tank missiles [$45,000 apiece]. So far there are four reported cases of the Predator-Hellfire combination being used. Two of these attacks resulted in the deaths of at least 13 innocent civilians.”
“On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone fired a Hellfire missile at ‘three tall men’ believed to be Al Qaeda members because they were clothed in long robes. The three men were later revealed to be poor people scavenging for metal in the Zhawar Kili battlefields. Families of the villagers were furious over the deaths of Daraz Khan, Jehangir Khan and Mir Ahmed. The 16 year-old niece of Daraz Khan said: “Why did you do this? Why did you Americans kill Daraz? We have nothing, nothing, and you have taken from us our Daraz.”
These are just few of the unheard stories of our beloved countrymen in tribal areas of Pakistan, who not only represent a very vital part of the nation’s stature, but also have stood by Pakistan in every hour of need and never have thought twice on giving any sacrifices for their homeland; who not only just live at one of our most mercurial borders but also assist our forces in guarding it.
Indian explosion of its nuclear device in 1974 drew only a customary “show of concern” from the Western powers. But Pakistan’s nuclear program, initiated in response to the Indian acquisition of nuclear weapons, evoked immediate and “serious concern” from the same quarters. Ever since, Pakistan has been under immense pressure to scrap its program while the Indians remain uncensored.
That Western discriminatory attitude can also be seen by the religious color it gave to Pakistan’s bomb by calling it an ‘Islamic bomb’. One has never heard of the Israeli bomb being called a ‘Jewish Bomb’, or the Indian bomb a ‘Hindu Bomb’, or the American and British bomb a ‘Christian Bomb’ or the Soviet bomb a ‘Communist’ (or an ‘Atheist) Bomb’. The West simply used Pakistan’s bomb to make Islam synonymous with aggression and make its nuclear program a legitimate target, knowing full well that it merely served a defensive purpose and was not even remotely associated with Islam.
DURING his candid talks with foreign journalists on Monday, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani crystallized Pakistan’s traditional stand on Afghanistan and warmth towards people of that country.
Speaking in the backdrop of his trip to Brussels, where he put across Pakistan’s point of view on Afghan conflict, the COAS reflected sentiments of the nation by summarizing the country’s interest in the well-being of the people of Afghanistan by saying “We cannot wish for Afghanistan anything that we don’t wish for Pakistan”.
Remember June 5th, 1967? Rapid and sudden air strikes by Israel that almost completely wiped out air forces of 3 Muslim nations? Our coward neighbour to the right has been begging Israel to teach them some such strategies. Currently, we face the possibility of a rapid deployment of Special Indian Forces in case of a ‘terrorist’ attack on Indian soil. They tried around Eid last year but ran away like a puppy when their war planes came face to face with Pakistan Air Force. Right now, the plan is being deployed again. The double edged sword of Aman Ki Asha and Confidence Building Measures has a hidden name; Cold Start Strategy! After successfully deploying their assets on the ground to create anarchy in the country, it is the perfect time to use high altitude precision GPS guided missiles to strike command and control centres inside Pakistan. It may pave the way for a sudden ground assault and the dream of “reaching Islamabad and Rawalpindi within 48 hours” suddenly becomes a possibility.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has successfully mobilised the defunct six-plus-two talks formula to counter the US pressure regarding giving India a “greater role” in warn-torn Afghanistan’s rehabilitation.
Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours – Pakistan, Iran, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as the US, are meeting today (Tuesday) in Turkey to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and to take stock of measures for the restoration of peace in the country.
The original “six-plus-two” also included Russia, but in the new set up Moscow representation has been replaced by the United Kingdom.
MIRAMSHAH: A suspected US drone has been shot down in North Waziristan, sources said Sunday. The local tribesmen have claimed that they fired down the unmanned aircraft in Hamzoni area.
The unmanned aircraft came down in Humzoni area of Datta Khel in North Warisitan bordering Afghanistan, where there have been over 14 drone strikes over the past few weeks.
According to state TV, the drone was shot down while the tribesmen have also claimed that they fired down the pilotless aircraft.
Both the Pakistani and US authorities have maintained a silence on this officially, although it is suspected to be a warning to Langley from Pakistan’s Armed Forces to put an immediate halt to US airspace violations and missile attacks inside Pakistani territory. Relations between the two ‘allies’ appear to have taken a nose-dive in recent days.
“Too Little, Too Late, We Already Have Superior UAVs”
Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military sources say they are not impressed by the offer of the United States to supply RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), as they already have superior quality UAVs, which they have upgraded, and which are in use.
The disappointment is understandable since unlike the drones that fly and take out targets inside Pakistan’s Fata region, the ones being offered to Pakistan are unarmed and commonly used for intelligence gathering.
Later, when DG ISPR Major General Athar Abbas was asked about the overall weapons being provided to Pakistan for counterinsurgency and other military supplies, he remarked, “Too little, too late”.
It was US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who, in a meeting with the media at the residence of the US ambassador, said the US was enhancing Pakistan’s intelligence capabilities. He said the offer comes because Islamabad had requested for them. “We have a lot of information on the Afghan side that we share … we also help Pakistan build its own capacity. We will be providing them with UAVs (Shadow) together with equipment and training,” he said.
Project Wake Up PAKISTAN’s Karachi show – held at Bahria Auditorium Karachi, January 17th 2010, organised by PKKH in partnership with WakeUp Pakistan, BrassTacks, and Maria B.
The show will be aired on ARY NEWS on Friday 29th January, 10:00pm PST.
BAHAWALPUR: In an unprecedented move, the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) exhibited their professional capabilities by targeting a drone in front of not only the prime minister, many federal ministers and parliamentarians belonging to different parties but also more than 30 military attaches of different countries, who witnessed the heavy firepower of the Pakistani armed forces on Sunday afternoon in the desert of Khairpur Tamewali near Bahawalpur.
