Armies of India, Pak biggest hurdle in solving Siachen: Pak minister

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of its key talks with India on the Siachen issue, Pakistan has claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the world's highest battlefield are the armies of the two countries.

Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who was the defence minister till yesterday and has now been given the water and power portfolio in a minor Cabinet reshuffle, said India and Pakistan both stand to benefit from resolving the Siachen issue.

Both countries stood to gain nothing from the standoff on Siachen and the matter only served to satiate egos, he claimed during an interview with BBC Urdu.

He said the only way for India and Pakistan to coexist was to sit at the table and discuss the Siachen issue.

The Pakistani minister claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the Siachen glacier are the armies of Pakistan and India.

Senior Indian and Pakistani officials are set to hold talks on the Siachen issue in Islamabad on June 11 against the backdrop of renewed calls from the Pakistani civil and military leadership for the demilitarisation of the world's highest battlefield.

In response to a question, Mukhtar claimed Siachen was Pakistani territory and Pakistan had "responded" when India claimed the glacier.

"We think we can come to an agreement. India wants to talk on the Sir Creek issue first, we want to talk about Siachen first - the same issue of egos," he claimed.

"I think (Pakistan army chief Gen) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani understands this issue better than all of us and will help reach a decision when the time comes."

Asked how the Defence Minister, who is placed higher than the army chief, would allow a subordinate to take a decision, Mukhtar said that "Kayani would offer guidance (and) support, just as the government cooperates and supports the army."

Responding to a question why Pakistan is not making the first move of unilaterally withdrawing its troops to resolve the Siachen issue, Mukhtar contended that India was a big country and Pakistan expects it to demonstrate magnanimity by making the first move.

In response to another question, he said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh want to resolve the Siachen issue through dialogue.

Indian and Pakistani troops have been engaged in a standoff on Siachen since 1984.

The guns have largely been silent since late 2003, when the two countries put in place a ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, and more troops have died on the glacier due to adverse weather than combat.

Since an avalanche killed 139 people at a high-altitude Pakistan Army camp in the Siachen sector in April, security analysts and civil society groups have questioned the deployment of troops in the hazardous terrain

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India: Mutiny in Army- An impending Army Coup

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Two Indian army units that moved towards New Delhi on a January night without notifying the government raised an alarm in the capital, the Indian Express newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing several unidentified sources.

The newspaper report said the infantry unit of the 33rd Armoured Division based 150 km (90 miles) from Delhi and a unit of the airbourne 50 Para brigade based in Agra to the south reached the outskirts of Delhi before being ordered back.

The army told the newspaper the units were engaged in routine training exercises to test their mobility in fog and did not need to warn the government in advance. Defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told Reuters it was not true the manoeuvres had caused alarm in the ministry.

The troop movements happened at a time of high friction between Army Chief Vijay Kumar Singh and the government. The newspaper said the accepted view is there was a breakdown in communication rather than a plot of any kind.

The military in India is not known for conspiring against the government in a region plagued by instability.

On the night in question, lookouts confirmed the two units were travelling towards Delhi, the report said.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony was informed and the government ordered police to check all vehicles on roads to Delhi as a way of slowing traffic. The defence secretary, the ministry's top civil servant, cut short a trip to Malaysia to handle the situation.

The report highlights the deep rifts and tense atmosphere in recent months between the world's second largest standing army and the government.

On January 16, the day the exercises took place, Singh took a case against the government to the Supreme Court in a row about whether he could serve another year before retiring. He later lost the case.

The army chief has since said he was offered a $2.8 million bribe and accused the defence minister of not acting on information about corruption in the forces. He also wrote a letter to the prime minister in March saying the army was not in proper shape to defend the country. The letter was leaked.

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Leaked Letter of Indian Army Chief Reveals India's Military Weaknesses

India's tank fleet lacks ammunition, its air defences are "97 percent obsolete" and its elite forces lack essential arms, the country's army chief wrote in an explosive letter. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

NEW DELHI: India’s tank fleet lacks ammunition, its air defences are “97 percent obsolete” and its elite forces lack essential arms, the country’s army chief wrote in an explosive letter leaked Wednesday.

The letter to the prime minister dated March 12 – widely reported by the Indian media – lists the shortcomings of the armed forces in embarrassing detail in a blow to the government and the Asian giant’s military prestige.

Its publication also ups the stakes in a public battle between army chief General VK Singh and the government which began with a dispute over Singh’s retirement earlier this year.

“The state of the major (fighting) arms i.e. mechanised forces, artillery, air defence, infantry and special forces, as well as the engineers and signals, is indeed alarming,” Singh wrote in the letter, DNA newspaper reported.

The army’s entire tank fleet is “devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks”, while the air defence system is “97% obsolete and it doesn’t give the deemed confidence to protect… from the air,” he wrote, according to DNA.

The infantry is crippled with “deficiencies” and lacks night fighting equipment, while the elite special forces are “woefully short” of “essential weapons”.

Singh also told The Hindu newspaper this week that he had informed Defence Minister A.K Antony of a $2.8 million bribe offered to him in 2010, leading to embarrassing questions as to why the government did not order an enquiry.

Antony told parliament on Wednesday that he was aware of the letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he would reply appropriately.

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Pakistan Army's Pragmatic Approach leading Balochistan towards prosperity

ISLAMABAD: Whereas the steps being taken by the Pakistan Army for the establishment of peace in Balochistan and to remove the sense of deprivation among people of the province are yielding positive results, the growing Taliban threat has forced the Indian spymasters to shift from Afghanistan to the Gulf states where they are operating as businessmen.

“The steps being taken by the army under the guidance of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to establish peace in Balochistan and remove the sense of deprivation among the people of the province are yielding positive results, causing distress to the Indian intelligence agencies,” an official source said here on Wednesday, requesting anonymity. “A positive change is being witnessed in the thinking of common Baloch people because of the recruitment of Baloch youths in the army and other security institutions on priority basis,” he said.

The source said the worries of the Indian intelligence officials are, however, growing because of the change in thinking of the Baloch youths while the recruitment of the Baloch youths in the army and security institutions on priority basis has saved Pakistan from a battle front, which was more dangerous than Waziristan because lava was boiling there. He said the Indian spying network, which was targeting Balochistan since long, has almost been defeated now because the Balochistan policy of General Kayani has shattered the Indian policy of misleading the Baloch youths. “When he had taken over as the army chief, General Kayani faced the toughest and the biggest challenge of establishing peace in Balochistan and also defeating the Indian campaign of misleading the Baloch youths,” the source said. “General Kayani was extremely serious in addressing the Balochistan problem and he took pragmatic measures, which are now yielding positive results,” he remarked.

The source revealed that the country’s top security agency achieved highly important successes during the past three years but details of those successes could not be made public because of their sensitive nature. He said these successes also helped other security agencies of the country to achieve their goals. He said the powers that wanted to pit the Baloch people against other provinces and national institutions were behind the kidnapping and target killing incidents in the province during the past few years.

“The foreign elements have been involved in planning the killing of passengers of public transport in different cities and districts of Balochistan and the most prominent among these elements were the Indians. The term of Baloch Liberation Army was also introduced by the Indian intelligence agencies because India wanted to infuse into the Baloch youths the hatred against other provinces and the army,” the source said.

“Although the Indians had initially succeeded in their nefarious designs to a great extent and their operations were on their peak following the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the strategy devised by General Kayani and implemented by the army to bringing the Baloch people, particularly youths, into the national mainstream has now completely changed the scenario,” he added.

The source pointed out that because of the growing threat of the Taliban attacks, the senior Indian intelligence officers have shifted from Afghanistan to the Gulf states in the vicinity of Balochistan, where they are posing as businessmen and are providing jobs to Baloch youths so as to create afresh an atmosphere of hate in Balochistan. This is the reason that the Pakistani establishment is trying to provide maximum job and business opportunities to Baloch youths to save them from the economic blackmailing of Indians, he remarked.

When contacted by The News for comments, former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen (R) Hamid Gul said no doubt General Kayani is doing good work in Balochistan because the situation had worsened in that province during the Musharraf regime. He said that under a long-term policy, General Kayani recruited the Baloch youths in the army and also took other measures on priority basis to address the sense of deprivation among Baloch people.

“However, the president and prime minister too should give priority to Balochistan, as the government and civil institutions have yet much to do there and a short-term policy is also needed because India and the US do not want peace in Balochistan. Therefore, the elimination of the Indian and US influence there is utmost necessary,” he commented.

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Laptop with India's Sensitive Nuclear Data Still not Found

Islamabad: An Indian nuclear scientist’s laptop with classified nuclear data was stolen from a passenger rail car and is still missing raising serious alarm all over India.

According to a report the Indian nuclear researcher raised an alarm when his laptop, reportedly filled with critical data, was stolen on March 15, 2012 and remained missing till date.

India Blooms News Service reported that the scientist, who is reportedly involved with the Kaiga atomic power plant in Karnataka, demanded that train officials find his laptop and other stolen personal effects that included identifying documents. It is believed that the laptop contained secret nuclear codes and possibly the blue-print of Kairga Atomic Plant.

The report added that Thiruvananthapuram-bound train was stopped and several passengers were searched and interviewed but the laptop could not be found. Rajdhani Express was forced to have emergency

halt at Ratnagiri Station (Maharashtra) when a nuclear scientist’s laptop containing vital information was stolen.

According to latest reports despite emergency search raids conducted on train it did not turn up any clues as to what happened to the stolen laptop.

Law enforcement officials have opened an investigation into the matter and began detaining potential perpetrators.

The scientist who was not named for secrecy and classified works told Police that he had also lost very important credential papers. Indian railway officials have confirmed that a report has been lodged but other senior police officials were trying to hide the scandal-like incident and advised journalists not to overplay the issue.

IT SEEMS PEOPLE WHO ACCUSE OTHERS THAT THEIR NUCLEAR ASSETS ARE NOT SAFE AND VULNERABLE TO TERRORIST ATTACKS ARE 'THEM SELF' CARELESS ENOUGH TO COMMIT SUCH BLUNDERS WHICH CAN COST OPEN THREAT TO THEIR OWN NUCLEAR ASSETS.

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Pakistan Army defeated Indian Army team in volleyball.

Rawalpindi—Pakistan Army Athletics players have won two Gold, one Silver and one Bronze medals and secured second position in the athletics events of first South Asian Army Sports Meet 2012 being held from March 9 to March 14 in Nepal.

In Boxing, Pakistan Army has got one bronze medal uptill now. Three more players are in the finals and will compete for gold medals today, says an ISPR press release issued here on Monday. In Taekwondo Pakistan Army has won two gold and two silver medals and stood first in overall taekwondo event.

In Volleyball Pakistan Army has defeated Indian Army team in their pool match.

Seven South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are participating in the sports meet.

Pakistan Army contingent is participating in the events of Athletics, Boxing, Taekwondo and Volleyball.—APP

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Corruption Scandal of Indian RAW

The CBI was asked by a Delhi court to inform of the actions taken by it on Gen V K Singh’s complaint against RAW officials for their alleged irregularities in purchasing some communication gadgets.“Issue notice to the CBI to inform the court about the status of the complaint and if the matter is still under progress, how much more time would be needed to finally dispose of the complaint,” Special Judge Pradeep Chaddah said.In his complaint to the CBI Director in 2008, Singh had alleged corruption in procurement of ultra and very high frequency antennae and other communication equipment for Research and Analysis wing and Special Protection Group at exorbitant prices and without mandatory clearance.Gen Singh had sought registration of the corruption and criminal cases against various senior officials of the two security agencies for their alleged roles in the dubious deals.Singh said his complaint evoked no response and when he sought information under the RTI Act in 2009.

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America's Gameplan in Baluchistan and its Ramifications

Neo Con New Middle East Map

By Brig Nadir Mir

Recently, a resolution was passed in the US Congress to divide Pakistan and carve out an ‘independent Balochistan’. With this, an old neocon dream was revived. This time the so-called globalists and propagandists, masquerading as human right activists, are the cheerleaders. Against this backdrop, Colonel Ralph Peter’s map of the ‘New Middle East’ truncating, balkanising every country – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan – was reproduced. Despite the fact that it was scorned and reviled even at the time of its earlier exhibition.

It seems that the neocons and influential globalists of America desperately want to initiate World War III. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s interview, If you can’t hear the drums of war, you must be deaf, with Alfred Heinz on November 27, 2011, is a clear expression of this desire.

The neocon-globalist geopolitical wish list – the rationale for the so-called ‘independent Balochistan’ – is as under:

- Cripple Pakistan by separating Balochistan (46 percent of its territory with large mineral resources, besides the future global port of Gwadar).

- Balkanised Pakistan forced to give up its nuclear arsenal.

- Establish India’s hegemony over Pakistan.

- Leftover US forces in Afghanistan and US controlled ‘new Balochistan’ to act as strategic central position for multi- regions.

- US controlled Afghanistan-Balochistan to link the Central Asian energy oil and gas pipelines with Gwadar.

- Delink Pakistan and Iran by carving out Balochistan and obviate the Iran-Pakistan energy/gas pipelines.

- Establish US military presence in Balochistan for upcoming US-Israeli war against Iran.

- Block Russia-Pak cooperation with Gazprom (Russian Gas Company) reaching Gwadar.

- Balochistan and Kurdistan to be artificially created to have imperialist bases in the heartland of Islam.

- ‘Independent Balochistan’ – a prelude for Kurdistan to break away from Turkey; separate Xinjiang and Tibet from China; Siberia from Russia; and separate Makkah and Madinah from Saudi Arabia.

- US military presence in Gwadar to control the Gulf. To use the port as an alternative for USA’s 5th fleet based in Bahrain or another fleet if brought near the Gulf.

- Use Gwadar as a military base for intervention in the Saudi Peninsula.

The rationale of these ill-intentioned pseudo thinkers is absolutely absurd. According to them, since the Pakistani elite is exploiting Balochistan, so it should be balkanised. Those who believe that Balochistan should not be a part of Pakistan are geopolitical imbeciles. Indeed, the propagandists making these claims are clueless about regional realities because:

• Pakistan: It will fight a war, even a nuclear war of national survival to defend itself.

• Iran: The Iranian Seistan is part of Balochistan, which the imperialists want to carve out. Therefore, Iran will fight a war in unison with Pakistan to defend Balochistan against the US threats.

• Afghanistan: The Taliban are winning; the Americans are leaving. No Afghan – not even Karzai – will cede the Afghan territory to become ‘greater independent Balochistan’. Nor can landlocked Kabul take up fights with both Islamabad and Tehran.

• Turkey: The Turks will support Pakistan and oppose independent Balochistan. Those who are plotting Balochistan also support Kurdistan to balkanise Turkey. Turkey will oppose Balochistan splitting by Nato, even if Nato is foolhardy to play the diabolical game of neocons.

• Saudi Arabia: The Saudis, too, will support Pakistan and oppose the Balochistan movement.

• India: It has been supporting the destabilisation of Balochistan and will continue to do so. But for India to overtly support Balochistan can lead to a nuclear war with Pakistan. Besides this can also trigger freedom movements in Kashmir, Khalistan, Assam, Tamil Nadu and a dozen other places. Playing the US-Israel game will spoil its relations with Iran, Russia and China.

• China: It will support Pakistan. USA’s aim in Balochistan is to block China from Gwadar. Balochistan today, Xinjiang tomorrow! China’s defence begins from Pakistan.

• Russia: It is Pakistan’s new friend. Besides, the Pak-Iran link is supported by Moscow.

So, the geopolitics of the region negates any viability of an independent Balochistan. In addition, anti-Americanism in Pakistan has a complex dynamic. The US meddling in Balochistan will not create an ‘independent Balochistan’, but will initiate a war, perhaps, leading to World War III.

The situation in Balochistan certainly demands immediate attention. Out of 150 Baloch tribes three major ones Marris, Bugtis, and Mengals have had problems or are in conflict. The issue of Bugtis is greatly linked to the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. A fair trial of those responsible is their demand. The Mengals can be communicated with. Some of the Marris leaders are more adamant and would need to be worked on. Pakistan needs to accommodate most of the Balochistan demands and satisfy the people, while ensuring its national interests. Half the demography of Balochistan which is Pakhtun are patriotic like the great majority of Baloch.

Bugti’s killing by Musharraf led to the present Balochistan crisis. The army or the ISI is not responsible. USA and India did not oppose Musharraf’s actions in Balochistan. This was a US-India baited gambit (to lure Musharraf into a crackdown and create turmoil for instigating independent Balochistan). Musharraf was praised by Washington and assured by Delhi of its non-involvement in Balochistan, luring him into the mess Pakistan faces today in the province. For all this time a covert war was being waged for claiming independence of Balochistan. During this period a worldwide network was established. This became overt in February 2012 as war with Iran is near centre stage in 2012. However, those who are planning war against Pakistan must be told that the choice is between peace and total war; indeed, the country will be defended at any price!

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Indian Army General Indicting in Phone Call Tapping of Defense Ministry

Defense minister A K Antony held a one-on-one meeting with Army chief General V K Singh on Wednesday in the backdrop of the phone call tapping of Defense Ministry of India in which he asked Gen VK Singh to commit his offense and stop soliciting Indian Army against defense ministry.

A feud between General VK Singh and Defense ministry was started with the age controversy of Indian General and then series of allegations were imposed from the rivals of both sides and Gen Singh petitioned the case to the apex court regarding this issue.

Adding pain to injury, later V.K Singh accused Defense Ministry of not giving them proper funds for ammunitions and reported them with a brief that Indian Army is left with only two days ammunition if waged in war with Pakistan.

The on-going dispute between Defense Ministry and Indian Army General has created frustration in Indian Army and they are highly disconcerted with these controversial statements against themselves leading an upheaval in Indian Army as they claimed that this monstrous act was committed by Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, who was former chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency, along with "some disgruntled serving officers of the Military Intelligence, against whom disciplinary and administrative actions are in the pipeline.

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Police Arrests RAW Agent from Malir

KARACHI: Police arrested an alleged Indian spy from Malir Khokrapar, in Karachi, early Wednesday morning, Express News reported.Dinesh Chandar was arrested by the members of the Police Special Branch. They also recovered an Indian identity card and maps of villages and cities in Pakistan.Special Branch’s prosecution cell has registered a case against the alleged spy. He is currently being held at the Mithadar police station.In late February, Hyderabad police claimed to have arrested an Indian agent spying on the Pakistani army’s bases and troop movement and conveying that information to the Indian army.DSP Yaqoob Jat had said that the alleged spy had been living in Pakistan under the alias of Inayatullah Mir, who hailed from Azad Kashmir. However, his real name turned out to be Owais Saleem, who belonged to Indian-occupied Kashmir.
KARACHI: Police arrested an alleged Indian spy from Malir Khokrapar, in Karachi, early Wednesday morning, Express News reported.Dinesh Chandar was arrested by the members of the Police Special Branch. They also recovered an Indian identity card and maps of villages and cities in Pakistan.Special Branch’s prosecution cell has registered a case against the alleged spy. He is currently being held at the Mithadar police station.In late February, Hyderabad police claimed to have arrested an Indian agent spying on the Pakistani army’s bases and troop movement and conveying that information to the Indian army.DSP Yaqoob Jat had said that the alleged spy had been living in Pakistan under the alias of Inayatullah Mir, who hailed from Azad Kashmir. However, his real name turned out to be Owais Saleem, who belonged to Indian-occupied Kashmir.

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45% Of Indian Air Force Crashes Due To Incompetent Pilots

NEW DELHI: A whopping 45% of IAF air crashes in the last six years have taken place due to human error.The IAF has informed the parliamentary committee on defence that it had recorded a total of 74 air mishaps between April 2004 and March 2010, of which a high of 42% was due to technical faults in the aircraft and a mere 6% due to bird-hit.The figures in percentage would mean the IAF has suffered 33 crashes out of 74 due to human errors, 31 due to technical errors in the aircraft and another 4 due to bird hit. Reasons for the remaining six crashes have not been given to the committee.The committee, in its latest report submitted to Parliament, noted with concern that these mishaps were taking place in the backdrop of the IAF facing a crisis due to shortage of trainer aircraft and obsolescence of simulators for its pilot trainees.It pointed out with concern that the IAF’s Hindustan Piston Trainer-32, a basic trainer aircraft, had remained grounded for over a year now following a mishap early last year and the Kiran Mk-II HJT-16 simulators were in disuse.The committee, headed by Congress MP Satpal Maharaj, said the Defence Ministry should take all steps to acquire new trainer aircraft and upgrade the simulators “so that adequate training is provided for pilots, which would definitely result in reduction of accidents due to human failure.”The IAF has faced problems with HPT-32′s engine and airframe, even as it spared all its Kiran trainers (usually used for secondary flying training) to enable rookie pilots to learn flying skills.It also had a gap in its training syllabus due to the lack of an Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) when pilots moved on from Kiran aircraft to MiG-21 supersonic fighter jets.After a protracted process lasting 20 years, the IAF contracted to buy 66 BAE’s Hawk AJTs in 2004 and the first lot were inducted for training pilots in 2008.

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Indian army has only two-day war stock: Gen V K Singh

India army is seriously short of ammunition, said the top General.

And in the event of war, it may run out of stocks in two days, highlighted in a letter written by Army Chief General VK Singh to Defence Minister AK Antony, reported by the Indian Express.

It also warns of shortages in artillery and air defence ammunition and says that the blacklisting of firms has contributed to the situation.

With reports hinting at cuts in defence spending in the next budget, the army may well see further degradation of its capability.

This comes even as China has announced that it will increase its military spending by 11.2 per cent in 2012. According to an official spokesperson, China will spend nearly 106.4 billion dollars on defence in 2012.

The country has witnessed double-digit rises in the defence budget across the last two decades

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