US attack in N. Waziristan unlikely

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ruled out the possibility of an immediate unilateral US military offensive in North Waziristan, saying the Americans will have to think 10 times before going for this.

The comments came at a rare briefing held on Tuesday for members of the standing committees on defence of the two houses of parliament at the General Headquarters.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that the army chief had been asked to comment on the possibility of a US strike in Pakistan for its failure in Afghanistan, like it had attacked Laos and Cambodia before leaving Vietnam.

Gen Kayani did not say what would be Pakistan’s response in such an eventuality, but reminded that it was a nuclear power and must not be compared with Iraq and Afghanistan.

The briefing was mainly given by the Director General of Military Operations, Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, but the army chief also shared his views with the lawmakers, mainly about fears of US military build-up close to North Waziristan and the possibility of a unilateral attack in the region, and the army’s concern over the weak legal framework hindering trial and prosecution of terrorists.

It was probably for the first time that two parliamentary bodies jointly attended a comprehensive briefing on national security at the GHQ. The briefing was originally scheduled for Oct 13 and an invitation was also extended to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, headed by Mian Raza Rabbani, to attend the meeting. But the committee had decided to boycott the briefing and wanted it to be held at the Parliament House.

Almost all other members of the standing committees on defence attended the GHQ meeting. However, Professor Khurshid Ahmad, who is a member of both the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence, boycotted the briefing.

Another participant said Gen Kayani had rejected the US allegations that Pakistan was using the Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan and said his country was a part of solution, and not the problem.

He said he had told the Americans that Pakistan would go for a military action in North Waziristan keeping in view the situation and capabilities, and would not do it under any pressure. “If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow,” he said.

He said the problem was within Afghanistan and made it clear that some principles governed relations between states and nobody would be allowed to cross the red line. Gen Kayani rejected a perception that Pakistan wanted to control Afghanistan and said it was evident from history that nobody ever succeeded in doing so.

“When the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union failed to do so how can it be expected of Pakistan? We do not have a magic wand to succeed in doing what others failed,” he added.

The army chief said Pakistan wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan so that it did not face any challenge from its eastern and western borders.

He said Pakistan had handed over its position in black and white to US President Barack Obama and desired to get their position in writing as well. He said Pakistan would never allow its territory to be used for attacks against any other country.

Gen Kayani said the US had been told that Pakistan did not need military aid, adding that he had received a call from Washington asking if he meant it. “My reply was we mean what we say”. He said only 20 per cent of the $1.5 billion aid under the Kerry-Lugar bill had so far been received.

About the allegations of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) having ‘unsavoury characters’, he said the intelligence information came from links and all international intelligence agencies, including Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and MI6, had such contacts. He stressed that these contacts must be positively used.

Gen Kayani said it had been conveyed to the US that Pakistan had a long-term interest in the region and would not like to lose its long-term interest for short-term gains.

He underlined the need for revisiting the legal framework to prosecute those involved in terrorist activities. “The present law does not allow us to detain suspects for more than three months. This was not a sufficient time and terrorists gain out of it.”

The army chief said the weak law on terrorism and counter-insurgency was a problem because presently there was no deterrence. He said the law of evidence was outdated and not in conformity with the present scenario. He said a bill seeking to amend the Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997 had been pending before a Senate committee for almost a year.

Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem informed the legislators that Taliban activity in Afghanistan had increased by 40 per cent, despite 10 years of military presence of 49 countries. He said there were safe havens of Taliban in Kunar and Nuristan in Afghanistan.

“Taliban operate from there (Afghanistan) to launch attacks inside Pakistan.”

Maj-Gen Nadeem said India’s cold start doctrine had added to the threats confronting Pakistan. He said seven out of nine Indian commands and three strike corps were along the border with Pakistan. Eighty-one per cent of forward and main operating bases were positioned against Pakistan.

“We cannot base our strategies on any good intentions, no matter how noble they may be, as intentions can change overnight.

Our strategy has to be based on India’s capability,” he added.

S. Korean firm plans to invest $500m in Pakistan

KARACHI: Lotte, a South Korean firm, is planning to expand its operations and invest half a billion dollars in various projects to be executed in Pakistan, said Ambassador Choong Joo Choi on Monday.

Several other companies are also engaged in negotiations with Pakistani authorities for investment, mainly in power and petrochemical sectors, the Korean ambassador said at a press conference.

The envoy said his country had funded several projects in Pakistan such as the newly-inaugurated institute of garment technology and water supply and sewerage drainage projects, adding that Koran cooperation had also been extended to the national capacity-building institute for water quality management, training of Pakistani government officials and vocational training of youths of Malakand.

He said that at present more than 20 South Korean companies were based in Pakistan and some of the Korean brand names had their subsidiary and production lines.

He said that Ssangyoung, another Korean company, had just completed repair work of KPT berths while Posco had also made initial investment in the country.

South Korea, a member of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, offered $180 million soft loan to Pakistan. “It is an offer in the form of an extremely soft loan,” said Ambassador Choong Joo Choi.

WIND ENERGY: In a related development, Hienergy Korea Canmore Co. Ltd. announced that it would invest $100 million in the wind energy projects in Sindh, besides 50MW projects in SITE and Nooriabad.

This was said by the leader of the company who met Sindh Minister for Industries Rauf Siddiqui on Monday.

Gilani asks Naval chief to recruit Baloch youths

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directed Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M. Asif Sandila on Monday to encourage recruitment of Baloch youths and to continue the policy of induction of women as officers and sailors into Pakistan Navy.

Talking to the new chief of naval staff, who had called on him at the Prime Minister’s House, Mr Gilani said that Baloch youths should be inducted into navy on the pattern of Pakistan Army which had recruited around 6,000 people in the province.

The prime minister said that navy should set up recruitment centres, educational institutions and hospitals in remote and less developed areas of the country, especially Balochistan, Sindh and southern Punjab.

He said the completion of road between Gwadar and Ratodero would provide connectivity between the port city and the rest of the country and boost trade.

“It will also increase many times operational activities at the port,” he added.

Mr Gilani said the government would continue to extend all possible support to beef up the defence capabilities of Pakistan Navy.

He prised the relief efforts of Pakistan Navy for people affected by heavy rains in Sindh.

“Navy conducted well-planned operations in Sanghar, Tharparkar and Mirpurkhas to save lives in the aftermath of unprecedented rains,” he said.

Admiral Sandila expressed gratitude to the prime minister for reposing confidence in him and said he would spare no effort to come up to the expectations of the nation in the defence of the country.

Cross-border attacks from Pakistan on the rise: US

WASHINGTON: Cross-border attacks emanating from Pakistan against US-led forces in Afghanistan have increased since the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the Pentagon said Monday.

Asked if there was a recent rise in artillery or rocket fire across the border into Afghanistan, press secretary George Little told reporters in an email: “This summer, June-August, we did see an increase in cross border incidents.”

The Pentagon offered no other details and did not link the trend to the May raid by Navy SEAL commandos deep inside Pakistan that took out al Qaeda’s leader.

But US soldiers at bases in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province told the New York Times that rocket fire had dramatically increased from Pakistani territory since May.

It was unclear if the fire, usually 107mm rockets, was the result of an emboldened insurgency, retaliation by the Pakistani military or some mixture of both, the Times reported Monday, quoting US military officers.

In some cases the rocket fire came from insurgent positions just inside Afghanistan, with crews then rushing back across to Pakistan, the newspaper wrote.

There were at least 102 “close-border” attacks against three US outposts in Paktika since May, compared to 13 such incidents during the same period last year, it said.

When contacted by US troops, Pakistani military officers at the border often say they are not aware of the rocket fire or cannot see it, even though the fire is often coming from positions next to Pakistani military or Frontier Corps posts, the Times reported.

Given the degree of sophistication and coordination displayed in the attacks, some US officers strongly suspect the Pakistani military or intelligence service is involved in the rocket fire, the paper said.

The rise in cross-border fire comes amid deep strains in US-Pakistan relations in the aftermath of the Bin Laden raid and following accusations from former top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen that Islamabad was supporting Haqqani militant attacks on US forces in Afghanistan.

A Star In The Making

Not me, PAKISTAN! As much as some people don’t like to believe, the reality can’t be changed that a star IS in the making. Limitless glory and bliss has been destined for this country (as much as our ‘darling’ media tries to claim otherwise). The selection process for the torch bearers of this Glorious Fate has begun already. Merit is determined by spiritual beauty, not physical charm (bummer…). This is not a corporate recruitment that fancy degrees and glamorous appearances matter one bit (strike two!). And the worst part is, we can’t use our contacts and other ‘adorable’ attributes to qualify for this exclusive membership (And here we thought everything is fair in love and war).

Now for me, I am one of those insanely-in-love-with-Pakistan nutcases. Arguing with the not-so-much-in-love Pakistani folks was my favorite pastime. It was almost as if I forced them to love Pakistan. But then I realized how futile this pursuit is (yeah I am a tubelight). Instead of investing my energy in forcing people to love Pakistan, I could spend it with those friends who are already in love with Pakistan. And together we can help each other to qualify for the previously mentioned Hall of Fame. Too bad there are no Anees Hussain crash courses for this one like there are for IBA, LUMS and Agha Khan University. But HEY, anything for Pakistan! So who’s in?..

Note: This article is written By Mehreen Misbah was first published for PakistanZindabad a youth magazine