India Iran Relations Reset
Aug 8, 2010
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The 16thSession of the India-Iran Joint Commission was held in New Delhi on July 8-9, 2010. The Session was co-chaired on the Iranian side by Dr. Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Islamic Republic of Iran and on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna. The meeting of the Joint Commission provided an opportunity to review bilateral economic and cultural cooperation. |
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Kayani Extension – The Impact
Aug 8, 2010
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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani announced an extension of three years in the service of Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on 22 July stating, “In the best interest of country, I as Prime Minister, through relaxation in the current policy, after consultation with President Asif Ali Zardari have decided to extend the tenure of General Kayani by three years from November 29, 2010.” |
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US Pakistan Military Relations
Aug 8, 2010
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Pakistan Air Force participated from July 17-31 in the Red Flag Exercises at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada along with fighter pilots and support personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force. In material support, four Mi-17 helicopters were delivered back to Pakistan Army by the United States on at Chaklala Air Base after overhauling. |
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Pakistan's Instability Vectors
Aug 8, 2010
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Assassinations and targeted killings in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital are ongoing now for a long period and have many dimensions apart from political rivalry between the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). There are issues related to real estate, contracts, weapons running and so on apart from criminal networks which have been existing in the city for long. More over there is a complex dynamics of ethnicity with Mohajirs who have migrated from India after Partition clashing with the Pashtuns while the local Sindhi are also hostile along with a section of the Balochis. |
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Military News
Aug 8, 2010
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Two JF-17 Thunder Aircraft participated in the Farnbrough Air Show 2010. The aircraft has a full glass cockpit, man-machine interface and modern self-protection suite. It is supposedly equipped with fourth generation avionics systems, wide range of conventional/smart weapons, Beyond Visual Range & short range air-to-air missiles, and air-to-surface missiles, has a remarkably short take-off/landing distance that gives it flexibility to operate from short airfields. |
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KARACHI FATALITIES: 2005-2010
Jul 4, 2010
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17 Extremist and banned groups in the country continue to collect money during religious and other ceremonies in the name of public welfare using different names in Punjab. Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Pind Dadan Khan, Mandi Bahauddin, Attock, Kharian, Faisalabad and Gujranwala areas of Punjab has seen an active presence of these groups. "Ghazi Force" formed after the Lal Masjid operation in 2007 is the most active |
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Balochistan the Slow Burning Frontier
Jul 4, 2010
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Balochistan continued to show trends of a slow burning war. On 20 June an army official was killed and 13 others, including seven army men, injured in a roadside bomb attack targeting a military convoy. The Dawn News in a report raised concerns of collapse in Balochistan with rising dangers from groups as the Jundallah, a Sunni sectarian outfit. Sectarian killings are also attributed to the Laskhar-i-Jhangvi while some reports even state cross-pollination between various militant groups. |
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Military – Capacity Enhancement
Jul 4, 2010
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Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani claimed that the Pakistan Army was, “well equipped, highly motivated and fully capable of defeating any conventional and un-conventional threats facing the country,” at the Command and Staff College, Quetta. “Ultimately it is the will of the people and their support that is decisive. It is critical that the efforts of the Pakistan Army are backed by the whole nation,” the COAS said. |
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Counter Terror Diplomacy: A New Phase?
Jul 4, 2010
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Islamabad SAARC Ministerial Statement on Cooperation Against Terrorism underscored regional diplomacy to counter the challenge from transnational terrorism. India’s Home Minister Mr P Chidambaram adopted a very firm approach in his meetings particularly during the bilaterals with Pakistani counter part Mr Malik. |
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The Headley Revelations
Jul 4, 2010
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In revelations to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Coleman Headley indicated that 100 targets in India had been surveyed by different agents of the Lashkar e Taiyyaba. Headley confessed videography and photography of around 30 of these targets in nine visits to the country between 2006-2009. For 26/11 he had done a detailed survey to include identification of landing points and escape routes to be used by 10 trained terrorists. |
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The Internal Deluge
Jul 4, 2010
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Pakistan's larger contradiction of external harvests of greater engagement with the United States and China while facing an ignominy of internal instability were demonstrated by the ranking of the country in the Failed States Index 2010 remaining constant at Number 10. |
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The External Harvests
Jul 4, 2010
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The United States delivered three F-16 Block 52 jet fighters to Pakistan on 26 June. The US has provided three of the 18 aircraft, equipped with Sniper Pods, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Threat Warning System (TWS), Beyond Visual Range missiles, and Night Precision Guided missiles. |
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The Sino Pakistan Axis
Jul 4, 2010
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Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani visited China on a five-day official visit at the special invitation of Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) thereby reaffirming Sino Pakistan military cooperation. The Chinese are well aware of the clout of the Pakistan army in the country and have therefore cultivated the COAS over the years. |
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Sectarian Attack
Jun 6, 2010
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In one of the major incidents, on 28 May, Taliban gunmen attacked worshippers from the Ahmadi community in two worship places of Lahore taking hostages and killing at least 90 people in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. |
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Security: The Black Holes
Jun 6, 2010
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The Pakistan army has declared operations in the Orakzai tribal agency as a success during the visit of the Chief of the Arm Staff, General Kiyani to the area on 1 June. However the level of violence in the country continues to be high with approximately 600 plus killed every month and the numbers are likely to go up in summers especially of civilians. [See Table below]. |
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Pakistan Army Deliberates on Operations
Jun 6, 2010
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With a large number of terrorists operating in Afghanistan holed up in North Waziristan and repeated drone attacks not showing any reduction in numbers, there is intense pressure on the Pakistani government and the Army to launch operations to clear the area. White House National Security Adviser Jim Jones and CIA Director Leon Panetta were also in Pakistan to discuss the timing of the North Waziristan operations. |
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De-radicalisation: An Urgent Necessity
Jun 6, 2010
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The need for de-radicalisation of youth in the country was once again highlighted by the Faizal Shahzad case. The increase in number of disgruntled and educated middle class youth from Pakistan in the West may be a cause of serious worry in the days ahead. Some of them like Faizal may have suffered due to the financial crisis and undergoing distress. They would be ideal candidates for Islamist fundamentalists, so Faisal Shahzad may not be the first or the last one. |
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US Pakistan Relations: Blow Hot Blow Cold
Jun 6, 2010
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In the wake of the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad’s connections with the Pakistani Taliban, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused some Pakistan government officials of harboring Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, “I am not saying they are at the highest level...but I believe somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Taliban are,'' Clinton said, adding, ''We expect more cooperation (from Pakistan) to help us bring to justice capture or kill those who brought us 9/11.'' This did create some tension in US Pakistan relations though there were no overt signs of any deterioration. |
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Swat and Malakand
Jun 6, 2010
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The Chief of the Army Staff claimed that roots of militancy in Swat and Malakand province had been uprooted. This may be true in areas in close proximity of Islamabad and central areas of Pakistan, though leadership of the outfit responsible for the mayhem in the area the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM ) is still at large and unless these are brought to book there is no respite likely from militancy. |
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The Displaced PEOPLE
Jun 6, 2010
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3 million Pakistanis were newly displaced in 2009 in Pakistan, many of them have not been resettled and also more are pouring out from areas addressed by the Pakistan Army. This is 1.7 percent of the population of 170 million and is worrisome. |
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