Pakistan surprised over UK demand of "do more"

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that Pakistan is surprised over UK's demand of "do more", local media reported Monday.
    Basit said those posing statements regarding whereabouts of the Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden had better share with Pakistan the information about him if possessed.
    The spokesman said Pakistan has either killed or arrested as many as 700 members of Al-Qaeda during last seven years and none must doubt Pakistan's efforts to curb terrorism.
    "Nobody knows the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden and if any one knows, he ought to inform Pakistan at government level," he concluded.
    Responding to the statement by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanding Pakistan to "do more" and tracking down Osama Bin Laden, Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said Monday that "On one hand, the world community including Britain praises Pakistan in its efforts on war on terror and appreciates its efforts in military operations while on the other side, they ask for more."
    "If they ask to do more, it seems an out of context thing," said Gilani, who left Islamabad on Monday for a four-day official visit to Germany and the United Kingdom.

Maoists growing stronger

The fight is between 7,000-8,000 armed Maoist rebels versus 60,000-70,000 security personnel. But the enemy is "incisive, self critical and educative", armed with sophisticated weaponry and is constantly changing tactic in what is increasingly become a war of the mind, says the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief.
As the government gears up for a massive offensive against the guerrillas, top officials of the CRPF say the guerrillas are "growing stronger" and must not be underestimated.
"They are changing their tactics depending upon what we are doing," CRPF Director General A.S. Gill told IANS in an interview.
Giving an example, he said they have increased the usage of pressure mines. "They are also using sharpened iron nails. They have dug ditches in jungles and covered it with normal grass after hiding nails inside. Though these nails do not kill any trooper, it affects swift movement of the security agencies," Gill said.
The Maoists, he said, were also avoiding direct contact with security forces. "They just pass from nearby areas," added Gill, who heads one of the world's largest paramilitary forces. The CRPF has 207 battalions with a strength of over 200,000 personnel.
The security forces had also changed strategy to minimise operational casualties from improvised explosives used by the guerrillas.
"For a long time, we did not acknowledge that the Maoists were growing stronger, but there is a greater realisation now. We have changed our tactics and training. Theatre specific training has also been introduced for the first time to enhance specific capabilities in fighting the problems of militancy and insurgency," he said.
The CRPF was also raising 10 new commando battalions and acquiring the best available weapons and equipment to fight the guerrillas.
"We will have Maoists on the run very soon. The areas under their control would be taken back," he promised.
His colleague, CRPF Special Director General Vijay Raman, added: "We are facing an enemy which is fighting from the brain. They are very incisive, self critical and educative. The documents seized from them shows the meticulous planning behind their strikes."
Raman is a celebrated police officer who has been appointed by the home ministry as national coordinator in the anti-Maoist campaign.
Though the government has not specified any time frame for the launch of the nationwide operation against the guerrillas, it is believed that the offensive will begun in March next year.
Asked how long would the operations last, Raman said: "No such time frame could be set. The task is very challenging and it might take some time."
Estimating that about 7,000-8,000 armed Maoist cadres would be up in arms against 60,000-70,000 security personnel, CRPF chief Gill listed what makes the guerrillas formidable enemies.
"They are armed with light machine guns (LMG), AK-47s, AK-56s, Insas rifles, satellite phones, modern communication gadgets. It also believed that some of the top rungs have managed to acquire bulletproof jackets," he said.
"They are in touch with anti-national elements in northeastern states and are getting weapons from them. The people in the northeast are getting weapons and money from across the border. They are also in touch with Maoists in Nepal and extorting money from miners to fund their activities," he added.
Gill said the Maoists enjoy the advantage of having a significant presence in each village of their stronghold states. "We would be also focusing on breaking up their information network."
The CRPF that has been dealing with internal security challenges all across the country has this year gunned down 70 terrorists, 56 Maoists and 53 extremists in northeast. During these operations it also incurred heavy loss by sacrificing its nearly 200 men.
Troops from other central paramilitary forces like Indo-Tibet Border Police, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Sashastra Seema Bal have started grouping and upgrading their infrastructure in preparation for the offensive against the Maoists.
They were also familiarising themselves with the terrain and undergoing training. The government has left commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) out of the operation.

Indian Cold Start doctrine

Strategic alliance with USA helps India in fulfilling its grandeur plans to become the regional and world power. In 1971, Soviet Union had helped India in achieving a false military victory and in truncating Pakistan. Indians now hope that America would help in fulfilling their dream of either reducing Pakistan into an Indian satellite or removing it from the face of world map. It is in this context that Indo-US-UK-Israeli-Afghan nexus has been formed in Kabul which is dedicated towards harming Pakistan. Both covert means and media campaign are complementing each other to achieve stated objectives. The Indo-western media has embarked upon a malicious campaign to besmirch the reputation of institutions of Pakistan and project it as a failing state. All sorts of fairytales are fabricated and pasted in leading newspapers and magazines controlled by the Jews. Deadlines are given and each time the given the given date expires uneventfully; a new deadline of collapse of Pakistan is given with a heavy heart but with renewed hopes.
Several scenarios are in circulation ranging from truncation to break up in small quasi states. Independent Balochistan and Pashtunistan figure high in their fanciful plans. Each of the self-perceived scenario is linked to Islamic threat in northwest of Pakistan. One of the principle objectives of India is to weaken ISI and cut its long-arm capability drastically so that it is neither in a position to harm India through covert means or to provide first line defence to Pakistan effectively against external subversive threats. Pakistan specific Indian consulates in Afghanistan and tens of RAW infested training, educational and cultural centres have nothing else to do except to devise different means to cause harm to Pakistan and destabilise it.

To give concrete shape to the chalked out plans, the said nexus unfolded a comprehensive subversive plan in January 2002 to systematically destabilize Pakistan. Fuel was constantly sprinkled in interior Balochistan, FATA and Swat to inflame these regions. Brahamdagh Bugti based in Kandahar and patronized by RAW-CIA-RAAM is coordinating sabotage and subversion in Balochistan. Southern Punjab and Karachi are planned to be inflamed in the final phase to spread anarchy throughout the country so as to pave way for disablement of our nuclear weapons and to clear the way for India to launch its military instrument. Washington’s continued insistence to make India a key player in Afghanistan and to induct its 150,000 troops is meant to enable Indo-Afghan forces to exploit yet another avenue from the northwest and catch Pakistan in a double pincer.

Indian Cold Start doctrine envisages formation of battle groups supported by dedicated artillery, combat air support and tactical nuclear weapons. It perceives launching 15-16 limited attacks along the entire length of eastern border and Line of Control (LoC) with battle groups of two mechanised regiments and an armour regiment or vice versa. Each battle group is mandated to capture an objective of tactical importance and to exploit success as far as possible but remaining well away from core areas so as to restrain Pakistan from using its nuclear response. Having dispersed the defender on a wide front in battle of frontiers, trying to defend every inch of the territory, subject to successes achieved, and deflection or commitment of our strategic reserves, it would then launch main and secondary efforts with its strike formations in two sectors. Indian military would achieve air superiority in main effort area for a specific period of break in and break out battle towards deeper objectives.

After Mumbai attacks, India continues to remain in an offensive mode and is in no mood to recommence stalled peace talks. Pakistan’s concerted efforts spread over one year to make India see reason have gone in vain. Flustered and frustrated by quick successes achieved by Pakistan Army against Indian funded and trained terrorists in Swat and in South Waziristan, Indian leaders have taken a new line that runaway militants after getting defeated have become a security hazard for India. Since last May, they are wailing like a frightened child in anticipation to a self-imagined terrorist attack emanating from Pakistan on the pattern of Mumbai-like carnage. When asked to provide intelligence so that the mishap could be thwarted they refuse to divulge the basis of their anxiety. Indian media has alleged that Dave Headly and Tahawar Hussain Rana suspected for terrorism in USA were linked with Mumbai attacks and that Dave was observed sniffing around Indian nuclear sites. Accordingly, Indian authorities have sounded a red alert in affected areas where their nuclear material is stored to avert a possible attack. To further up the ante, Indian Army Chief Deepak Kapoor has sounded a warning that a limited war under the nuclear overhang is still very much a reality, at least in Indian subcontinent. Our foreign office spokesman rightly remarked that it reaffirms Indian dangerous and offensive nuclear doctrine.

In the wake of Pakistan going nuclear in 1998 in response to Indian nuclear blackmail, which has made the option of all out war almost impossible, Indian military has been feverishly working on its Cold Start doctrine which was shaped in consultation with Israeli military. The three services of India have also been acquiring latest state-of-art weapon systems from all over the world and upgrading its nuclear arsenal as a consequence of which the conventional and nuclear balance has tilted heavily in favour of India. Simultaneous to the efforts by the military, RAW has been hectically engaged in weakening and destabilising Pakistan from within. Its focus has been towards enfeebling and discrediting Pakistan Army and ISI. Application of military instrument has been made conditional to success achieved through covert operations against these two pillars. India observed the pulse of Pakistan for ten months in 2002 after manufacturing a terrorist attack on Indian parliament in December 2001 and again after Mumbai carnage in November 2008 that was also cooked up. Both times, it found Pakistan Army well poised and resilient and had to beat a retreat.

India may be visualising that this time Pakistan Army has got deeply embroiled in several troubled spots and is not in a position to withdraw as was the case last time. It is hoping that Pashtun and Baloch militants would be fighting Pakistan Army in case of war with India. It is satisfied with its successful policy of encirclement and destabilisation of Pakistan resulting in enfeeblement of its economy. It considers overall geo-political environment favourable. It considers the time ripe for devising another drama to justify its troop build up. The purpose will be:

1. Coerce the leadership to extract further concessions as it had extorted after military standoff in 2002-03.
2. Relieve pressure on Tehrik-e-Taliban and make it recapture lost ground.
3. Demolish Balochistan package which has the potential of defusing separatist movement sponsored by India.
4. Rejuvenate demoralised RAW agents operating within Pakistan.
5. Force Pakistan to liquidate Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad and to hand over alleged culprits of Mumbai carnage to India.
6. Force Pakistan to fight terrorism as dictated by USA and India.
7. Further weaken economy of Pakistan.
8. Force Pakistan to accept pre-eminence of India in Afghanistan and in the region and to allow its trade with Afghanistan through Wagah.
9. Solve Kashmir dispute by accepting LoC as permanent border.

In case Pakistan refuse to be cowed down, it might initiate Cold Start but it would be subject to full assurance by USA that it would prevent Pakistan Army from assembly and move of nukes to deployment areas.
War game codenamed Azm-e-Nau was conducted to tackle emerging Indian threat along eastern front revolving around Cold Start but did not take into account possible ingress from western border and expansion of limited war into full-fledged war. In 1971 in East Pakistan, India first weakened Pakistan Army contingent through civil war and psychological operations. Indian military then induced threat perception which forced us to take up an exaggerated forward posture all along 1400 miles border to prevent any piece of land falling into enemy hands. Dispersed in penny packets we were strong nowhere. Indian offensive launched on 21 November from multiple directions succeeded in making 23 lodgement areas across the border. In our bid to liquidate or contain the ingresses we committed everything we had in the battle of frontiers. After an operational pause and having fixed our forces in compartments, Indian forces under massive air cover launched main, secondary and auxiliary offensives from three different directions on 4 December and raced towards Dacca. Making a dispassionate comparison of East Pakistan offensive with Cold Start one finds certain similarities.

Pakistan has already suffered grievously because of its exaggerated policy of appeasement and cannot afford to cede more ground and that too at the cost of its sovereignty and dignity. We need to condition our forces and structure them organisationally to fight two front wars together with internal threat in the southwest and northwest. Blissfully, Pakistan Army is in its finest trim and is in position to meet any challenge resolutely. Having found out foolproof evidence of involvement of RAW in aiding and abetting terrorism in Pakistan, and the US and UK complicit in the evil game of destabilising, denuclearising and balkanising Pakistan, should we still be imprudently calling these so-called friends as our well-wishers and relying on them? I have no doubt in my mind that the US would not betray Israel or India but would certainly betray Pakistan and leave it in a lurch once again.

Same go for Afghanistan under US puppet Karzai who has provided Afghan soil to foreign agencies for launching covert operations against Pakistan. He doesn’t realise that India, whom he considers as a sincere and dear friend is gradually working towards reducing Afghanistan into its client state. If US Administration is negotiating with Afghan Taliban, we have every right to keep in touch with them particularly after their worthy role in hour of crisis. While US military opted to vacate border check posts, Afghan Taliban refused to come to the aid of fake Taliban in South Waziristan.

How long will we follow humiliating policy of appeasement which is ruining Pakistan? Isn’t it high time to sound the bugle and chase out Blackwater type non-actors from the soil of Pakistan before they swoop at our nukes and whisk them away? We need to guard our nukes with utmost vigilance and cut those hands that try to get near them. Operation Rah-e-Nijat which has proceeded excellently should clear South Waziristan of the presence of hardcore local and foreign terrorists speedily. After returning extra forces to peace locations, process of rehabilitation of people of South Waziristan to be put into full gear. These assets must be handled with utmost care and affection. They deserve an even better package then Balochistan since none among them raised the slogan of separation or sought materialistic gains.

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Asif Haroon Raja is a defence and political analyst based at Rawalpindi and author of several books. Email: ah.raja@yahoo.com

FBI Wants Americans to Work at Mossad

Stewart David Nozette, a high-ranking scientist, who had access to top secret information, was arrested by FBI agents on October 19. Israeli news agencies said that Mr. Nozette was arrested after he had agreed to work with the Israeli intelligence.
An FBI agent established a contact with the scientist having introduced himself as a Mossad officer. The disguised agent said that the scientist could deliver US secrets to Israel including those about satellite warning systems.

Stewart Nozette was trying to obtain the highest possible price for his services. As soon as the scientist agreed to “cooperate” he was arrested.

Israeli authorities have not commented the arrest of the US scientist yet. Nozette will be delivered to a Columbia district court October 20 for court hearings. If the scientist is found guilty, he may spend the rest of his life in jail.

Stewart Nozette, had access to top secret information from 1989 to 2006. The information, US experts said, touched upon the national security of the United States.

ozette had worked at the Energy Department, NASA and, in 1989 and 1990, the National Space Council in the president's office. He developed the Clementine bi-static radar experiment that purportedly discovered water on the south pole of the moon. He worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he designed highly advanced technology, from approximately 1990 to 1999, the Associated Press reported.

US experts believe that Nozette’s arrest was not aimed against Israel. However, Israeli observers say that the latest spy scandal will exacerbate complicated relations between Israel and the United States.

Anatoly Utkin, a senior expert with the Institute for the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Pravda.Ru that the arrest of the US scientist would not affect the nation’s relations with Israel.

“It’s not the first story like that, such incidents have already happened before. Israeli special services were trying to obtain some information about secret technologies in the United States, which is not surprising at all. Israel is surrounded with Arab states, which are being rather hostile to the Jewish State. The USA is one of the world’s most technologically developed states, and its renowned Silicone Valley, where many Israeli scientists work, attracts a lot of attention in many countries of the world.

“The previous spy scandals did not affect the relations between the USA and Israel. One should bear in mind the fact that the Jewish lobby is the strongest one in the USA.

Source: Pravda.Ru

We must be ready to fight Hindus:says Nizami ( Editor-in-Chief The Nation and Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust Majid Nizami )

Editor-in-Chief The Nation and Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust Majid Nizami has said that we should remain well-prepared for war against Hindus as they were casting bad eye on Pakistan and our independence, which is a blessing of Allah.
He was speaking at Aiwan-e-Karkunan Tehrik-e-Pakistan on the 53rd death anniversary of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan on Tuesday.
Majid Nizami said Maulana Zafar Ali Khan was a versatile personality as he was a journalist, poet, politician and orator. He stood with the Quaid in Pakistan Movement.
He started a movement in the name of Masjid Shaheed Ganj and wanted to take over the mosque but it is a dilemma that after freedom, the Muslims could not secure this mosque due to tolerant attitude and it is still closed. It is neither Gurdawara nor mosque.
He said Zafar Ali Khan published his poems on Page One of the newspaper Zamindar and it fetched great circulation. He said Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Trust should secure Zamindar office and make it a memoir. Majid Nizami mentioned J Thunder aircraft handed over to PAF, which can fly high than Indian jets and India admitted that Pakistan has taken supremacy in air defence. There would be a war against India on waters because it is building dams on our rivers and the solution lies is smashing the dams by missiles.
As such we should be prepared for war. He said though war is not good thing but it is better to die by warring instead of dying with thirst and hunger. He said Maulana Zafar Ali Khan was great lover of the holy Prophet (PBUH).
Vice Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust, Prof Dr Rafique Ahmad said that NPT is reminding the forgotten lesion of Pakistan Movement and its heroes. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan was one of them. He fought for the Muslims particularly of the subcontinent. He remained successful whichever field he chose. He instantaneously translated Pakistan Resolution on the call of Quaid-e-Azam and formed Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Millat.
Chairman Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Trust and provincial Ombudsman Khalid Mehmood said that those nations who do not remember their heroes and benefactors, stop producing heroes. He said the Trust has built mazar of Maulana and published all his poetry particularly the naatia poetry, which is great asset and a source for devotion to the holy Prophet (PBUH). Chief Executive Khabrain Group Zia Shahid said that NPT keeps these personalities alive. He paid tributes to Majid Nizami and said he was above the professional rivalries. He said a party is demanding abolition of word Islamic from the official name of Pakistan but it should not forget that we will never allow nor nobody could dare to do that for the sake of receiving aid from America. He said corrupt of Musharraf era should be taken to task. He said people are poor but our rulers are rich. US did not give aid under Kerry-Lugar Act to the government because it considered them corrupt. Our rulers should bring their money back to shed the loans. India do not want to talk to us but we are running after it for talks. Agreements are signed by weak nations and strong tore apart the agreements. President CPNE and chief editor daily Jinnah Khushnood Ali Khan said that PPP government, Army and Aiwan-e-Sadr have different viewpoint on India, which is our arch is our arch enemy. He said NAB victims should quit, as they are not our representatives. “I also do not recognise a government which do not celebrate days like Zafar Ali Khan’s.
Raja Masood Ali Khan said Nov 27 should be observed as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Day. He said Maulana Zafar Ali Khan spent every third day average in jail. His father had command on Urdu, English, Persian and Arabic who trained Zafar Ali Khan in these languages. Columnist Rafique Dogar said that Maulana was present in 1906 meeting of ML in Dhaka. He was elected in 1937 elections.

No Blackwater firm in Pakistan, asserts US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson

The US ambassador in Pakistan Anne W. Patterson Wednesday ruled out the presence of private US security firm Blackwater, adding the US officials and programs in Pakistan are solely aimed at serving people and Government of Pakistan.

According to a statement issued from the US embassy, she said there is no secret operating base in Karachi or anywhere in Pakistan nor are US troops of any command busy with any secret activity in the country.

An article in a US magazine alleging Washington's collusion with Blackwater or any other contracting firm were equally baseless and false, the embassy said.

"US government programs for Pakistan are open and transparent and function in partnership with the government of Pakistan," Ambassador Anne W. Patterson said in the statement.

"US personnel and programs in Pakistan have only one purpose - to assist the government and people of Pakistan as they face the complex challenges confronting their nation," she added.

India planning limited war against Pakistan

India is planning to launch a limited war against Pakistan, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

The FO’s statement follows Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor’s address during a defence seminar, where he said the possibility of a limited nuclear war was “very much a reality in South Asia”. “India has long been working on the so-called ‘Cold Start’ strategy and preparing for a limited war against Pakistan. General Kapoor’s statement confirms the hegemonic thrust of India’s nuclear doctrine,” Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit said. He said Kapoor’s remarks only reaffirmed India’s dangerous and offensive nuclear designs.

Basit said the international community should take notice of the remarks and India’s long-term intentions, adding that major powers had a particular responsibility in this regard, and should ask India to refrain from steps that could affect the strategic balance in South Asia.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan was fully capable of safeguarding its national sovereignty and defending its borders. “As a responsible country, we will continue promoting peace and stability in South Asia on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” he said.

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan : Jeremy Scahill Reveals

For months we've been reading slightly condescending English-language news reports about how Pakistanis believe the private security firm is operating with impunity in their country. Well guess what? Jeremy Scahill reports in the Nation that Blackwater is indeed operating on behalf of the U.S. in Pakistan. Blackwater personnel are reportedly doing "snatch and grab" assassinations in the unstable country
EXPECT DELAYS - Iraq's presidential election, scheduled for January, will almost certainly be delayed. The Iraqi Parliament disregarded a veto by one of Iraq's vice presidents, Tariq al-Hashimi, and passed some new amendments to a recently passed election law. The vice president promises to veto those, too. This time, Parliament doesn't seem to have the 60 percent majority necessary to override the vice presidential veto. American and UN diplomats tried unsuccessfully to broker a compromise that would satisfy al-Hashimi.
The White House announced that the U.S. will reveal an emissions reduction target before next month's Copenhagen summit. The target is expected to be in line with that outlined in climate legislation before the Senate--a 17-20% reduction from 2005 levels by 2020. The European Union has pledged to cut 20% over the same period, or 30% as part of a global deal
After years of delays, the UK is launching an official inquiry into the country's decision to join the Iraq war in 2003. The inquiry is expected to last 18 months. Key figures, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, are slated to testify. On Tuesday, the committee heard from high-ranking officials who said that their counterparts in Washington were talking about "regime change" as early as 2001.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the family of a UN staffer whose remains were recently discovered in Lebanon. The staffer, Alec Collett, was abducted near the Beirut Airport in 1985. At the time of his disappearance, Collett was a former British journalist on assignment with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
"Adam Serwer demolishes a talking point: What the articles on the subject all seem to omit is that there will be no TV cameras in the courtroom for this trial. Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s rants will be available only by transcript." Now, I tend to think a KSM rant would redound, overall, to the U.S.’s benefit, so I’m somewhat disappointed by this news. But no one should report that there’s going to be some kind of game-changing harangue from KSM when it’s not even going to be televised. Even beyond that, think about it for a second. Usama bin Laden has issued over 10 years’ worth of videoed anti-American rants....Yet al-Qaeda remains a potent-but-marginal phenomenon in the Muslim world. There is nothing, at all, that KSM could say in court that could change that fact. And still this demagogic and ignorant point is taken seriously in the media. "
The American Bar Association's new president has ties to some of the world's most repressive leaders. "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice" is the motto of the American Bar Association, and among the association's four stated goals, one is to "advance the rule of law." [...] Nonetheless, it is true: Carolyn Lamm, a D.C.-based corporate attorney who was named ABA president in August, has registered as a lobbyist in the past for such authoritarian states as Libya and Zaire. "
An Ontario court judge will soon decide if Canada’s prostitution laws should be struck down. In British Columbia, the Supreme Court will decide if laws prohibiting polygamy can still be enforced. And in the House of Commons, a private member’s bill would make it legal for the profoundly ill to seek a doctor’s help to commit suicide. As a nation we are reinventing, refining—or undermining—our morality in dramatic fashion. In some instances we are asking the courts to do our thinking for us. But in most cases we forge a national sense of right or wrong in the millions of individual judgment calls we make every day—increasingly without the guidance of organized religion. "

Dances with warlords. Afghan President Hamid Karzai invited two key allies to his inaugural gala: U.S. Secretary of State Hilllary Clinton and notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. Dostum, then a key U.S. ally in the fight to overthrow the Taliban, was in charge of about 2000 prisoners who suffocated in shipping containers in 2001. He returned from exile in Turkey earlier this year to help Karzai win the election.

Yousuf Raza Gilani has apologised for neglecting the Balochistan

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has apologised for neglecting the Balochistan in the past.
The Prime Minister was addressing inaugural of the joint session of the parliament, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari under article 54(1) of the constitution. The joint session of the parliament has been summoned for approval of Balochistan package.
Gilani said that Balochistan will be provided economic and constitutional rights, adding that efforts are underway to win hearts of Balochistan people.
He also said that govt is ready to hold talks with Balochistan nationalist parties.
Meanwhile, Senator Raza Rabbani while presenting the draft of Balochistan package said that FC will replace army in Sui on the demand of Baloch leaders, no more cantonments will be set up in the province, all political prisoners including their leaders will be released but dialogues will not be held with those involved in terrorist activities.
Raza Rabbani further said that all the stakeholders will be taken on board.
All operations will be halted except war against terror.

Iranian war games

Iranian armed forces on Monday continued the country's large-scale air defence war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported