Naming..Shaming..and Taming pakistan-Full Version

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posted in appropriate thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Pak risks global isolation in purchasing defence tech: US think-tank report
As India’s purchasing power and geopolitical influence increases, Pakistan risks increasing global isolation when it comes to purchase of high-tech defence items, an American think-tank has said.

“Over the long term, Pakistan may be unable to access the most advanced weapons systems in the global marketplace. Instead, it may have little choice but to continue to rely on Chinese and possibly Russian military systems, which may or may not be the most appropriate for Pakistan’s defence needs,” the Stimson Center said in a report.

“Pakistan’s access to high-end technology could be constrained by India’s purchasing power and growing geopolitical influence,” said the report entitled ‘Military Budgets in India and Pakistan: Trajectories, Priorities, and Risks’.

American military aid accounted for 21% of Pakistan’s defence spending between 2002-2015, allowing the country to maintain high levels of military spending while easing the burden on its federal budget and overall economy.

“The US has begun to gradually downgrade its assistance to Pakistan in the near to medium term,” it said, adding that the support in Washington for the bilateral relationship has declined as Pakistan seems unable or unwilling to address concerns about violent extremist groups that direct their focus to Afghanistan and India.

India is a larger and more attractive market for global defense companies, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, the report said, adding that the country has become the world’s largest arms importer.

India accounted for 14% of global arms imports from 2011-2015, a 90% increase over the previous five years.


“Countries and companies who otherwise would be interested in having a defence relationship with Pakistan may be reluctant to do so out of concerns about falling out of favor in New Delhi,” the report said.

“In the long run, Pakistan will have to make tough choices about purchasing big-ticket weapons systems unless it can do so at concessionary rates,” it said.

The “almost-certain decline” in military and financial support from the United States will force Pakistan to carry a greater share of its defence spending, it said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...tank-report/story-dze5webnw2vJ6RC9pYmSBM.html

 

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India Needs To Side With Afghanistan To Isolate Pakistan
by Harsh V Pant
Despite the continuing India-Pakistan tensions and a volatile border where Pakistani forces continue to violate the ceasefire, Islamabad has decided to take part in the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference on Afghanistan in Amritsar on December 4.
The conference aims at speeding up reconstruction in war-torn Afghanistan and bringing peace and normalcy to the nation.
Though in India many would be tempted to focus primarily on the visit of the Pakistani delegation, the HoA conference will see participation from around 14 countries - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE.

Target
The HoA process, which is being supported by the wider international community, originated under the aegis of the Istanbul Conference in November 2011, which underscored the need for regional cooperation and confidence-building to resolve underlying problems facing Afghanistan and anchoring the state's development in a regional environment that is stable, economically integrated and conducive to shared prosperity.

India, too, has repeatedly underscored the need for improving connectivity in the region to help Afghanistan harness its trade and transit potential.

But for Pakistan, this participation will largely be about showcasing its positive involvement in the larger regional reconstruction.

For a nation that is now more isolated than it has ever been, it is a foreign policy imperative to underline its positive role in Kabul.

The HoA conference comes at a time when Afghanistan has taken an increasingly hard line position vis-à-vis Pakistan and unflinchingly supported the Modi government's agenda of envisioning regional cooperation in South Asia by marginalizing Islamabad.

It was the Afghan government which first suggested that South Asian states should come together to boycott the SAARC summit in Islamabad over Pakistan's role in "destabilizing" the neighborhood.
In his address to a joint session of Afghanistan's two houses of Parliament earlier this year, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had threatened to lodge a formal complaint against Pakistan.
In a departure from his earlier stand, Ghani called on Pakistan to forego attempts to bring the Taliban to negotiations and take military action against the terrorist group. Despite Pakistan's repeated assertions that it would go after Taliban, negotiations have repeatedly been stalled and deadly attacks in Afghanistan have increased with the Taliban carrying out their offensives.
The government in Kabul is also struggling to hold the overdue parliamentary elections this fall amid the worsening security situation.

American commanders have asked Washington that US troop numbers remain at the current 9,800, and not drop to about 5,500 by the end of the year.
Political tensions are rising with Afghan Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum accusing President Ghani of treating him and the Afghan Uzbek minority he represents like the "enemy", issuing veiled threats of violence if the situation doesn't improve.

Politics
Dostum complained that the government wasn't providing sufficient security assistance to northern Afghanistan to help take on the Taliban, taking a swipe at senior security officials by saying that "leadership and management are nonexistent".
Dostum also appeared to issue a challenge to NATO countries, warning them vaguely that "another bomb might explode here, they should be wise".
Amid all this is Pakistan, which for fear of India has continued to scuttle even those regional initiatives that seem purely commercial.
Its military intelligence complex has monopolized the discourse to an extent where Islamabad sees no win-win situations.
Its objective is to ensure that India doesn't win, even if it means a loss for the entire region.
In that spirit, Pakistan has repeatedly blocked the use of its roads for trade between Afghanistan and India. This has resulted in growing ill will for Pakistan in Afghanistan; even as the latter's relations with India continue to deepen.
Every day that ordinary Afghans lose opportunities for easy, direct trade with India, Pakistan generates more resentment among them.

Initiatives
India's policy vis-à-vis Afghanistan also needs to evolve with these changing ground realities.
New Delhi has been demanding dismantling of havens and terror sanctuaries in the region, besides pressing for deeper engagement of various stakeholders for Kabul's stability and security.
That is easier said than done. Indian interests are being repeatedly targeted in Afghanistan.
The attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in March this year had been the fourth such assault since 2007.
Other Indian consulates in Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif and the one in Kabul have also been attacked.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Afghanistan to inaugurate the new Afghan Parliament and the decision to gift Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghan forces were meant to underline India's seriousness to preserve its equities in the troubled neighborhood.
India signed the TAPI pipeline agreement to showcase its continuing commitment to Afghanistan's economic viability.
India has also signed a deal to develop the strategic port of Chabahar in Iran and agreed on a three-nation pact to build a transport-and-trade corridor through Afghanistan that could potentially reduce the time and cost of doing business with Central Asia and Europe.
New Delhi has so far shown an unusual tenacity in its dealings with Kabul.
It now needs to move beyond the binary of economic and military engagement and evolve a comprehensive policy which involves all dimensions of power.
Afghanistan is a tough country and only those who are willing to fight on multiple fronts will be able to preserve their leverage.

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/pakis...ia-ashraf-ghani-tapi-saarc/story/1/13687.html

Focus is on HoA (Heart of Asia Conference )happening in India on 31st October 2016_

 

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Kashmir India’s internal matter: Syrian Ambassador Abbas
NEW DELHI: The current impasse in Kashmir is an internal matter for India and the country has the right to deal with it in the manner it wants, said Syrian Ambassador to India, Riad Abbas.

Syria supports India on all international forums, including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Damascus has been a steadfast supporter of India on the Kashmir issue at various forums, including in OIC, Abbas told ETin an exclusive interaction amid the ongoing battle in his country against what he terms as externally sponsored ISIS. Referring to cross-border terrorism across regions, Abbas said Lashkar-e-Taiba has links with ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi and Boko Haram in Nigeria.

“These terror groups have one ideology — Wahabism. They have one colour and one principle.
Islam has no place for this ideology. LeT & JuD chief Hafiz Saeed should speak against this extremist ideology as he claims to follow true Islam.”

Noting that Indian minister of state MJ Akbar had undertaken a successful visit to Damascus, the first by an Indian minister in over five years, the envoy hinted at expanding bilateral security and partnership to combat terror.

A high-level delegation from Syria may visit India in the future to explore further cooperation, officials aware of the matter said. Referring to the crisis in Syria, Abbas said the Syrian Army, with support from Russia, will be able to free Aleppo from the ISIS.

“We have evidence to show that ISIS has received support and financial aid from the USA and certain countries in the region. Currently, American ‘aid trucks’ are trying to enter Aleppo, but we suspect that such containers may transfer arms and fighters to the ISIS.

We have had such experience in the past and, therefore, want to verify each and every American convoy entering Aleppo,” he said.

He described the current situation in Syria as a battle at three levels. “Firstly, it is a battle between USA and Russia. Secondly, it is a battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and thirdly, it is a battle between the Syrian Army and terror groups,” Abbas said.

Alleging that the US hatched “deep conspiracy” to destabilise Syria, the Ambassador said Washington had planned to draw a gas pipeline from Qatar to Europe via Syria to destabalise the Russian gas pipeline to the Europe.

The Syrian government, however, did not agree to allow the gas pipeline and, therefore, incurred the wrath of Washington. Comparing the war in Iraq’s Mosul and battle for Aleppo, he said victory in Mosul for the US is aimed at overshadowing its failure in Aleppo.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ador-abbas/articleshow/55123200.cms?prtpage=1

 

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Surgical Strikes Can’t Be Brave Flash In The Pan And Must Become New Norm In South Asia


by Maj. Gen. (Retd) G D Bakshi

The surgical strikes have underlined a critical dimension of national security—national resolve. Thomas Schelling had spoken about the aspect of a nation’s reputation for resolve. A nation-state like Israel has a fearsome reputation for resolve. Any terrorist strike on its soil would be responded to by immediate retaliation in the form of air attacks, drone strikes or raids. Retribution would be lethal. Similarly, Vietnam has acquired a fierce reputation for steely resolve. It has fought with formidable foes such as France, the US and China. China under Mao Zedong cultivated an equally fierce reputation for national resolve. It launched a million men across the Yalu river in Korea when the Americans failed to heed its warnings and did not stop their advance towards China.

India unfortunately has acquired a reputation as a soft state. Despite being a military and economic power, it was most unwilling to use force to protect its national interests. The historical roots of this aversion go back to our freedom struggle. The British realized the limitations of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent approach and tacitly encouraged it. It was Netaji Bose who strongly advocated that non-violence would not get us freedom. The center of gravity of the British rule was the loyalty of Indian armed forces to the Raj. Bose wanted to strike at this loyalty. The British Indian Army had grown to the size of 1.3 million men in World War I and 2.5 million in World War II. The loyalty of the Indian troops had not wavered. In the axis powers of World War II, Bose saw an opportunity to throw out the British by using the Kautilyan dictum—“an enemy’s enemy is a friend.”

Gandhiji virtually drove Bose into exile. Later Bose escaped to Germany and raised the Indesche Legion from Indian PoWs. Then he traveled to Japan in a submarine and took charge of the Indian National Army (INA) and expanded it to 60,000 men in arms. He formed an Indian government in exile, which was recognised by nine countries (including Russia). The battles of Imphal-Kohima were the most fiercely fought in British military history—26,000 men of the INA perished in the Burma campaign. Though the INA lost these battles, it won the war for India’s freedom. In a triumphalist gesture, the British put three INA officers on trial in the Red Fort, which enraged the nation and led to large-scale rioting.



What was significant, however, was the impact it had on the loyalty of the Indian in the armed forces of the Raj. In February 1946, mutinies broke out in the Royal Indian Navy, Air Force and finally the Army. The British saw the writing on the wall and panicked. Within a year, they had granted Independence.

Contrary to the contrived national narrative, force played a significant role in India getting freedom. The key decision-maker was Lord Clement Atlee, the then British PM, who went on record to say that it was primarily Bose, INA and the mutinies they inspired that forced Britain to grant Independence. To gain political legitimacy, court historians distorted the narrative of the freedom struggle to deny any role of force and glorified tools of ahimsa. This led to an emphasis on pacifism and cultivated abhorrence for the use of force. India became a soft state and a virtual punching bag for its neighbors.


The armed forces were deliberately under-resourced, which led to the disaster of 1962. Correctives were applied by the Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi regimes who expanded and modernized the armed forces. In the 1971 war, Mrs Gandhi broke Pakistan won a historic victory. After her assassination and then her son’s, India went back to being an effete power. For 46 years after 1971, no other PM gave the order to cross the LoC or international border.
In 1980, Pakistan started an asymmetric war in Punjab and took it to J&K and the rest of India. India failed to respond to these provocations. South Asia had gone nuclear, and the civilian leadership terrified itself into complete impotence based on exaggerated fears of a nuclear war with Pakistan. Not just Pakistan, the Cabinet Secretary refused to authorise use of the Indian Navy even against Somali pirates.

It is only recently that surgical raids were launched across the border in Myanmar and PoK. At long last, India has shown national resolve. The surgical strike in PoK was done overtly. It served to call Pakistan’s nuclear bluff and allayed fears of Chinese military intervention. India must now inculcate a reputation for resolve and the willingness to use military force to safeguard its interests. The surgical strikes cannot be a brave flash in the pan. It must become the new norm in South Asia. Pakistan must be clear that any more Uris will invite strong retaliation at a time and place of India’s choosing.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/mag...become-new-norm-in-south-asia-1532154--1.html

 

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Pakistan risks isolation by supporting terror: activists

In the ‘London Declaration for Pakistani Pluralism’, the participants agreed that, "Pakistan faces the risk of global isolation because of widespread obscurantism, official support for extremism and general disregard for human rights".
Pakistan faces the risk of global isolation because of widespread obscurantism, its support to extremism and disregard for human rights, according to prominent Pakistani intellectuals and rights activists.

They made the proclamation while participating in a conference on ‘The Future of Pakistan’ organised under the banner of South Asians Against Terrorism and for Human Rights (SAATH), co-hosted by U.S.-based columnist Mohammad Taqi and former Pakistan envoy to the U.S. Husain Haqqani.

The gathering was arranged away from Pakistan because of the threats to the security of free thinkers in the country.

Participants expressed grave concern on Pakistan’s current trajectory, militarisation of state and society, shrinking space for liberal ideas and pluralism, constant threats to democracy and threats to NGOs and individuals, as well as the inability of major political parties to prioritise protection of human rights and social justice.

In the ‘London Declaration for Pakistani Pluralism’, the participants agreed that, “Pakistan faces the risk of global isolation because of widespread obscurantism, official support for extremism and general disregard for human rights”.

Pakistan ranks 147 out of 188 countries in UN’s Human Development Index and 143 out of 144 in World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap report, it noted.

It is the world’s sixth largest country by population with the world’s sixth largest military but its economy is 26th in the world by size of GDP on PPP basis and 42nd in nominal terms.

“It is sad and disconcerting that instead of dealing with these issues with the help of fresh ideas espoused by broad- minded Pakistanis, the Pakistani state tends to appease religious extremists, continues to propagate religious extremism and allow it to freely spread in society and persistently misinforms the people of Pakistan about the realities of our country,” the declaration said.

It noted that instead of facing harsh realities, the Pakistani people are fed a steady diet of conspiracy theories and exaggerated threats to national security from other nations and countries.

“The Pakistani state, regrettably, expresses a continued willingness to engage with religious extremists and terrorists, and sometimes even talks of formally inducting Jihadi terrorist groups into the state’s paramilitary structure but remains hostile to liberal, progressive and nationalist groupings within Pakistan,” the declaration said.

“Political parties representing Baloch, Muhajir, Sindhi, and Pashtun segments of Pakistan’s population have been targeted by both state repression and hostile propaganda aimed at delegitimising them even when they have won clear electoral mandates from the people,” it said.

The Pakistani intelectuals and activists asserted that the state also pursues repressive policies towards population wise smaller provinces and ethnicities and their elected representatives.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...upporting-terror-activists/article9285722.ece

 

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Sardar Patel wanted the whole of Kashmir, even if it meant war
Particularly significant are his views on Communists, Muslims and the conversion of Hindus as chronicled by his daughter.


"We want the entire territory… and battle for the whole of Kashmir."- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, July 23, 1949

October 31 is the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

The man, who would have been the first Prime Minister of India, chose to accept Mahatma Gandhi's advice and remain happy to be home minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.

As history tells us, the Congress held a presidential election in the knowledge that its chosen leader would become India's head of government. Eleven Congress state units nominated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, while only the Working Committee suggested Nehru.

Sensing that Nehru would not accept second place to Patel, Gandhi supported Nehru and asked Patel to withdraw, which he immediately did.

A man of highest personal integrity and a transparent public life, Sardar not only gave us an India without ulcers, but also had Lakshadweep integrated in time, which was eyed by Pakistan immediately after August 15, 1947.

He had the prudence to send naval ships to the island, barely informed of the independence, and thwarted a Pakistani navy attempt to seize the strategically located and almost "out-of-sight" island. Our naval ships had seen the Pakistani navy nearing Lakshadweep and had them returned.

Sardar integrated 562 princely states with the swiftness and alacrity of a Bismarck.

Nehru was given the task to have J&K merged. He not only turned it into a permanent pain in the neck but during his reign, we lost 1.25 lakh sqkm of Indian land to China and Pakistan.

Survey of India's map showing the J&K area is incomplete in the sense that we still have to take back the Aksai Chin and Gilgit region from China and Pakistan, which were annexed in 1947-48 by them. And the unpreparedness of India in 1962 is too well-known.

A few years ago I had bought a book titled Inside Story of Sardar Patel: The Diary of Maniben Patel (Vision books), which gives vivid detail of Sardar's thoughts and his clarity on various national issues. It's a dairy written meticulously by his daughter Maniben.

Rathin Das from Ahmedabad reported this year on July 12, 2011, that the entry in Maniben's diary on September 20, 1950, says that Sardar told Nehru that Babri Masjid's renovation was different from reconstruction of the Somnath Temple, for which a trust was set up that raised nearly Rs 30 lakh for the purpose.

Government money was not spent on reconstruction of the Somnath Temple, Sardar told Nehru, following which the Prime Minister kept quiet, Maniben's diary notes on September 20, 1950.

As Sardar Patel's wife, Zaverba, died very early, Maniben had taken up the multiple roles as daughter, secretary, washerwoman and nurse to the 'Iron Man' till his death on December 12, 1950.

Since 1936, Maniben had started maintaining a diary in which she recorded her illustrious father's daily events and comments.

Another entry, on September 13, 1950, quotes Ghanshyamdas Birla as saying "Nehru's whole family would have embraced Islam if they had not come in contact with Gandhiji".

Particularly significant are Sardar's views on Communists, Muslims and the conversion of Hindus as chronicled by Maniben.

It says Nehru tried to go soft on the Hyderabad action, apparently to appease Muslims. But the Sardar told C Rajgopalachari in no uncertain terms that nothing would stop him from pursuing strong action to remove "an ulcer", and that Nehru should remain within his limits.

The diary says: "Sardar Patel bluntly told Rajaji that he would not want the future generations to blame and curse him for allowing an ulcer in the heart of India. On one side is western Pakistan and on the other side eastern Pakistan (with their idea of (a) pan-Islamic bloc…(they want to) come to Delhi and establish the Mughal empire again. Once we enter Hyderabad, it is no longer an international affair. It is the state ministry's function. How long are you and Panditji going to bypass the ministry of the states and carry on?" (September 13, 1948).

Patel's hold over the Congress party organisation was certainly greater. Nehru considered Sardar a rival who could dethrone him. Maniben's diary, however, reveals Patel had no such ambition, particularly after he had given his word to Gandhi.

Upon the Patel-Nehru differences played many others, notably Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the socialists, and even Maulana Azad. The diary reveals their manoeuvrings to oust Sardar from the Cabinet. Significantly, Nehru consistently ignored the many allegations of corruption against Kidwai, a fact that puzzled many Congress leaders.

The Sardar was happy to see Guruji Golwalkar, then RSS chief, released from jail and wanted to welcome RSS workers in the Congress. On August 3, 1949, says the diary: "Glad at release of Golwalkar - ready to welcome in Congress. Bapu's (Sardar's) task to make their entry easy."

Today, the Congress laments that Osama (bin Laden) was not given a fair burial, but won't say a word on the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. The Sardar reacted differently under similar circumstances.

Maniben records: "Sardar Patel was not happy with the Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact as it did not stop the exodus of Hindus from East Pakistan which went on increasing and a large number of Hindus continued to migrate to India. Sardar Patel observed that he was not so much worried about the killings, after all 30 lakh people had died in the Bengal famine, but he could not stand assaults on women and their forcible conversion to Islam." (April 5, 1950)

The Sardar further said: "Hindus had been totally finished in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Frontier Provinces. It was being repeated in East Pakistan and people like Hafizur Rehman, who had stayed on in India, would be clamouring for (a) homeland in India. What would be our position then? Our posterity would call us traitors." (April 24, 1950)

Sardar Patel did not trust the Communists either. He told MO Mathai, Nehru's special assistant: "If we have to build up the nation, Communists would have no place there." (September 13, 1948)

He didn't know then that his photo would be used on the Congress manifesto, and that the same people would join hands with the Communists whom he had despised most.

Interestingly, Maniben mentions in her diary that Sardar had one common goal with Veer Savarkar. They differed on several issues but both of them wanted the "four crore Muslims in India to be loyal to the country; otherwise there was no place for them" (August 16, 1949).

The diary says: "Sardar Patel was very unhappy that Nehru had taken the Kashmir issue to the UN which tied India's hands. His idea was that India should extricate itself from the UN patiently and then solve the Kashmir problem forever. He was also unhappy when reports came that the fertile land left behind in Jammu by Muslim zamindars who had migrated to Pakistan was not being given to Hindu refugees. Instead, the Sheikh was insisting on settling only Muslim refugees on such land (May 1, 1949)… (there were reports) that the majority of government employees were pro-Pakistan."

Nehru was a close friend of Sheikh Abdullah, while the Sardar didn't trust him at all. The diary reveals that even Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the former prime minister of Kashmir, felt that the Sardar could have solved the Kashmir issue if Nehru had not intervened.

"Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, on the other hand, was insisting that the Sardar should settle the Kashmir issue as he had done Hyderabad. But Nehru would not allow it. Iyengar reported that the Sheikh wanted to have an independent Kashmir. Upon hearing this, the Sardar said he would ask the Maharaja to return to Jammu as he did not place any trust in Sheikh Abdullah." (May 12, 1949)

Maniben also refers to a discussion by some Nehru loyalists about the possibility of the partition of Kashmir, which involved India retaining Jammu and handing over the rest of the state to Pakistan. Patel retorted: "We want the entire territory… and battle for the whole of Kashmir." (July 23, 1949)

How unfortunate that the Congress never wanted the Sardar legacy to be remembered. It took four decades to honour his memory with a Bharat Ratna. Congress leaders' names would top the list of those who acted against the long term interests of the nation.

It's time we know more about the Sardar who gave us this India and inspired an RSS young man who would become Prime Minister and rediscover, revive, reinforce the legacy and the story of Sardar Patel.
http://www.dailyo.in/politics/sarda...andhi-congress-muslims-rss/story/1/13735.html

 

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Today there was a MoU signed with Palestine on building an IT park at Ramallah.

Once the IT park is built, we can be rest assured that modi bhai Saab will say "Pakis just gives fake moral support to Palestine , while India helps in employment opportunities in Palestine".

 

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Terror Threat From Within Pakistan to 'Outside' Remains: Pentagon

The Pentagon has warned that there continues to be a terror threat from within Pakistan to the Pakistani people and to outside, even as it acknowledged that "more can be done" to address the issue.

"Focusing on counter-terrorism has been a big part of our ongoing conversations with Pakistan and will continue to be a major focus of our efforts with Pakistan," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters.

"We believe that there continues to be a terrorist threat within Pakistan against the Pakistani people and also posing a threat outside of Pakistan and we continue to work closely with the Pakistan government to try and address it," he said in response to a question.

"We think there's more that can be done and this is something that will continue to be a major focus," he added.

Cook said the United States continues to have regular communication with Pakistani counterparts on the safety and security of nuclear weapons.

He said the US is watching the situation and the region closely.

"This is a part of the world that's had its share of political upheaval in recent years and this is something that we'll watch carefully and that in particular with regard to our military relationship we'll continue to engage our counterparts on that front," he said.

The United States, he said, is engaged on a regular basis with Pakistani military counterparts.

"We will continue to have the conversation that we always have with them with regard to stability in the region, stability of Pakistan, and of course, the terrorism threat that emanates from Pakistan and the area," Cook said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/repor...-pakistan-to-outside-remains-pentagon-2269250

 

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Baloch activists protest against 'China's financial and military support to Pakistan' in London

NEW DELHI: The

Free Balochistan Movement
(FBM), a pro-freedom Baloch political party, began a week-long sit-in protest outside the

Chinese Embassy
in London on Sunday.

This week's protest comes a little over a month after the FBM organized a similar protest in London in September against the "China-Pakistan nexus" in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The protest currently under way is against "China's financial and military support to Pakistan", the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) "against the popular will of (the) Baloch nation," and "China's presence in Gwadar (a port city in Balochistan) where the local Baloch population is being expelled from their native villages," the FBM said.

The CPEC is a collection of infrastructure and energy projects worth around $46 billion, which will connect China's largest province Xinjiang with Gwadar port in Balochistan. Launched in 2015, the CPEC passes through both Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Balochistan.


The FBM has also alleged that China supports an increasingly isolated Pakistan to "strengthen its occupation" of Balochistan, and that it's "trying hard to save the crippling economy of Pakistan through safe deposit."


The party has invited all pro-freedom Baloch organizations and other human rights organizations to take part in its protest, which will end on November 6.


On the last day, there will be a protest demonstration between 1 and 3 PM outside the Chinese Embassy, followed by a march from the embassy to the Marble Arch, a 19th century monument.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...o-Pakistan-in-London/articleshow/55155273.cms

 

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Pakistan High Commission is a den of ISI activities, says BJP


Taking its rhetorical aggression against Pakistan to a new high, the BJP on Tuesday described the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi an “ISI den” that was “breaking all laws”.

The ruling party said the Centre had taken note of it and appropriate action would be taken. The comment came in the backdrop of New Delhi declaring a High Commission staff persona non-grata on charges of espionage.

“The reality is that the High Commission here has become an ISI den. It is breaking all rules and laws... Its work is no longer about diplomatic relationship. It has become a centre of smuggling information from here to there (Pakistan),” party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Pakistani newspaper Dawn claimed on Tuesday that Pakistan was considering pulling out of India four officials posted at its High Commission in New Delhi.

“This is under consideration. A final decision will be taken shortly,” a source at the foreign office was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The names of the officers — commercial counsellor Syed Furrukh Habib and first secretaries Khadim Hussain, Mudassir Cheema and Shahid Iqbal — were made public after a recorded statement of high commission staffer Mehmood Akhtar was released to the media, the report said. Akhtar was expelled from India after being declared ‘persona non-grata’.

Akhtar told Dawn News he gave the statement under duress.

paki liars!!
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...es-says-bjp/story-chG5SD8zslEr8Kna5f1WrK.html

 

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'Disappointed by past Indian govts but thank PM Narendra Modi for extending support to Balochistan'

Mumbai: A prominent Baloch leader on Tuesday said Indian governments in the past disappointed her people, who are fighting for independence from Pakistan, and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "extending moral support" to their movement.

"We were disappointed with earlier Indian governments but I thank the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending moral support for the freedom fight of Balochistan (in his August 15 speech)," said Naela Quadri Baloch, president of World Baloch Forum, here.

"We are using all forms of struggle, including armed struggle, for independence," she said, in an interaction at the Mumbai Press Club.

Pakistan was using chemical weapons against the Balochs, abducting women and killing children, Quadri alleged.

Atrocities increased after China's entry into Balochistan (for infrastructure projects it is developing in the region), she said.

"We are not Pakistanis, we know it," said Quadri.

"Where was the UN when Pakistan invaded Balochistan," she said.

Pakistan could not claim that insurgency in Balochistan was its internal matter, the Baloch leader added.

Quadri also alleged that Pakistan was nurturing terror with funds obtained (from foreign countries) for the war on terror.

Between seven and ten lakh Balochs live in India, according to Quadri. Balochs have been living in India for the last 500 years, she added.

"Balochistan issue is not human rights violations. It's the issue of independence," Quadri said.

In a major shift in India's foreign policy, Modi, in his Independence Day speech this year, had hit back at Pakistan when he talked about human rights violations in Balochistan.

It was in apparent retaliation for Pakistan dedicating its Independence Day to the freedom of Jammu and Kashmir


http://zeenews.india.com/news/india...extending-support-to-balochistan_1945476.html

 

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Tarek Fatah’s five strategies that India should adopt to tackle Pakistan


Shambhudeep Hore
By:
| New Delhi |

Published: November 2, 2016 7:00 AM
Tarek Fatah, a name that needs no introduction to the international community of intelligentsia. Author of several books namely, “Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic lllusion of an Islamic State”, “The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism” etc. Known as an enemy of the state for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Tarek Fatah is presently on an Indian trip and spend some candid time with FinancialExpress.comexclusively.

Excerpts of his diverse views on India, Pakistan, China, and various issues that faces the sub-continent.

You have mentioned that ‘Pakistan is the Islamic State’, how do you justify that?

Off course it is, what else do you think Pakistan stands for if not an Islamic State! It is the first Islamic State ever in human History. There was no Islamic State before that. Saudi and Egypt are national states, not Islamic State. They are geographical entities. That has very little to do with religion. Egypt is for Egyptians, Arab is for Arabia, that has very little to do with Islam.

When did you eventually decide to go on an exile?

I didn’t decide to go on an exile. I just had to leave after the 1977 coup in Pakistan. The coup was the only triggering event. They charged lot of people with sedition. I was a TV reporter at that time and was barred from taking up job, so I took advertisement job at Saudi Arabia, spent 10 years as a copy writer and then went to Canada.

China has economic interest in Pakistan known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and it does not acknowledge Masood Azhar as terrorist and on the other hand there is BRICS, how do you see this?

BRICS has nothing to do with what China wants and doesn’t want. Essentially BRICS is a counter to OECD. It is a fact that since China has invested heavily inside Pakistan so it will do everything to protect it’s corporate interest. To the contrary India in the last 30 years have done very little to exert its claim on territories where China has intruded, like PoK or the other side, sometimes the Chinese come inside many kilometres inside the borders and stay there.

Is China acting as a blockade to everything that India wants to achieve towards counter terrorism?

For China, India doesn’t matter. It has economic interest in all over the world, from Latin America to Africa. It has eliminated poverty in a much lesser time than India has. With a world class military China is a class on its own. We share borders, we are not neighbours, there is a big difference between the two. India has done nothing while the Chinese were building the Gawadar port. India’s reaction with the Chabahar port is not a well thought out response.

In the last 20-30 years, India has been pretty introvert in world affairs. It has no opinion on anything. For example for Indians the Yemen crisis was over once Indians were evacuated, now nobody even reports on it. You cannot compete with China with this attitude.

Would you hold the erstwhile Congress government responsible for the kind of indifferent approach to policies?

Not particularly Congress but all past governments are to be blamed for it until Mr. Modi nobody has ever taken up a world issue as an Indian issue. Take for example issues like the Darfur conflict or Nigeria for that matter, in all of these cases it seemed that India has no opinion at all. But I think Mr. Modi is the only Prime Minister after Nehru who has reached out to the International community.

What are the 5 ways according to you that would be ideal to deal with Pakistan?

• Break off all diplomatic and trade relationship until Pakistan withdraws all its troops from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and from Gilgit Baltistan.

• Shut down the Indus water treaty. Just tell them that we are at war with you, we cannot keep supplying water to you as long as you occupy our land. It is Indian territory and we cannot be subsidising your war against us.
• Help Afghanistan to build a dam on the Kabul river.
• Start training Baloch guerrillas in Afghanistan’s borders like Nimrud and the border shared by Balochistan and Pakistan, specially the Balochi speaking areas. Train and arm them.
• Diplomatically work for an independent Balochistan, to end the occupation.
  These measures if adopted will be sufficient to close down the Paksitan chapter.

http://www.financialexpress.com/ind...india-should-adopt-to-tackle-pakistan/436016/

 

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Indus Strategy Update

India to harness more water from Indus basin, but within terms of pact with Pak

• 
  The government has sought to use more water from Indus basin rivers, but within the limitations of a 56-year-old pact with Pakistan that has survived three wars and numerous bilateral bickering between the two neighbours.
  
  The prime minister’s office set a December deadline for the Central Electricity Authority to complete the techno-economic appraisal — pending for more than a year — to check the viability of about half-a-dozen hydroelectric projects on the Chenab in consultation with the Central Water Commission.
  
  These include the proposed 1,856MW Sawalkote hydel project near the Line of Control, the de facto border between the two countries, and the 540MW Kawar and 990MW Kirthai projects.
  
  “This will be the first step towards ensuring speedy implementation of these projects, which can produce more than 5,000MW,” a senior water resources ministry official said.
  
  “It generally takes anywhere between one and two years to get the techno-economic appraisal. After that the projects will have to get a host of clearances, including environment and forest.”
  
  
  
  The move follows a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September on the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. Considered among the most liberal water-sharing pacts, it gives control of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India and Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — three west-flowing rivers — to Pakistan.
  
  Modi reviewed the treaty amid escalating tension with Pakistan after militants murdered 19 soldiers in an army base in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri.
  
  Speculation swirled that the Indus treaty could become a casualty. But the government indicated India would use only its share of water for power and agriculture.
  
  
  
  The water allotted to India from the western rivers has the potential to generate 18,569MW of hydropower. But the country has so far developed infrastructure to harness only about 3,500MW.
  
  Besides, India can use water to irrigate 13.4 lakh acres. But is irrigating only 8 lakh acres.
  
  “Developing infrastructure to use what is permissible is more than enough. About 133 million acre feet of water flow in the three western rivers and India can construct reservoirs to store up to 3.6 MAF under the treaty. But no storage facility has been developed so far,” said a ministry official.
  
  Agencies have been told to coordinate with the Jammu and Kashmir government to identify areas where irrigation canals can be built as well as resolve issues stalling some of the power projects where work had started.
  
  “The 1,000MW Pakaldul project was languishing because of contractual dispute with the state government. It will be re-tendered now,” an official said.
  
  http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...ct-with-pak/story-DMCLNrMGuVy4qeVZqZFwfL.html

 

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India-Pakistan-Kashmir: After The Surgical Strikes


It has been a month since the surgical strikes were launched by the Indian Army’s Special Forces and denied by the Pakistani side. The entire strategic advantage which lay in our military claim appeared to have been negated by the political brouhaha that followed, between claims and counter claims of political parties in India. But this essay is not about that. It is about the situation that is unfolding in different domains post the strikes. To look through the complexities of the dynamic situation in J&K we need to examine three areas: first, the internal dynamics within Pakistan; second, the situation at the Line of Control (LoC), International Border (IB) and the counter-infiltration grid; and third, the activities in the Valley’s hinterland, where the agitation continues in different forms.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – weakened politically by the Panama Papers scandal and under the complete control of Pakistan Army Generals – is being exploited to project a civilian look to the anti-India campaign; a campaign orchestrated and owned entirely by the Pakistan Army and the deep state. On the other hand, Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif’s future is yet uncertain.

His ability to take his own decisions on the succession or continuation in office has been under some doubt due to claims and counter claims of other senior Pakistan Army officers in line for the job. Gen Sharif is therefore busy ensuring that the LoC remains alive. A live LoC may not have a change of guard at the ‘Chief’s palace’. Besides, even if Gen Sharif wishes to act like a statesman, he would like to go not with a whimper but with a roar. Possibly, some arrangement could ensure another high profile job once out of uniform. So in either possibility, the LoC will remain a bone of contention, and the location where messaging is done via actions. It is yet premature to say whether the ceasefire of 26 November 2003 will hold. It has successfully held even in turbulent times and even this time, the breaches are only in pockets.

The LoC is a strange place and along its alignment, a series of events can take place. In the priority of things at this time of the year, infiltration is uppermost in the mind of the deep state. 2016 may have been a good year for infiltration in terms of numbers but these are not sufficient to convert the burning streets of Kashmir into anything more. The attrition rate has also been very high and the spurt of ‘fidayeen’ was a bravado that was misplaced because it eroded the already low strength in the Valley.

Secondly the terrorist handlers and strategists are under a mistaken impression that breaches of ceasefire and demonstrated aggression by Border Action Teams (BATs) in one or two areas will force the creation of gaps in the counter-infiltration grid. The Indian Army, fully conscious of this, has ensured suitable reinforcements through the campaigning season that will go into the winter grid too. The incident of a BAT raid and mutilation of the mortal remains of a brave jawan in Machil will have the necessary retribution and in double the measure. This is an issue to be left to local commanders who know best how to handle it and the people should have the confidence that in this mega media period, there need be no grandiose announcements. Sometimes, the silence of the action is enough to send home the message.

The exchange of firing along the IB and portions of the LoC is unnecessary and irksome to the populations on both sides. Clearly our forces have been returning fire in response but the casualties among uniformed people that are occurring appear to suggest that there is need for better embattlements and defences. We have yet to witness artillery duels that will take a higher toll and losses to snipers do not reflect good tactical drills.

In terms of the hinterland, true to form, the nature of violence is undergoing a change. The stamina is obviously questionable. However, what is reported by this author’s many local friends is the degree of coercion not by the security forces but by young vigilantes, completely out of control of their parents. Each family is required to send a certain number of young men for stone pelting. Employed people are expected to come to the mosque and swear allegiance to the movement before proceeding to workplaces. There is extortion galore and vigilantism of an obscene kind that has taken over the society. With the police yet recovering from the trauma of the targeted ostracisation, it will be some time before any semblance of normalcy returns.

The Indian Army’s pro-activeness and support to the police in the built up areas and the outreach in the rural zone is ensuring security. Areas where the Indian Army has consciously not entered for many years – such as Old Town Baramulla – have been addressed appropriately with search operations and arrests to send home the message that no place would be safe for terrorists or rabble-rousers.

J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s government has definitely undergone a very challenging period. It could have completed wilted under the kind of pressure it bore. The chief minister may not have retained too many friends in Kashmir but has definitely proved that she can be a strong nut to crack. She has given it back to the separatists in equal measure and definitely displayed nationalist credentials to the detriment of her critics. As the state government moves to its winter capital, it is the time when two things should be in focus: first, it must make up to the Jammu populace the time lost over the last three months, by addressing their core concerns; Jammu’s silence must never be taken for granted. Secondly, it must concentrate on balancing itself by ensuring that the severe winter ahead is made as comfortable for the Kashmiris as possible. The deftness of the administrative skills must be felt on ground so that the alienation is at least partially allayed. That at least will make a better beginning next year.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/03112016-india-pakistan-kashmir-after-the-surgical-strikes-analysis/

 

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Congress Party and its failed policies on Pak and J&K
By: Meri News - Brigadier Arun Bajpai (Retd)



It is common knowledge that the Kashmir problem is a self goal by Nehru, who in order to gain recognition as a world statesman and a man of peace went to the UN Security Council went against the advice of the Indian Army and also against the wishes of big wig Indian politicians, just at the time when India was poised to launch its final offensive against a defeated and fatigued Pakistani Army, which was already falling back.

The current Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) consisting of basically Gilgit-Baltistan would have been under India's control had Nehru listened to the advice of the Indian Army. What was the tearing hurry for Nehru to rush to the UN Security Council where British were just waiting to trap India in getting involved in Kashmir problem is something which needs further research. This probably is the only example in military history of the world where a winning country squandered its advantage just at the whim of its top leader.

Ok, let us accept the fact that Nehru, due to his inexperience on strategic matters related with military made a mistake, for which the nation must pardon him. However, what is inexplicable is that after this initial mistake, why did the subsequent Congress governments which ruled this country for almost 60 years and even the NDA government of Mr AB Vajpayee, that ruled the country from 1999 to 2004, did not set right the defensive policies followed by India towards Pakistan?


Credit must go to the Modi government that after initially continuing with the same weak and defensive Pakistan policy has now changed gear and has literally put Pakistan on the back foot and left it internationally isolated.


Some of the major flaws in our Pakistan policy were as follows:
Having gone to the UN and after the UN Security Council ruling that Pakistan must withdraw all its forces from POK, followed by India and then a referendum be held, why did we not insist that Pakistan should first vacate POK?

Pakistan not having vacated POK and India rightly claiming that the erstwhile Maharaja of J&K Hari Singh had decided to merge with India in October, 1947 and hence making the entire J&K state an integral part of India, why did we not clamour that POK has been illegally occupied by Pakistan? We could have opened another front in 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars to capture POK. Why did we hand over Haji-Pir Pass to Pakistan that we had captured in the 1965 Indo-Pak war? This was rightfully our territory?

Pakistan in the 60s ceded to China the 5,000 sq km Shaksgam Valley which was part of POK. Why did we not create a ruckus at the UN, since Pakistan could not ethically do it, the Valley being an international disputed area? This helped China build the Karakorum highway.

Currently, China is investing 46 billion dollars in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which enters Pakistan via POK, why are we comparatively silent? How can China build its CPEC through a disputed territory?

After our success in the 1971 Indo-Pak war with 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war in our hand, how come the Congress government of Indira Gandhi released them without gaining anything substantial from Pakistan in return? It has also being reported that Pakistan is still keeping 70 Indian armed forces prisoners hidden in Pakistan of the 1971 war vintage?

During the Kargil War, Indian armed forces were instructed by the Vajpai government that under no circumstances they will cross the LOC. Why? If Pakistanis could cross the LOC and come into our area in Kargil, why we must have these restrictions?

The root cause of all these problems is that the Indian netas do not take strategic advice from the armed forces that thrive only on strategy. They take advice from the clueless and petty babus. That is why we are always at the receiving end. The time has come for the Indian political masters to repose more faith in the armed forces and take their advice. For this, the Chief of Defence staff system which has been lying sanctioned since 2003 must be implemented. Apart from giving single window advice to our political masters this system will also coordinate the functioning of the three armed services.
http://www.defencenews.in/article/Congress-Party-and-its-failed-policies-on-Pak-and-JandK-39028

 

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Post-Surgical Strikes, Pak Pays The Price For Misreading


by G Parthasarathy
It is clear that both the military and civilian establishments in Pakistan badly misread Prime Minister Modi’s outreach to the country’s elected leadership in his first two years in office. His warmth towards his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif were meant to signal to the world that Mr Modi was prepared to go the extra mile with Pakistan’s leadership, in a quest for cordial relations.

His meetings with Sharif in Delhi, Ufa and Lahore were misread by both Islamabad, where the political leadership is based, and Rawalpindi, where army chief General Raheel Sharif had taken control of Pakistan’s national security and foreign policies.

The attack on the Pathankot IAF base and the refusal of the military establishment to act against its perpetrators from the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which had also masterminded the December 13, 2001 attack on Indian Parliament, triggered the beginning of a new approach to relations with Pakistan by Mr Modi. In his Independence Day speech, Mr Modi surprised his countrymen and the world, by referring to India’s sympathy for the human rights violation by the Pakistan army in Balochistan. This was accompanied by publicised visits to India by Baloch resistance leaders in exile. These visits were even more startling than India’s approach to freedom fighters from Bangladesh in 1971, who remained largely out of sight, when in India.

The fact that Mr Modi’s Independence Day speech was not an isolated occurrence, but part of a wider redrawing of the entire matrix of the India-Pakistan relationship, became clear, when New Delhi invited representatives of BIMSTEC, which comprises six of India’s neighbours, to the Goa BRICS Summit. This effectively excluded Pakistan, which has undermined every effort for promoting regional economic cooperation in SAARC.

A process of excluding Pakistan from regional economic cooperation in South Asia was commenced, with India joining other South Asian neighbours, notably Bangladesh and Afghanistan, to initiate a boycott to the scheduled SAARC Summit in Islamabad. Mr Modi appears determined to see that no effort is spared to diplomatically isolate and internationally expose Pakistan, as a sponsor of terrorism. This effort is being coordinated with Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who are also victims of Pakistan’s ISI-sponsored terrorism.

The terrorist attack on an Indian army unit in Uri led to an unprecedented Indian response. In a carefully planned cross-border attack, units of India’s elite Special Forces destroyed terrorist launch pads and camps across the Line of Control (LoC). Over 50 assembled terrorists and some soldiers of the Pakistan army were killed. This was the first time ever that the Army units undertook such a strike, at widely dispersed terrorist targets, across the LoC. The psychological impact of the recent attack on Pak army units deployed along the LoC and terrorist training camps cannot be overestimated, or overemphasised. Pakistan has been served notice that India can and will strike at terrorist locations, when necessary.


Interestingly, not a single country in the world criticised India’s action. This is primarily because such cross-border raids elsewhere have been justified under the provisions of the UN Charter. This action followed the boycott of the SAARC Summit, which isolated Pakistan in South Asia.

The Uri attack was strongly condemned by countries ranging from the US, Germany and Russia, to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. It led to an unprecedented American warning to Pakistan. While urging Pakistan to “go after terrorist networks”, a senior American official noted: “The US will not hesitate to act alone, when necessary, to disrupt and destroy these (terrorist) networks.” China alone still acts as an apologist for Pakistan sponsored terrorism.

The writer is a Former diplomat
http://www.newindianexpress.com/mag...ak-pays-the-price-for-misreading-1534633.html

 

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Nobody From Pakistan Comes To India Without ISI Clearance, Says Writer Tarek Fatah
Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah

Saturday said India should snap all ties with Pakistan, and claimed that no artistes from the neighbouring country come here without clearance from ISI.


“India has no business to have any relations with the country (Pakistan) that has chopped off its limbs,” the 66-year-old writer told the gathering during ongoing ‘India Ideas Conclave 2016’ here.
“The day you develop dignity to say we don’t want to talk to you, we don’t want trade with you, we don’t want cement and we don’t want to have ‘aman ki asha’, that’s the day they will learn a lesson,” he said.


“No relation means no Indus water to you. Let them go to international court and India should say we are at the war with a criminal,” he said.


Amid demands by various political outfits in India to ban Pakistani artistes, Fatah said nobody comes here (from Pakistan) without the ISI clearance.

“Nobody comes here without ISI clearance. Where are the people defending the artistes? Whom are they fooling?”

He also criticized Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who has upped his ante against the Narendra Modi government over the ‘One Rank One Pension’ issue, saying he should first go to the war-front and then talk.
“Let him go and fight the war before giving any speech,” Fatah said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...si-clearance-says-writer-tarek-fatah-3738938/

 

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Pakistan exposed again as it blocks wheat to Afghanisthan

NEW DELHI: After isolating Pakistan in various global forums, India is now trying to expose its hostile neighbour further. As Pakistan continues to drag its feet on granting overland transit to the 1.7 lakh tonnes of wheat that India wants to send to Afghanistan facing food shortage, India has moved the World Trade Organization (WTO) about the blockade.

Apart from food supplies, considered humanitarian aid under international norms, India is keen to send medicines to the country that has faced decades of conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials, however, admitted to The Sunday Standard: “Status quo prevails. A country cannot be compelled to transit a consignment.”

Kabul and New Delhi have been exploring alternate route via Iran, “but things are stuck owing to the custom duty in the country,” officials said. India is hoping that Chabahar port, on its completion, will help India and Afghanistan to bypass Pakistan. The two countries had reached an agreement for establishment of an air corridor, to transport Afghan goods to Indian markets.

The result of Pakistan’s unyielding attitude has been that war-ravaged Afghanistan is staring at a food crisis. Malnutrition has reached dangerously high levels, with the UNICEF estimating more than 50 per cent of children suffering from long-term or acute malnutrition. Nearly one-third of Afghanistan’s people are food-insecure.

Frustrated at Pakistan’s attitude, President Ashraf Ghani had threatened to stop giving access to Pakistan’s shipments to the Central Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to supply 1.7 lakh tonnes of wheat to Kabul during his visit to the country in December 2015. Since then the Nawaz Sharif Government has refused Indian consignment to ply via its territory, which, Indian government officials indicate, flies in the face of WTO norms. Islamabad has been wary of the good relations between New Delhi and Kabul, and feels its sphere of influence in the country shrinking.

India and Afghanistan had discussed the issue with the US during trilateral talks in September, but no headway has been made. The Pakistan media has cited the resistance from its flour millers, who supply flour to Afghanistan. The Afghan government has been complaining about the high prices and low quality of the wheat supplied by Pakistan.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/the...-it-blocks-wheat-to-afghanisthan-1535388.html

 

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India, United Kingdom ask Pakistan to bring terrorists to justice


Before its impending divorce from the EU, the UK is snuggling up to India. Besides giving impetus to trade ties, the UK on Monday strongly came out in support of India against cross-border terrorism and asked Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and the Pathankot air base attack earlier this year.

In a strongly worded Joint Statement, India and the UK underlined the threat posed by “transnational” terrorism and reiterated “their call for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot attack to justice”. The statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in bilateral talks with the UK Prime Minister Theresa Pay expressed grave concern about cross-border terrorism.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s choice of India as her first destination outside Europe underlines the importance the UK accords to its bilateral ties with India, the country that was referred to as the most precious jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Even as the terms and conditions of Brexit are being finalised, the UK would want to forge stronger ties with India that is now the third biggest economy in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. Prime Minister May strongly condemned the attack on Army base in Uri in September that claimed lives of 19 soldiers.

The UK has ties to the Indian sub-continent that goes back to centuries. And without naming Pakistan or the slain Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani, who was lionised by Islamabad to incite passions in the Kashmir valley since July this year, India and the UK said that strong measures should be taken against those who “encourage, support and finance terrorism; provide sanctuary to terrorist and terror groups, and falsely extol their virtues”. Pakistan has also given shelter to Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Masood Azhar and co-founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba Hafiz Saeed.

“There should be no glorification of terrorists or efforts to make a distinction between good and bad terrorists. They agreed that South Asia should be stable, prosperous and free from terror and called on all countries to work towards that goal,” the Joint Statement declared.

After the talks both the Prime Ministers held a joint press event. The Indian Prime Minister said that the bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism and radicalization figured prominently in the talks. "We agreed that it is not a limited security challenge. Its arc of threat spreads across nations and regions. Terrorists move across borders with ease, and endanger the entire humanity,” Prime Minister Modi said.


http://www.newindianexpress.com/nat...n-to-bring-terrorists-to-justice-1535994.html