Gujarat genocide: Ishrat Jahan encounter

After the Ishrat Jahan encounter has been proved fake, human and civil rights activists are again trying to build up pressure on the Delhi and Central governments to order a judicial probe into the Batla House encounter in which two ‘suspected terrorists’ were gunned down last year by the Special Cell (notorious for encounters) of the Delhi Police.

Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association, which has been in the forefront of the movement for judicial probe into the Batla House encounter, has called upon people to sign an online petition in order to pressurize the government to reverse its stand and order a judicial probe in this encounter also. When the communal BJP-ruled Gujarat can allow a judicial probe into Ishrat encounter, why the ‘secular’ Congress-ruled Delhi and Central governments can’t into Batla House encounter, the rights activists ask. The online petition can be signed on

http://www.petitiononline.com/jtsa2009/petition.html

A magisterial probe two days back concluded that June 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter was fake as besides Mumbai college girl Ishrat three others were shot dead in cold blood by the Ahmedabad police. It was a fake encounter staged by the top police officials for promotions, said the probe. The police had described the four as members of Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba out on the mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The Ishrat encounter report has given a boost to the human and civil rights groups who have since Day One been demanding judicial probe into the September 19, 2008 Batla House encounter that took place in Delhi’s Muslim ghetto Jamia Nagar. Sajid and Atif, Azamgarh boys in early twenties killed in the shootout, were described by the police as masterminds of the Delhi serial blasts as well as other blasts in the country. But locals, parents and human and civil rights activists exposed loopholes in the police version about the whole Batla encounter, and so demanded judicial probe which so far has been turned down by the government.

A magisterial enquiry into this encounter has been blocked by the Delhi government through the refusal of the Lt. Governor of Delhi to allow for the same.
Meanwhile, a probe report by the National Human Rights Commission has given a clean chit to the Delhi police for the Batla House encounter. Parents of the slain Azamgarh boys and human and civil rights activists have rejected the NHRC report as the commission prepared the report without bothering to visit the spot and taking views of the neighbours, rights groups and the parents.

(  By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net )

: Iran closer than ever to producing a nuclear weapon

The Russian representative to the IAEA Board of Governors says there is no alternative to diplomatic means in addressing the Iranian nuclear issue.

"We believe that today it is possible... to launch talks aimed at finding a diplomatic long-term resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem," RIA Novosti quoted Grigory Berdennikov as saying at a session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday.

The Russian envoy further urged Tehran to ensure effective cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy] Agency on the basis of the resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors and the UN Security Council'.

The Russian official also pointed out that his country supports the efforts made by the IAEA and its director Mohamed ElBaradei to resolve Iran's nuclear issue.

"The efforts by the IAEA to establish the evolutionary history of the Iranian nuclear program, the information agency has provided on Tehran's nuclear activities and its recommended measures to resolve the outstanding issues will restore confidence in the Iranian civilian nuclear program," he went on to say.

"We follow the advice of the Agency on ways to resolve the problem concerning the Iranian nuclear program and believe that if others did the same, there would be more progress in this area," he noted.

On September 9, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki submitted a package of proposals on Iran's nuclear issue to the ambassadors from China, France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland - acting for the US - and the British chargé d'affaires in Tehran.

On the same day, a copy of the package was also submitted to the European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana by the Iranian ambassador in Brussels, Ali Asghar Khaji.

The details of the new package have not been publicly disclosed yet.

Iran faces pressure from the US and some of its allies to halt its nuclear enrichment, despite its right to possess full nuclear fuel cycle technology for civilian purposes as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In accordance with the terms of the NPT, Iran has opened its nuclear facilities to intrusive and ongoing inspections by the IAEA, which has confirmed that there has been no diversion of nuclear materials to military programs.

Tehran denies any plans or intentions to develop nuclear weapons and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction across the globe. 

Reporting from Vienna and Beirut - Iran on Wednesday handed over a package of proposals for possible talks with world powers about its nuclear program, but it gave no indication that the offer would include discussions on halting its enrichment of uranium as demanded by the United Nations Security Council.

In Vienna, the United States and its European allies again condemned Iran's nuclear activities, noting that Iran has crossed or is close to the threshold for assembling enough fissile material to make one atomic bomb.

"This ongoing enrichment activity . . . moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity," Glyn Davies, U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at a meeting of the U.N. watchdog agency's governing board.

"We have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option."

Western nations, along with Israel, suspect that Iran is preparing to build nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program, a charge that the Islamic Republic vehemently denies.

The U.S. intelligence community and outside experts believe Israel has 100 to 200 nuclear weapons, making it the sole nuclear power in the Middle East.

World powers fear that a nuclear Iran could further unsettle an already-volatile region and trigger an arms race.

The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly called on Iran to halt sensitive nuclear activity until it clears up questions about the nature of its nuclear enrichment program.

The United States, France, Britain and Germany have pushed for an increase in U.N. economic sanctions on Iran but have been thwarted by veto-bearing Russia and China, which remain economically and politically engaged with Tehran.

If the West is unable to gather momentum for sanctions at the U.N. General Assembly meeting next week, diplomats say, it might try to punish Iran by pursuing restrictions at the Group of 20 summit of world economic powerhouses this month in Pittsburgh.

Details of the Iranian package, handed to diplomats in Tehran late Wednesday, were not made public.

Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, said last week that it would be an updated version of a proposal submitted last year. That proposal was dismissed by the U.S. and its allies as irrelevant.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, said the new proposal includes possible talks on nuclear matters.

"It covers all issues of concern and interests inter alia security, economic cooperation, nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, energy supply and demands, energy security as well as peaceful applications of nuclear energy," Soltanieh said in a statement distributed to reporters in Vienna.

"The basis of negotiations would be this package," the Iranian envoy told reporters on the sidelines of the board of governors meeting.

"And during the process of negotiations, all parties in an open-minded, pragmatic manner have to deal with the issues and any parties in any negotiations have the right to reflect their viewpoints and comments on it."

The Obama administration has offered to engage in comprehensive talks with Iran without preconditions.

But after years of what international atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei described Wednesday as a "logjam," France, Germany and Britain have grown increasingly skeptical about negotiations.

The Islamic Republic has brushed aside as forgeries a set of documents that purportedly show it engaged in nuclear experiments consistent with a clandestine weapons program until 2003.

"If this information is real, there is a high probability that Iran nuclear weaponization activities have taken place," ElBaradei told the board, according to a transcript of his remarks. "But I should underline 'if' three times."

Germany's ambassador to the atomic agency, Ruediger Luedeking, decried Iran's "disrespect" for its international obligations.

"This Iranian attitude further reinforces doubts relating to the nature of Iran's nuclear program," the ambassador said, reading a statement on behalf of his country, France and Britain.

"Iran must address the lack of confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program. It should build, not reduce, confidence."

Top Chinese official signals move away from dollar

The Chinese are becoming increasingly wary of the growing supply of U.S. dollars, leading the head of the nation's green energy initiatives to signal a move away from dollar reserves and toward, gold, euros and yen, according to a published report. 

“We hope there will be a change in monetary policy as soon as they have positive growth again,” said Cheng Siwei, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, according to The Telegraph.” 

The Chinese are becoming increasingly wary of the growing supply of U.S. dollars, leading the head of the nation’s green energy initiatives to signal a move away from dollar reserves and toward, gold, euros and yen, according to a published report.

“We hope there will be a change in monetary policy as soon as they have positive growth again,” said Cheng Siwei, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, according to The Telegraph.

He added: “If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a year or two the dollar will fall hard. Most of our foreign reserves are in US bonds and this is very difficult to change, so we will diversify incremental reserves into euros, yen, and other currencies.”

Siwei also noted that China is especially interested in purchasing gold, but will move methodically in that arena so as not to agitate the market.

“To the degree that they sell dollars and buy gold, Yen or Euros, there can only be downward pressure on the U.S. dollar,” noted Edward Harrison with economic analysis publication RGE Monitor.

“One cannot rely on the words of one Chinese official to represent policy makers in China,” he added. “And Cheng never said the Chinese are now actively diversifying away from the U.S. dollar. Nevertheless, Chinese officials have been talking along this dollar bearish line for months now and I tend to believe their words will lead to action.”

However, some believe China has already begun this diversification.

“[Siwei's] comment captures exactly what observation of gold price action suggests is happening,” opined Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in a Telegraph op-ed. “Every time it looks as if the bullion market is going to buckle, some big force steps in from the unknown.

“Investors long-suspected that it was China. We later discovered that Beijing had in fact doubled its gold reserves to 1054 tonnes. Fait accompli first. Announcement long after.”

Business Insider added: “It’s going to be slow, and the country is loathe to buy too heavily, else it distorts the market more than it would like, but over time it will keep accumulating the shiny metal.”

On Monday gold exchange rates hit a six-month high at $995.19 an ounce, with some predicting the metal may appreciate over and above the $1,000 mark very soon.

“The underlying factor is still the dollar,” said Dan Smith, a UK-based Standard Chartered Plc analyst, according to Bloomberg News. “If we do see a break in the dollar, it could be one of the triggers to take gold higher.”

Sunday, central bank supervisors from all the world’s most powerful nations agreed,at America’s behest, to strengthen the “Basel II” framework for international commerce and increase currency liquidity in all member nations. They also agreed to empower “global supervision” of financial industries, which they said will ultimately result in markets with greater resistance to economic stress.

China has over $2 trillion in U.S. dollar reserves.

Update: Gold spikes above $1,000 an ounce on fears of sinking US dollar

Tuesday morning Bloomberg reported that gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division hit $1,000 per ounce — a six month high — after pronounced fears of a weakening U.S. dollar surfaced in comments by a top Chinese official and a United Nations conference report which recommended a new global currency to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve.

American Flag-Draped Coffins

"At President Obama's press conference on Monday night (2/9/09), Ed Henry, CNN Senior White House Correspondent, asked a very unanticipated and sensitive question: Was he, President Obama, going to change the current rule so that the media can photograph the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan? 

President Obama said that he and his advisors are seriously and carefully looking at this change and are doing so with the input of military families and the Department of Defense." 

American soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  

"It's a public act to go to war and it's a public act to come home, however you get here."

At President Obama's press conference on Monday night (2/9/09), Ed Henry, CNNSenior White House Correspondent, asked a very unanticipated and sensitive question: Was he, President Obama, going to change the current rule so that the media can photograph the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan?

President Obama said that he and his advisors are seriously and carefully looking at this change and are doing so with the input of military families and the Department of Defense.

Since then there have been a few articles in the news, notably Katharine Seelye'sarticle in The New York Times online today.

In her article Ms. Seelye acknowledges that there are indeed differing views. Some military families want total privacy even though the coffins are draped and there are absolutely no identifying marks on them.

Others, including one grieving father, said that he wished the media had captured the very tender moment of the military respectfully receiving his son, an image he would surely have kept close to his heart forever.

Others --grieving family members or not --feel that it is important that we have a reality check on what the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost us. When the U.S. engages in these wars, there are concrete, definite, solid consequences: the dead bodies of our cherished men and women soldiers.

Some feel that by not showing pictures of the coffins that we are shamefully sneaking the dead soldiers back into the country. Joseph Biden, who now has a son in Iraq, believed this as a Senator and no doubt continues to do so as Vice President.

Many of us are visual learners; we don't get it unless we have a picture. For some it is seeing the coffins of the now 4,865 dead soldiers that can provide the visual for understanding the human side of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

For others, like Republican Congressman Walter Jones from North Carolina, it was letters -- writing letters to constituents. Along the way of signing some 8,000 letters to grieving family members, he regretted voting for the Iraqi War.

What does it take for us to learn that each and every life is precious, that we can't afford to sacrifice one person's life? When will we humans figure out how to live, work and love together?

As painful as the loss of life is, the pain and changed lives the surviving families and friends must contend with is just as important. As each coffin is returned, there are fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, children, grandparents, friends, school chums, colleagues and neighbors who will feel a stab in the heart, a heartbreaking wound. Maybe the breadwinner is now gone or it's the father or mother the child will never know.

On a societal level, we also suffer a loss: the artist whose masterpiece we'll never see, the musician whose music we'll never hear, the physician whose healing hands we'll never feel, the teacher's demand for excellence we'll never benefit from.

It's painful to hear the stories about the deceased soldiers and their families. The least we can do is watch the respectful military process for welcoming these dead soldiers home and with each coffin renew our determination to live peacefully together on our dear Planet Earth.

My precious father was in both WW II and the Korean War. Had he died in either of these wars, I would have wanted his return home to have been public. It's a public act to go to war and it's a public act to return home, however you get here. Our family was very fortunate to have him return home alive and well. My heart goes out to all those who aren't as fortunate as we were.

***

Gordon Brown faces Labour motion to pull out troops from Afghanistan

Conference activists say war in Afghanistan 'is unwinnable' 

“Gordon Brown faces fresh questions over the war in Afghanistan at this month's Labour party conference, with grassroots activists circulating a motion demanding that troops be withdrawn. The "contemporary issues motion", which lets grassroots members trigger debates at conference, concludes that "a majority of the public believe the war is unwinnable" and suggests Britain's involvement has fuelled the risk of terrorist attack. It follows damaging criticisms from the ministerial aide Eric Joyce, who resigned last week in protest at the handling of the war.” 

Gordon Brown faces fresh questions over the war in Afghanistan at this month's Labour party conference, with grassroots activists circulating a motion demanding that troops be withdrawn.

The "contemporary issues motion", which lets grassroots members trigger debates at conference, concludes that "a majority of the public believe the war is unwinnable" and suggests Britain's involvement has fuelled the risk of terrorist attack. It follows damaging criticisms from the ministerial aide Eric Joyce, who resigned last week in protest at the handling of the war.

Lord Soley, former chair of the parliamentary Labour party, predicted that doubts over Afghanistan would come into the open. "I think there will be more people saying what Eric Joyce has said. The Labour party doesn't like war at the best of times."

Soley admitted he had doubts about the Afghan strategy, but said Brown's speech last week had "gone a long way towards answering the concerns". However, he said Brown still had more to do to win the argument.

This week the prime minister faces a new dilemma over whether to push for Hamid Karzai, the incumbent president, to face a second round of voting following August's disputed elections. Officials are expected to confirm within days that Karzai got the 50% of the vote needed to avoid a runoff, but allegations of fraud suggest the result may not be reliable. British officials signalled that patience was running out with the Karzai administration, but are not seeking a change. A Foreign Office source said: "There are a number of highly questionable characters in Karzai's government that we continue to have concerns about."

Joyce yesterday broadened his attack, telling the Observer that the government should be pressing Washington harder both for early withdrawal and a tougher approach to Karzai: "We are not in a position to make the Americans make the Afghans have a second round [of voting], but we should have much greater clarity about this."

The troop withdrawal motion is compiled by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, backed by Labour CND and the Campaign Group of leftwing MPs. Motions are not binding on Brown, but represent a serious warning shot in an election year.

Now India's turn to expand its embassy

After giving 58 acres of land to the US Embassy, the Indian Embassy in Islamabad has also been allotted 10-acre land for its expansion. The Indian Embassy will construct more offices as well as residences on the land, provided to it in the Diplomatic Enclave. Besides that, Indian commandos and security guards would be deployed at the Embassy for security purpose. 

“It has been learnt that the land has been given after a request by New Delhi and construction work has been started for expansion of the Indian Embassy. On the other hand, some circles in Islamabad are expressing their reservations over the allotment of land to the Indian and US embassies, besides raising questions regarding the purpose of providing land to these embassies.” 


After giving 58 acres of land to the US Embassy, the Indian Embassy in Islamabad has also been allotted 10-acre land for its expansion, it was learnt on Tuesday. 
The Indian Embassy will construct more offices as well as residences on the land, provided to it in the Diplomatic Enclave. Besides that, Indian commandos and security guards would be deployed at the Embassy for security purpose. 
It has been learnt that the land has been given after a request by New Delhi. 
However, a government department had made provision of land conditional to some steps. 
Highly-placed government sources said it is not an unusual thing. Keeping in view modern day requirements, the Indian request was accepted and “we are well aware of the situation”, they said. 
It has been learnt that construction work has been started for expansion of the Indian Embassy. 
On the other hand, some circles in Islamabad are expressing their reservations over the allotment of land to the Indian and US embassies, besides raising questions regarding the purpose of providing land to these embassies. 
They say that at least the Parliament should have been taken into confidence over this sensitive matter. 
These circles also are of the view that a question arises whether Pakistan’s friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia, China, and other Muslim states have land equal to that of the US and Indian embassies’ and as to why these countries did not feel need to expand their missions and take extra security steps. 
Moreover, China’s protest over unnecessary expansion of the US mission as well as extra security measures and later its denial is being discussed in the government and diplomatic circles. It is being said reservations of friendly countries over the issue should not be neglected, because this would isolate Pakistan at the international level.

UN Says New Currency Is Needed to Fix Broken 'Confidence Game'

The New World Order is being implemented by the UN which is serving the Masonic Agenda (Knight Templars/ Worshippers of Dajjal) of a Global Government. 

“The dollar's role in international trade should be reduced by establishing a new currency to protect emerging markets from the "confidence game" of financial speculation, the United Nations said.

The dollar’s role in international trade should be reduced by establishing a new currency to protect emerging markets from the “confidence game” of financial speculation, the United Nations said.

UN countries should agree on the creation of a global reserve bank to issue the currency and to monitor the national exchange rates of its members, the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development said today in a report.

China, India, Brazil and Russia this year called for a replacement to the dollar as the main reserve currency after the financial crisis sparked by the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market led to the worst global recession since World War II. China, the world’s largest holder of dollar reserves, said a supranational currency such as the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights, or SDRs, may add stability.

“There’s a much better chance of achieving a stable pattern of exchange rates in a multilaterally-agreed framework for exchange-rate management,” Heiner Flassbeck, co-author of the report and a UNCTAD director, said in an interview from Geneva. “An initiative equivalent to Bretton Woods or the European Monetary System is needed.”

The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement created the modern global economic system and institutions including the IMF and World Bank.

Enhanced SDRs

While it would be desirable to strengthen SDRs, a unit of account based on a basket of currencies, it wouldn’t be enough to aid emerging markets most in need of liquidity, said Flassbeck, a former German deputy finance minister who worked in 1997-1998 with then U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to contain the Asian financial crisis.

Emerging-market countries are underrepresented at the IMF, hindering the effectiveness of enhanced SDR allocations, the UN said. An organization should be created to manage real exchange rates between countries measured by purchasing power and adjusted to inflation differentials and development levels, it said.

“The most important lesson of the global crisis is that financial markets don’t get prices right,” Flassbeck said. “Governments are being tempted by the resulting confidence game catering to financial-market participants who have shown they’re inept at assessing risk.”

The 45-year-old UN group, run by former World Trade Organization chiefSupachai Panitchpakdi, “promotes integration of developing countries in the world economy,” according to its Web site. Emerging-market nations should consider restricting capital mobility until a new system is in place, the group said.

The world body began issuing warnings in 2006 about financial imbalances leading to a global recession.

The UN Trade and Development report is being held for release via print media until 6 p.m. London time.

The New World Order and the Global Currency to take complete control

David Rockefeller when he said in 1994: 
“We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the new world order.” 

Richard Haas, President of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in 2006: 
“Globalisation . . . implies that sovereignty is not only becoming weaker in reality, but that it needs to become weaker.” 

Sovereignty is one of these cherished rights that nations will give up only with “the right major crisis.” Gordon Brown put it like this: 

“Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to agree that what is obvious and should have been done years ago, can no longer be postponed. . . . We must create a new international financial architecture for the global age.” 

“A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.”

A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

Currency specialist Avinash Persaud, a member of the panel of experts, told aReuters Funds Summit in Luxembourg that the proposal was to create something like the old Ecu, or European currency unit, that was a hard-traded, weighted basket.

Persaud, chairman of consultants Intelligence Capital and a former currency chief at JPMorgan, said the recommendation would be one of a number delivered to the United Nations on March 25 by the U.N. Commission of Experts on International Financial Reform.

"It is a good moment to move to a shared reserve currency," he said.

Central banks hold their reserves in a variety of currencies and gold, but the dollar has dominated as the most convincing store of value -- though its rate has wavered in recent years as the United States ran up huge twin budget and external deficits.

Some analysts said news of the U.N. panel's recommendation extended dollar losses because it fed into concerns about the future of the greenback as the main global reserve currency, raising the chances of central bank sales of dollar holdings.

"Speculation that major central banks would begin rebalancing their FX reserves has risen since the intensification of the dollar's slide between 2002 and mid-2008," CMC Markets said in a note.

Russia is also planning to propose the creation of a new reserve currency, to be issued by international financial institutions, at the April G20 meeting, according to the text of its proposals published on Monday.

It has significantly reduced the dollar's share in its own reserves in recent years.

GOOD TIME

Persaud said that the United States was concerned that holding the reserve currency made it impossible to run policy, while the rest of world was also unhappy with the generally declining dollar.

"There is a moment that can be grasped for change," he said.

"Today the Americans complain that when the world wants to save, it means a deficit. A shared (reserve) would reduce the possibility of global imbalances."

Persaud said the panel had been looking at using something like an expanded Special Drawing Right, originally created by the International Monetary Fund in 1969 but now used mainly as an accounting unit within similar organizations.

The SDR and the old Ecu are essentially combinations of currencies, weighted to a constituent's economic clout, which can be valued against other currencies and indeed against those inside the basket.

Persaud said there were two main reasons why policymakers might consider such a move, one being the current desire for a change from the dollar.

The other reason, he said, was the success of the euro, which incorporated a number of currencies but roughly speaking held on to the stability of the old German deutschemark compared with, say, the Greek drachma.

Persaud has long argued that the dollar would give way to the Chinese yuan as a global reserve currency within decades.

A shared reserve currency might negate this move, he said, but he believed that China would still like to take on the role.

Pakistan v Hindustan: A Military Fact-Checking Exercise

On the occasion of Defence Day of Pakistan, we’ve decided to do a short comparison of the Air, Land and Naval forces of Pakistan against those of our rival, India. From failed tank designs, laughable missile ‘capability’ to dud nuclear devices, it turns out Pakistan has done well for itself despite arms embargoes and sanctions from countries that have been lining up to offer their equipment to India. Its never wise to underestimate your foe – however this is intended to be a reality check for the hawks accross the border who wondered why India didn’t attack Pakistan in the aftermath of Mumbai. At the same time, we intend to let those Pakistanis know who wonder if we’ll be able to survive a conventional war with India, that ALLAH is our protector.

LAND FORCES

On paper, India has a much higher number of weapons and equipment, but when the chips are down, its weaknesses are exposed. A case in point was the 2001 mobilisation of troops on the border following the farcically staged attack on the Indian parliament. It went very badly for the Indian army. At the cost of billions of dollars to the poverty-stricken Indian masses, the Army took several months to mobilise, and even when it did, it was in no position whatsoever to launch any kind of attack. The infantry proved to be less than ready, with dozens being killed in ‘friendly-fire’ attacks, and many taking their own lives due to ’stress’. The armoured vehicles were in a gross state of disrepair and the organisation was chaotic. The whole charade turned out to be more of an exercise in vanity and bluster than actual military sense.

The Pakistani response could not have been more different. Multiple Army Corps were mobilised within days and dispatched to the border efficiently and quietly. Equipment was readied and the determined troops stood their ground, ready to defend Pak Sarzameen. Pakistani officers could only look on in surprise at the antics across the border. Eventually, India decamped and withdrew having wasted billions on yet another useless adventure. But they should have known that attempting to intimidate and demoralise the Pakistan Army is an exercise in futility.

Pakistan was well prepared and its soldiers befitted with high morale. A great deal of credit for this goes to Pakistan’s defence production facilities which have done a very impressive job of equipping the large Army. Pakistan’s defence facilities produce almost every kind of weapon and ordinance that a modern army requires, from main battle tanks like the Al Khalid to infantry assault rifles like the venerable G3. Pakistan has no need to import equipment and is self-sufficient in the production of high-tech weaponry to international standards. The measure of the quality of products is proved by the fact that Pakistan in 2006 exported over $300 million dollars worth of high-tech arms to friendly countries, by far outstripping the pathetic arms exports of India. Pakistani defence companies, public and private, have built a solid reputation in the global arms market.

India on the other hand suffers from a defence industry that is laughable in its ability to deliver. The long-anticipated (over forty years to be exact) Arjun tank turned out to be a complete failure, its designers somehow overlooking the elementary fact that it was too wide to be transported by train and therefore useless. In addition, in recent exercises it suffered from numerous malfunctions that lead the Indian army to wash their hands of it and order over a thousand Russian T-90 tanks off the shelf from Russia instead. The Indian Government, always keen to save face, forced the army to buy a few token Arjun tanks (christened ar-junk by critics). The Arjun fiasco is perhaps the most famous example of fantastically expensive Indian defence catastrophes, but by no means is this an isolated occurence. Almost every piece of equipment conceived by the mad scientists of the infamous and ironically named DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has failed. In fact, the DRDO has produced more flops than Sunny Deol, and that’s saying something.

While the Indian army lurches from one rebellion to another, the Pakistan Army is efficient and highly organised, capable of applying deadly force to the nations enemies. The recent Army actions in Malakand and Swat are clear examples of the Army’s sound capabilities as it completely eliminated the TTP from entrenched positions within a matter of weeks. Such a feat of counter-insurgency is unprecedented. The Sri Lankan military was unable to pacify the Tamils for over 40 years and the Indian army, in spite of its brutal methods, is still regularly humiliated at the hands of the Kashmiri Mujahideen, Naxalites and countless other separatist rebel groups that have sprung up to challenge the so-called ‘biggest democracy in the world’.

NAVAL FORCES

Commensurate with its vain plans for regional domination, India has built a navy along the lines of the USN and Royal Navy. Thus it possesses dozens of surface ships of all kinds, destroyers, frigates and even an aircraft carrier. What the Indian naval brass haven’t realised yet is that the world has moved on without them, and in this age of anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, its large surface fleet has been reduced to a series of easy targets. Since the advent of the anti-ship cruise and ballistic missile, building a massive surface fleet is not only incredible expensive, it is incredibly stupid. No surface vessel in existence today is capable of avoiding a land based, air launched or sea launched saturation missile attack – not even the most high-tech American vessels. Put it this way, it would only take a small $50 million missile boat, carrying 4-8 primitive Harpoon style missiles to sink an aircraft carrier worth many billions. And if there is one thing the Pakistan Navy does not lack, it is missiles.

The Soviets knew this, and so they restricted their surface fleet and concentrated on submarine warfare, and the German Kriegsmarine circa WW2 knew this too. They relied on masses of U-boats to control the seas, not expensive surface vessels that would be more of a liability than a benefit. While the Indian Navy has gone down the foolhardy path, the Pakistani Naval brass have been far wiser. Knowing that they cannot match India in numbers, they have concentrated on securing territorial waters and securing sea lanes via high-tech submarines. The acquisition of the Augusta 90-B was a major step in the upgradation of the submarine fleet, and this is soon to be followed by the purchase of several German U-214 boats. This type is the most modern and sophisticated conventional diesel submarine in the world and far outstrips anything in the Indian arsenal. This has been supplemented by the purchase of small Chinese and possible Turkish frigates and large numbers of anti-ship missiles of the air launched and sea-launched variety. Pakistan is also proficient in the building of the only vessel it makes any sense to construct these days – the small missile-launching patrol boat.

The most important factor for a Navy is balance. This is what gives a Navy the ability to respond to any threat – a variety of vessels in small but not overwhelming numbers that can be utilised well. While the Indian Navy is bloated and suffers from a critical shortage of usable, serviceable ships and a submarine fleet in an appalling state of disrepair and neglect, the Pakistan Navy has capitalised on its strengths while minimising its weaknesses. If war were to break out tomorrow, the Indian navy, in spite of its superior numbers, would not dare to approach Pakistani territorial waters for fear of undetectable submarines lurking below and lethal cruise missiles raining overhead. Under those circumstances, being the absolute liability that it is, their vaunted but ultimately useless Indian aircraft carrier would most likely set sail at full steam – back to port.

AIR FORCES

The Pakistani air force is probably the most beloved of the nations three armed services. It has fought valiantly and heroically in all the wars it has partcipated in and faced down an enemy many times its size and capability. What it lacks in high-tech fighter jets it makes up for in ingenious tactics, meaning that Pakistani air force pilots are renowned the world over for their skill and bravery. Despite the technological gap, it is the emphasis on training and discipline and peak professionalism that gives Pakistani pilots the clear edge over their Indian adversaries.

In every single war, the Pakistan air force has outperformed the Indian air force and thus cemented its place in the nations imagination. It is the only air force in the world to have a 100% strike rate against the Israeli air force – a feat no Arab nation could achieve. As a result, today Pakistani pilots are invited to train the cadets and pilots of other air forces around the world and cadets from dozens of countries come to study at the ‘Top Gun’ style Pakistan Air Force Academy.

The Indians may have superior jets like the Russian Su-30 MKI, but Pakistan is catching up fast. The acquisition of the F-16 Block 50 from the US and the Chinese FC-20 will transform Pakistan Air force into a technological force to be reckoned with. This will be greatly helped by the induction of over 250 JF-17 multi-role jets co-produced with the Chinese. These will form the backbone of the air force for decades to come, replacing existing older aircraft.

While Indian pilots crash their poorly serviced planes by the dozens, Pakistani engineers have worked wonders in preserving and servicing the Air Force through times when parts and spares were difficult to come by due to sanctions. India is spending multiple billions on upgrading its fleet and is due to import hundreds of the latest fighter jets through its MRCA tender, but Pakistan is not standing still either. By 2015, the Pakistani Air Force will be revolutionised. Regardless of Indian belligerence, the induction of modern fighters, AWACS surveillance planes and upgraded air defence systems will make the skies over Pakistan impregnable.

MISSILES

Pakistan’s missiles are the envy of the world. Possessing both liquid-fuelled and the more useful solid-fuelled missiles, Pakistan has the entire region within range and most importantly, all of India. With short-range battlefield types all the way to the 3,500km Shaheen II, all of Pakistan’s missiles are field tested and operational and capable of ‘pinpoint’ accuracy. This is in marked contrast to the Indian missile programme that has known only a succession of humiliating and expensive failures. Recent reports from India indicated that of all of its claimed missile types, only the short-range Prithvi missile is operational and ready for war. The rest suffer from malfunctions and defects that have yet to be corrected. This embarrassing revelation is particularly painful to Indians if the Indian missile program was contrasted with its Pakistani equivalent.

Pakistan wins on all counts. Not only is it ahead, but it is widening the gap by developing longer range missiles that go into ICBM (inter-continental) range along with more advanced and powerful nuclear warheads. But the most exciting development by far in the ballistic missile field are the reliable reports that Pakistan is developing next generation missiles in the form of MIRV (multiple independent re-entry vehicles). As the name suggests, this allows multiple independent warheads to be deployed from the same missile, effectively disabling any possible anti-ballistic missile threats. It allows the devastation of the missile to be massively multiplied without significant increases in missile numbers. This technology is expected to be deployed on the Shaheen III and later types.

In addition to the ballistic missile arsenal, Pakistan is also way ahead when it comes to cruise missiles. When the now 700km range Babur was tested in 2005, the world was stunned and Indian commentators were left catatonic. Especially considering the fact that the Babur was produced in-country with no outside assistance save for a stray US Tomahawk missile or two. The Indians have no equivalent missile, and instead rely on the Brahmos import from Russia. The Brahmos is supersonic, but what it makes up for in speed it loses in agility and accuracy. While the Brahmos makes for good bollywood style PR, the Babur, and now the air launched Ra’ad are far more suitable for wartime, being cheaper, more flexible and more accurate. Longer range versions are being developed, particularly anti-ship varieties that will hunt down and sink ‘white elephants’ in the Indian ocean – the Indian surface fleet.

NUCLEAR CAPABILITY & DETERRANCE

Recent reports that the Indian nuclear of 1998 were ‘fizzles’ only confirms what the world already knows – India is far behind Pakistan when it comes to nuclear weapons technology and weaponisation. This has been confirmed not only by Western analysts but also by the Indians themselves. Started in 1972, the Pakistani nuclear programme has resulted today in an arsenal of over 200 nuclear warheads of both the highly-enriched Uranium and Plutonium varieties with the capacity to produce around 50 more each year.

Pakistan’s first nuclear tests were in May 1998, when six warheads were tested. It is reported that the yields from these tests were 12kt, 30 to 35kt and four low-yield (below 1 kt) tests. From these tests Pakistan can be estimated to have developed operational warheads of 20 to 25kt and 150kt in the shape of low weight compact designs and may have 300–500kt large-size warheads. Plutonium warheads are more operationally deployable with only 2–4 kg of plutonium needed for the same device that would need 20–25 kg of U-235. The low-yield weapons are probably in nuclear bombs carried on fighter-bombers such as the Dassault Mirage III and fitted to Pakistan’s short-range ballistic and cruise missiles, while the higher-yield warheads are probably fitted to the Shaheen and Ghauri series of ballistic missiles.

The sixth Pakistani nuclear test (May 30, 1998) at Kharan was a successful test of a sophisticated, compact, but powerful bomb designed to be carried by missiles. And that was over 10 years ago. The advancements in miniaturisation technology since then have been astounding. The plutonium based nuclear weapons are now reportedly being spiked with tritium. Only a few grams of tritium can result in an increase of the explosive yield by 300% to 400%. Pakistan has also built hard and deeply buried storage and launch facilities to retain a second strike capability in a nuclear war, as well as road-mobile missiles, air defences around strategic sites, and concealment measures.

India is no match for Pakistan when it comes to courage, professionalism and most importantly a ‘mission’ – to make Pakistan a force that will bring Jusice and Peace to humanity, for all times to come. The future belongs to this great nation and it’s emenies will soon become irrelevant.

Pakistan Payendabaad!

Cyber Warfare against Pakistani nuclear program: By Farzana Shah

After sea, land and air warfare, traditional arch rivals India and Pakistan are now facing each other in another arena. With evolution of technology over the period another kind of war has been started by Indians with Israeli help against Pakistan since last few years and that is Cyber warfare.

Cyber warfare is complex, more penetrating and detrimental than conventional warfare, fought on cyberspace using different tactics like Cyber espionage, Web vandalism, Gathering data, Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks, Equipment disruption, attacking critical infrastructure, Compromised Counterfeit Hardware etc. The Internet security company McAfee stated in their 2007 annual report that approximately 120 countries have been developing ways to use the Internet as a weapon and target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities.

Like any conventional threat, cyber warfare is rather new battle field for Pakistani government and people alike. India has all the reasons to use this as a weapon against Pakistan, but more recently Israel has joined hands with Indians in this war against Pakistan.

Propaganda, Cyber espionage, Web vandalism and information gathering are known cyber threats for Pakistani security institutes and government offices. Now there are reports emerging that Indian and Israelis are taking these known cyber threats to next level by using money, talent and technology to defame Pakistan and its nuclear program.

How eagerly Indian wanted to gain an edge in cyber warfare technology is evident from what Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told StartPost; “The Indian Armed Forces are increasingly investing in networked operations, both singly and a joint fashion. We cannot, therefore, afford to be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Information Technology is our country’s known strength and it would be in our interest to leverage this strength in developing a formidable ‘offensive’ and ‘defensive’ cyber warfare capability. Harnessing the gene pool available in academia, private industry and the younger generation of talented individuals is imperative,”

Statement of Indian Naval Chief is a further endorsement of our assessment about Indian designs against Pakistan and its security establishment. Clearly India has offensive cyber warfare plans. Naturally these plans will be against Pakistan (as the history of both the countries proves), although Indian military establishment and political leadership used Chinese threat as an excuse for introducing new war tactics and systems in Subcontinent.

The Indian Army conducted a war game called Divine Matrix in March 2009.

The most interesting aspect of this exercise was the scenario simulated by Indian military in which China launches a nuclear attack on India somewhere in 2017. The purpose of the exercise was to describe that how China will launch a cyber attack before actual nuclear attack to take on India. On the other hand Chinese were astonished by the simulated Chinese nuclear attack on India. “We are surprised by the report. Leaders of China and India had already reached at consensus that the two countries will not pose a threat to each other but rather treat each other as partners.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang expressed his views on Indian cyber warfare exercise.

In reality both China and India have been in negotiations since 2004 to boost their economic trade and cooperation in various other fields including defense. Both countries have also conducted military exercises as well. In the backdrop of all this and renewed cooperation between two countries it is very unlikely China would go for a war and that too a nuclear one whereas Pakistan is the only country against whom India has any possibility to go for a nuclear war over any of multiple disputes like Indian water aggression against Pakistan and Kashmir issue.

Limited cyber skirmishes have already taken place between Indian and Pakistan in 2008 when a group of Indian hackers defaced Pakistani website of ministry of oil and gas, government of Pakistan. Pakistani hackers in retaliation defaced many Indian websites. After these counter cyber attacks now Indians are looking to adopt “joint fashion” for cyber warfare against Pakistan with help of Israel.

According to reports Israel recently established a cyber task force for cyber warfare against Islam and Pakistan, besides harming Palestinian cause. A budget of $ 1,50,000,00 has been also allocated to this force to carry out various digital espionage and information gathering operations from various strategic offices of government of Pakistan.

Breaching network security is one aspect of all this cyber war against Pakistan. In a new development Israel has also setup a huge workforce of writers on internet and is still increasing its strength by appealing more persons to join in. Primary task of this force would be to wage propaganda war against Pakistan and its nuclear weapons and armed forces.

Israelis are doing it since long time. Hebrew websites and magazines have been targeting Pakistan by orchestrating near to impossible scenarios about Pakistan’s nukes to deceive world that these are going to fall in the hands of Al-Qaeda. Israelnationalnews.com, IsraelNN.com, and Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine are few to name among these media outfits where Israelis are spiting their venom against Pakistan.

Israeli government first tested these cyber propaganda tools during operation Cast Lead (brutal military operation in Gaza in 2008) when bloggers, surfers and writers were asked by ministry of foreign affairs of Israel, through www.giyus.org (Give Israel You United Support), to promote words like “holocaust”, “promised land” and “murder of jews” on social networking and blogging websites like Face book, Twitter, MySpace, BlogSpot, wordpress etc. Israeli government went to an extent to give written messages which were to be posted on aforementioned websites as if they were personal responses or views of citizen of any country.

Israeli lobbies in US and UK waged similar agenda against Pakistan’s nuclear program in the past through satellite news channels (like BBC, FOX) and news papers (New York Time, Washington Post). New tactics of using social networking and blogging websites on internet has certainly more probability to shape people’s opinion about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons as unsafe. This campaign was also launched from US and Western media when operation Rah-e-Rast was initiated in Swat and Malakand region. The target in that particular campaign was to defame Pakistani government and security institutions as inept and incapable to save the nation from terrorists.

Israeli cyber operation was resolutely counter by young Palestinian bloggers by posting millions of pictures and footages from GAZA over the internet. These photos and footages revealed evil deeds committed by Israeli forces in Gaza during operation Cast Lead. However these Israeli and Indian cyber evangelists were successful in scaring ordinary masses in and outside Pakistan by posing Taliban threat to taking over Islamabad out of proportion. The real intention behind all this Taliban Hoopla was to tell the world that Pakistani nuclear weapons are about to fall into Taliban’s hand.

Like their Israeli counterpart, Indian government also took part active part in this campaign against Pakistan. Indian premier went on saying that some of Pakistani nuclear installations are already in Taliban control. This further sanctioned scare created by “paid” surfer of internet.

Israel helps India against Pakistan and Indians are also waging this propaganda war against Pakistan but on different axes. India’s current focus, after Pakistan’s security establishment, is to deceive and confuse locals of Pakistan’s Northern Areas where Pakistan is about to build three mega dams to fulfill its needs. Indian think tanks, websites and discussion forums are constantly pointing out that Pakistan is going to build dams in disputed territory in DiaMir, Bonji etc. whereas the matter of fact is India is building dams illegally on Pakistani rivers whereas Pakistani plans are all about Pakistan’s own river.

Apart from all this Cyber espionage, Web vandalism, propaganda enemies of Pakistan are adopting more complex to beat cyber operations like information gathering and equipment disruption. US pressurized Pakistan to take dubious Permissive Action Link boxes to be put on its nuclear program to prevent “unauthorized” detonation of bombs but Pakistan quite sensibly refused these locks which are said to be impossible to beat. This is one example of extent to which Pakistan’s enemies are pushing against its nuclear program in Cyber warfare.

Lethality of cyber warfare become palpable by the fact that till April 2009, pentagon has spent more than 100 million dollars in 6 months to fight against cyber attacks on its different systems. Money spent on propaganda operations are apart from this.

Pakistan must build a dedicated professional force to fight against all Cyber warfare tactics. A special wing inside armed forces must also be raised to counter advanced Cyber threat from Israel, India and US.

- Asian Tribune -