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Tag Archives: pakistan
Economy, GeoPolitics, Resources May 22, 2013

Turkmenistan to start production at giant gas field

Turkmenistan plans to begin production at Galkynysh, the world’s second largest gas field, by June 30, which will allow it boost exports to Asia and help Europe lessen its dependence on Russian gas.

Turkmenistan, a post-Soviet Central Asian country of 5.5 million which borders Afghanistan and Iran, holds the world’s fourth-largest natural gas riches after Russia, Iran and Qatar. British auditor Gaffney, Cline & Associates has estimated the reserves of Galkynysh, named after the Turkmen word for “renaissance,” at 13.1 trillion to 21.2 trillion cubic metres.

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Military Buildup, News May 18, 2013

CIS & Russia plans to deploy troops along Tajik-Afghan border

Russia remains concerned about the volatile situation in Afghanistan, fearing the return of the Taliban and other terrorist groups to power once the US-led coalition troops leave Afghanistan by the end of next year. Predicting instability in the violence-wracked country, Russia plans to deploy troops on the Tajik-Afghan border to prevent the spillover of violence into Russia. Moscow’s envoy to Kabul, Andrey Avetisyan, told Reuters that if Russia didn’t guard its border with Afghanistan, it might face multiple challenges, ranging from the transport of narcotics to terrorism, and therefore the only solution was to guard the border.

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Diplomacy, GeoPolitics, Military Buildup, News May 16, 2013

Karzai to visit India; Afghans look for enhanced defence ties

Ahead of its President’s visit here from May 20, Afghanistan on Thursday said it was looking for enhanced defence cooperation with India, from where it was expecting supply of lethal and non-lethal military equipment.

The two sides will discuss a range of issues of mutual concern and interest and will discuss cooperation at a “critical time” for Afghanistan, which is witnessing the withdrawal of NATO combat troops, the envoy said.

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Analysis, Flashpoints, Military, Risks May 14, 2013

‘India preparing for a possible two-front war with Pak, China’

India continues to view Pakistan as the “real threat” even though it is adjusting its military strategy to include the possibility of a limited two-front war with both Pakistan and China, the first Blue Book on India published by a Chinese think tank said.

Pakistan is India’s main “real threat” to maintain a high degree of vigilance and preparedness, the summary of the Blue Book released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, (CASS) said. The report says Indian military deployment on land is mainly fixated against Pakistan but in recent times, it is also being adjusted for both China and Pakistan.

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GeoPolitics, Rigging May 14, 2013

Irregularities in Pakistan elections: Over 100 % voting witnessed in 49 polling stations

Believe it or not but it is a fact that according to data from an independent elections observer group Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), over 100 per cent voting was witnessed in 49 polling stations in Pakistan in May 11 general elections, which were won by PML-N of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

“In 49 polling stations in the country, number of votes polled far exceeds the registered voters,” revealed the date released by FAFEN.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia May 13, 2013

India-Pakistan spy games take deadly turn

For someone who spent a lonely life in a Pakistani jail for more than two decades of his life, the public farewell that Sarabjit Singh received on his death was rather remarkable.

After news broke that Singh – held by Pakistan since 1990 for allegedly being a spy and plotting two bomb attacks that killed 14 – had succumbed to his injuries after being beaten by fellow inmates, anger and outrage swept India. Stung by the mood on the street, the government organised a state funeral for him – televised live after a visibly embarrassed Pakistan sent back his body.

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Flashpoints, Military, News May 6, 2013

Fighting Renews Along Afghan-Pakistani Border

Fresh clashes broke out Monday between troops on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where soldiers from both countries exchanged gunfire last week.

Afghan officials said the fight broke out after Pakistani troops returned to the site of a gate on land that both sides claim along the porous border. It is not clear whether there were any casualties in Monday’s fighting. Last week, crossfire on the border killed one Afghan border guard and wounded two Pakistani security personnel.

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Analysis, Crisis, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Military May 5, 2013

Fear of new uncertainty hangs over Pakistani elections as military plots

After five years of relatively stable civilian rule, Pakistan seems ready to move ahead with another democratically elected government. But how will that administration behave at home and abroad?

Many longtime observers of Pakistani politics think that the new administration is most likely to be a coalition government of conservative political parties that enjoy the full support of the country’s all-powerful military establishment.

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Development, Diplomacy, Economy, Strategic Interests May 5, 2013

In a $100 million move to counter China, India to upgrade Iran’s Chabahar port

In a strategically significant move to counter China’s presence in the region, India has announced that it will upgrade Iran’s crucial Chabahar port that gives a transit route to land-locked Afghanistan.

India’s decision was conveyed by Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid in Tehran today during his meeting with his counterpart. An expert team from India will visit Iran to assess investment needed for the upgradation of the port on the Iran-Pakistan border facing the Arabian Sea.

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Crisis, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Military Buildup May 2, 2013

Chinese incursion may snowball into Kargil-like situation: BJP

BJP today cautioned that the Chinese incursions into Indian territory in Ladakh could snowball into a “Kargil-like” situation and urged the government to take the issue seriously instead of treating it as merely a local issue. “The Prime Minister has said the incursions in Ladakh are a localised issue. To say so is wrong. After all, what had happened in Kargil?” BJP Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters. Incidentally, NDA was in power when the Kargil conflict took place in 1999. The then government was taken by surprise when the incursions from Pakistan were detected. Naqvi said India should give up its “confused and contradictory” policy towards China and take some serious measures.

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Analysis, Development, Economy, Flashpoints, Military, Powerplay April 29, 2013

China’s ruthless foreign policy is changing the world in dangerous ways

Analyzing Beijing’s foreign policy is a relatively simple exercise. That’s because, unlike the United States and other Western nations, China doesn’t even pretend to operate on any other principle except naked self-interest. On one hand, China has courted Israel as a partner in developing Mediterranean gas fields — but it also has been happy to do business with Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran, and has sold weapons that ended up in Hezbollah’s arsenal. In South Asia, meanwhile, China has cynically helped Pakistan check India’s regional role, even as China’s state-controlled press has warned Pakistan that Beijing may “intervene militarily” in South Asia if Pakistani-origin jihadis continue to infiltrate Muslim areas of Western China.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, Powerplay April 29, 2013

PLA banner in Ladakh says ‘You are in China’ but Govt insists no intrusion

With the Sino-India standoff in Ladakh now in it’s third week, Chinese are showing no signs of withdrawing from the territory they occupied after their incursion in Ladakh two weeks ago. On Monday news reports said Chinese troops have erected an additional tent in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector raising to five the number of such structures in the area. The Chinese troops have also deployed Molosser dogs to keep a vigil, according to latest reports on Monday from the site of incursion, 70 km south of Burtse in Ladakh division. A banner hoisted outside the camp reads in English “you are in Chinese side” with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel maintaining a round-the-clock vigil, official sources said.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, Military Buildup, Stratagem April 29, 2013

Himalayan tensions serve US’ rebalancing strategy

The current tensions on the disputed India-China border – known delightfully for its vagueness as the ‘Line of Actual Control’ – in the western sector of the Ladakh region bordering China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region hark back to the scenario five decades ago when little skirmishes snowballed into a major outbreak of hostility. Fortunately, however, this time around there is a fundamental difference, too, which obviates the danger of a catastrophic slide to armed conflict. On a systemic plane, there are disquieting signs that the Indian establishment has not been pulling together on the country’s China policy and this disconnect, which has been suspected through the recent past, threatens to introduce its own disharmony.

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Economy, GeoPolitics, Integration April 28, 2013

Syria wants to join SCO and BRICS

The Syrian Information Minister Omran Ahed al-Zouabi said in a new statement at his meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council, Ilyas Umakhanov, that Syria wants to become a member of BRICS (Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa) and of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in future.

Thus, Syria seeks to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as well as the membership in the emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in short BRICS.

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Analysis, Crisis, Flashpoints, Military April 21, 2013

The Dragon Has Landed: What does the Chinese incursion into Kashmir mean?

On 15 April, 2013, several dozen soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entered as deep as ten kilometers inside the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Daulat Beg in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) and set up a camp there. The audacity of the Chinese operation is reflected from the fact that their ground troops were given cover and logistic help by two helicopters to enable them to set up a camp on the Indian territory. Why did the Chinese choose Daulat Beg? The Chinese have not forgotten that it was at this place where the Indians had set up its landing strip during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.

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Analysis, Economy, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Strategic Interests April 18, 2013

Evolving strategic competition in the Indian Ocean

The Indian ocean once regarded as a ‘neglected ocean’ has, today, become the hub of political, strategic and economic activities because of the presence of conventional and nuclear vessels of the major powers in the area and because of its own economic and strategic significance. The ocean contains several important minerals: 80.7% of world extraction of gold, 56.6 % of Tin, 28.5 % of manganese, 25.2 % nickel and 77.3% natural rubber. Highest tonnage of the world goods, 65% of world oil, and 35% of the gas, located in the littoral states, passes through it. The region today is an arena of contemporary geopolitics.

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Analysis, GeoPolitics, Military, News April 12, 2013

Inside China: PLA strategist reflects military’s mainstream

One of China’s most influential military strategists has made headlines by saying that a new, lethal strain of bird flu is a “U.S. bio-psychological weapon” conspiracy designed to harm China.

Senior Col. Dai Xu, an air force officer in the People’s Liberation Army, has written several best-sellers, mostly on U.S. military strategy toward China, and enjoys a national following. He is a prominent voice inside China on military strategy and national security.Though many in the West view him as an aberration, Col. Dai is a core member of China’s strategic community and his views are backed by a huge following in Chinese military circles.

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GeoPolitics, News April 9, 2013

EU to deploy over 100 election observers in Pakistan

European Union will deploy an Election Observation Mission constituting 11 experts, 52 long-term observers and 46 short-term observers to monitor the May 11 elections.The announcement was made by Chief Observer of the mission, a German Member of the European Parliament, Michael Gahler, in a press conference organised on Monday. The mission, established after invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will cover pre-election preparations, election day including polling, counting and tabulation of results, and post-election day activities.

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Development, Military Buildup, News March 29, 2013

Pakistan Navy commissions 3rd Marine battalion at strategic Gwadar port

In order to further strengthen the defence of Gwadar Port and to enhance the security of vital PN assets and installations along the western coasts, Pakistan Navy has achieved a significant milestone by commissioning the 3rd Pak Marines Battalion. The commissioning ceremony was held today at Gwadar. Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Muhammad Shafiq was the chief guest on the occasion. Addressing the ceremony, the chief guest said that at present the country is faced with internal and external threats, which makes security today’s main concern.

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GeoPolitics, Policy, Strategic Interests March 28, 2013

‘China occupying parts of Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan’

A Kashmiri leader has revealed that China is in occupation of parts of Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Aksai Chin, despite not being a party to any of these land ownership disputes. In an interview, Dr Shabir Choudhry, Head of Diplomatic Committee and senior leader of the Kashmir National Party (KNP), said: “China also occupies part of Jammu and Kashmir state, some part of the Aksai Chin area and some areas of Gilgit Baltistan.”

“Despite that occupation, China is not a party in any dispute. Pakistan and pro-Pakistani Kashmiris are trying to make Beijing a party in these disputes. This will be totally disastrous,” he warned.

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Flashpoints, Military Buildup March 22, 2013

China, Pakistan reach secret nuclear reactor deal for Pakistan

China and Pakistan reached a formal agreement last month to construct a third nuclear reactor at Chashma that the Obama administration says will violate Beijing’s promises under an international anti-nuclear weapons accord.

The reactor deal had been in the works for several years and prompted high-level U.S. government efforts to block the sale because of concerns it will boost Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program.

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Analysis, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia, Stratagem, Strategic Interests March 20, 2013

The Role of MI6, ISI, CIA and Iran in Afghanistan and region crisis

Afghanistan is considered to have a highly strategic value during the 21st century in southern and central Asian regions, owed to its geopolitical situation and untapped mineral resources. The country has proven to be a key inhibitor for the newly formed republics in central Asia besides having a high influence and pressure on China, Russia and Iran. Geographical and geopolitical situation of a nation has a direct impact over the internal, external and economical policies of a nation. However, policies implemented by ISI, CIA and MI6 in Afghanistan and the region during the past five decades have had different motives

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Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Military Buildup March 18, 2013

China replaces Britain in world’s top five arms exporters: report

China has become the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, a respected Sweden-based think tank said on Monday, its highest ranking since the Cold War, with Pakistan the main recipient.

China’s volume of weapons exports between 2008 and 2012 rose 162 percent compared to the previous five year period, with its share of the global arms trade rising from 2 percent to 5 percent, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said. China replaces Britain in the top five arms-dealing countries between 2008 and 2012, a group dominated by the United States and Russia, which accounted for 30 percent and 26 percent of weapons exports, SIPRI said.

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Analysis, Diplomacy, GeoPolitics, Military, Strategic Interests March 13, 2013

Japan, Sri Lanka to beef up maritime security alliance with eye on China

Japan plans to strengthen its maritime security alliance with Sri Lanka to curb China’s growing influence on countries with Indian Ocean coastlines. A joint statement on maritime security cooperation will be issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on March 14, sources said.

China, which replaced Japan as the largest aid provider to Sri Lanka in 2009, has been helping with construction of a number of port facilities in countries around India in a strategy known as the “String of Pearls.” A government source said tightening ties with Sri Lanka is “a step toward driving a wedge into the String of Pearls.”

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GeoPolitics, Resources, Sanctions March 13, 2013

Pakistan risks US sanctions over Iran pipeline project

Pakistan risks sparking US sanctions if it pursues its plans with Iran to build a $7.5 billion gas pipeline linking the two nations, a senior US official said in a renewed warning Monday.

“We have serious concerns, if this project actually goes forward, that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “We’ve been straight up with the Pakistanis about these concerns.”

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Analysis, Conflict, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Stratagem March 13, 2013

Whistle Blower Discloses Secret Syria War Plan To Balkanize Syria And Turkey

The recent revelation, by a member the general secretariat of Kuwait´s National Party, according to whom the USA and Qatar are planning to divide Syria into small-states, is likely to further cool down east-west relations. The agreement, so al-Hamad, contains several points, such as a division of Syria into several smaller states with so-called moderate Islamist governments, the permanent annexation of the disputed Hatay region by Turkey, a reduction of the Syrian military forces to maximum 50,000 troops and other, which coincide with recent analysis by Dr. Perencik and Major Agha H. Amin.

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Analysis, GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia, Stratagem, Strategic Interests March 11, 2013

Strategic dynamics of gwadar and shifting geopolitical alignments

The US and its allies must be viewing this convergence of Chinese, Pakistani and Iranian strategic and economic interests in Gwadar and Balochistan with extreme trepidation. In one fell swoop, the Straits of Hormuz and the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) to and from the Persian Gulf have come under Chinese oversight.

Furthermore, regional economies are getting integrated “independent” of Western influence and domination. The prospects of a network of oil and gas pipelines (IP, even TAPI) flowing from the Middle East (ME) and CARs to Pakistan and China are that much brighter now.

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Analysis, Crisis, GeoPolitics, Risks March 8, 2013

Arc of Crisis 2.0?

The Indian Ocean remains a tumultuous zone, where a lack of governance along its shores has spawned a series of security chasms offshore. This spillover effect has been most apparent off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, where rampant piracy has prompted a continuous rotation of multinational naval taskforces. Meanwhile, an upsurge in Islamic extremism in countries such as Pakistan and Somalia has heightened regional anxiety over maritime terrorism and seaborne infiltration.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia March 7, 2013

Afghanistan wants ISI to be declared a terror outfit, renews demand for its ban

In a recent interview, Afghanistan’s Deputy National Security Adviser (DNSA) Rahmatullah Nabil accused the ISI of plotting terror attacks to destabilise the country. He reportedly said that Afghanistan would push the United States to put the ISI on its terror ban list and demand sanctions on it.

The strongly-worded official Afghan reaction would certainly affect outside efforts to stitch an agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan on bringing the Taliban into government. However, India refused to back Nabil’s latest call for a ban on the ISI.

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Economy, Stratagem March 5, 2013

Sri Lanka takes next step to opening strategic China-built port

Sri Lanka will start storing bunker fuel at the $1.5-billion (U.S.) Hambantota port in June, a senior official said, after years of delays to the Chinese-built installation that sits on strategic shipping lanes, and a key step to making it commercially viable.

The $130-million storage project contains eight tanks of bunker oil for ships and six tanks of aviation fuel and LPG. The port is envisioned as a refuelling and service point for cargo ships which pass a few kilometres away off the southern tip of the Indian Ocean island nation, on one of the world’s busiest east-west shipping lanes.

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Analysis, Crisis, Flashpoints, Military, Protest March 4, 2013

Arab Spring in Bangladesh: Paramilitary force deployed to stop unrest, 42 dead

Bangladesh today deployed paramilitary border guards to beef up security after a top Islamist opposition leader was sentenced to death, sparking nationwide riots that killed at least 42 people.

The violence broke out yesterday after 73-year-old Delwar Hossain Sayedee, vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was sentenced to death by International Crimes Tribunal after he was found guilty of eight counts out of 20 involving rape, mass killings and atrocities during the nine-month freedom war against Pakistan in 1971.

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Economy, GeoPolitics, Resources February 28, 2013

Kazakhstan’s long quest for nuclear power relevance

Along the way the Kazakh government inked uranium supply deals with India,China, and Japan. Not even the U.S. has been immune to Kazakhstan’s uranium market expansion: in 2007, KazAtomProm, a state-owned company, bought out Toshiba’s share in nuclear power plant builder Westinghouse. U.S. politicians are in on the Kazakh uranium game as well.

If all this sounds odd, it’s only because Kazakhstan is more normally known — if people know of it at all — as an oil state. But Kazakhstan’s quest for it’s “World Bank for Uranium” always had a political element, part of a national narrative suggesting an inevitable future of progress and growth.

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Analysis, Crisis, Flashpoints February 26, 2013

How will India respond to civil war in Pakistan?

In 1971, India intervened militarily on behalf of Bengalis in the civil war in East Pakistan, dividing the country in two and helping to create Bangladesh. In 2013, prospects of another civil war in Pakistan — this time one that pits radical Islamists against the secular but authoritarian military — have led once again to questions about what India would do. What would trigger Indian intervention, and who would India support?

In the context of a civil war between Islamists and the army in Pakistan, it is hard to imagine Pakistani refugees streaming into India and triggering intervention as the Bengalis did in 1971.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia, ISR, SiGiNT February 24, 2013

India’s Spies Want Data on Every BlackBerry Customer Worldwide

There are about 79 million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide—and India’s government wants to hand its spy agency data on every one of them. In late 2012, back when it was still officially known as Research in Motion, the company behind BlackBerry handsets worked with the Indian government to enable surveillance of Blackberry Messenger and Blackberry Internet Service emails. But now India’s authorities are complaining that they can only spy on communications sent between the estimated 1 million BlackBerry users in India—and they want a list of all BlackBerry handsets across the globe.

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GeoPolitics, Policy, Resources February 21, 2013

Iran agrees to build oil refinery at strategic Gwadar port

Pakistan’s Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr. Asim Hussain, said that Iran with the cooperation of Pakistan’s State Oil (PSO) will set up an oil refinery in the Southwestern city of Gwadar. Talking to reporters after holding a meeting with Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi, he said that the refinery would refine 400,000 barrels of oil per day. He added that President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari would soon visit Iran to finalize the agreement on establishment of oil refinery.

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Analysis, GeoPolitics, Powerplay February 21, 2013

India – an aspiring hegemon

“India’s grand strategy divides the world into three concentric circles. In the first, which encompasses the immediate neighbourhood, India has sought primacy and a veto over actions of outside powers.” – C. Raja Mohan

India with a population of 1.24 billion and GDP of $2.19 trillion in nominal terms looms large on the South Asian subcontinent. None of the other South Asian countries comes even close to the size of India’s population and economy. In fact, its population and GDP are more than the combined population and GDP of all the other South Asian countries.

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Analysis, Conflict, Flashpoints, Resources, Risks February 19, 2013

Water Wars – Nine Thirsty Regions where H20 Conflict is Threatening

Will armies battle each other, as the cry for “blue gold” gets furious? Will “water wars” be as prevalent as conflict for the “black gold” of oil? Two documentary films have wetted public interest – Blue Gold: World Water Wars, and Last Call at the Oasis, and a dystopia novel – The Water Wars – warns of its imminence.

In actuality, history’s pages are already splashed with dozens of conflicts. In 2,450 B.C. the Sumerian cities of Lagash and Umma warred over Tigris-Euphrates water. More recently, Senegal and Mauritaniabattled in 1989 over grazing rights in the Senegal River Valley – hundreds were killed, 250,000 fled their homes. The Pacific Institute provides an excellent map and timeline of 225 water skirmishes.

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Conflict, Crisis, GeoPolitics, History, Strategic Interests February 18, 2013

Kashmir: The Geopolitical Hotspot That Could Lead To A Thermonuclear War

High in the Karakoram, the stubborn armies of India and Pakistan have faced off for 19 years on the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battleground and a flash point in the deadly dispute over Kashmir. In this exclusive report, an American writer and photographer spend two months inside the ultimate no-man’s-land, witnessing the human and environmental devastation of a conflict without end. Ten years ago, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency concluded that Kashmir was emerging as the most likely place on earth for a nuclear war to break out.

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Analysis, GeoPolitics, Powerplay, Resources, Strategic Interests February 18, 2013

Gwadar integral to China’s maritime expansion

China’s acquisition of a strategic port in Pakistan is the latest addition to its drive to secure energy and maritime routes and gives it a potential naval base in the Arabian Sea, unsettling India.

The Pakistani cabinet on January 30 approved the transfer of Gwadar port, a commercial failure cut off from the national road network, from Singapore’s PSA International to the state-owned China Overseas Port Holdings Limited. The Pakistanis pitched the deal as an energy and trade corridor that would connect China to the Arabian Sea and Strait of Hormuz, a gateway for a third of the world’s traded oil, overland through an expanded Karakoram Highway.

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Black Market, Flashpoints, Think Tanks February 18, 2013

China emerges as smuggling platform for Iranian N-programme

Iran is using China as a platform to smuggle thousands of specialized magnets for its centrifuges, in an effort to speed its path to reaching nuclear weapons capability, according to a US think-tank.

The report, by a renowned American nuclear scientist, said the operation highlighted the importance of China as a transit point for Iran’s nuclear program, and called for sanctions against any Chinese firms involved. As enforcement efforts have tightened globally,a report, titled ‘Ring Magnet for IR-1 Centrifuges’ by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), said that China needs to do more to show that it is a responsible member of the global economy.

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GeoPolitics, Strategic Interests February 6, 2013

China’s Return to Port Near Persian Gulf Sets Off Regional Alarm Bells

In a decision raising fresh concern about China’s ambitions in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, Pakistan has agreed to hand over to Chinese control a deep-water port, strategically located near the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The Pakistani cabinet decision to transfer management of Gwadar to a Chinese government-owned company closes a circle for Beijing, which put up most of the funding a decade ago to build the facility in the first place.

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Crisis, Flashpoints, Military February 4, 2013

Pakistan Tribes Turn Against Army

“We demand an immediate end to the military operation in Khyber Agency because it has not brought any results during the past three years,” says Iqbal Afridi from the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf party. “The military operations are killing the local population while the militants remained unharmed.”

Thousands of local tribal people, including students, civil society members and leaders of political parties joined the bereaved families in the protest against the army. “The military operations have brought lives of the eight million population in FATA to a standstill,” Afridi said. “The seven tribal agencies have remained under curfew and the population has become completely idle.”

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Policy, Strategic Interests February 4, 2013

India irked as China gets Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port

Pakistan’s cabinet formally agreed to hand over the operation of its strategically located Gwadar port to China on Wednesday. This puts in place China’s famed “string of pearls” strategy which may have significant implications for India.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan cabinet, in one of its last decisions, transferred the operations responsibility of the Gwadar port from Singapore’s PSA (Port of Singapore Authority) International to China’s Overseas Port Holdings. This had been agreed some time ago as PSA International and Pakistani navy fell out over land transfers, security issues and lack of infrastructure. PSA had asked to withdraw from the contract and Pakistan had agreed.

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GeoPolitics, Resources, Sanctions January 30, 2013

US warns Pakistan of sanctions over Iran gas pipeline deal

US Consul General Michael Dodman has said that the US State Department will impose sanctions on Pakistan if it carries on work on the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project. He added it was a clear policy of the US because Iran had violated the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and was continuing nuclear proliferation.

He stated this while talking to selected journalists here at a local hotel on Monday.When asked that Pakistan as an independent country can chalk out a policy which suits it to address the energy crisis, he said that the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project was against the US laws so they will not support Pakistan in this regard.

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Flashpoints, Military January 22, 2013

‘Pakistan’s nukes face threat from army insiders’

In February 2000, Pervez Musharraf, then chief of army staff and head of Pakistan government, created a nuclear command, which included a strategic plans division (SPD), which has physical custody of the weapons. Hoodbhoy argues, “Whatever the procedures and equipment Pakistan may adopt, they can only be as good as the men who operate them. Mindsets and intentions matter more than anything else.”

He adds, “The fear of loose weapons comes from the fact that Pakistan’s armed forces harbour a hidden enemy within their ranks. Those wearing the cloak of religion freely walk in and out of top security nuclear installations every day.” He emphasizes, “The fear of the insider is ubiquitous and well-founded,” and describes the Pakistani army as “a heavily Islamicised rank-and-file brimming with seditious thoughts.”

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Intelligentsia, News January 22, 2013

Algeria’s Brutal DRS Intelligence Agency: The Nation’s Real Power?

The spectacular abduction of workers at a Saharan gas complex in the eastern desert of Algeria by Islamic militants (and the subsequent raid by government forces that killed dozens of both hostages and kidnappers) has placed a harsh glare on a country that typically avoids the international media spotlight.

Algeria, a vast, sparsely populated, natural resource-rich nation in North Africa that gained independence from France 50 years ago, largely avoided the turmoil of the Arab Spring revolution that toppled governments in neighboring Tunisia and Libya, and is one of the most repressive states in the world. Ruled by the dominant Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) – or National Liberation Front – since the country’s violent birth in 1962, Algerian domestic and foreign policy has actually been dictated by the government’s super-secret state intelligence agency.

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Human Rights, Intelligentsia January 21, 2013

Pakistan’s ISI Admits To Detentions Without Evidence

The seven men were among 11 suspected militants captured in connection with a 2007 suicide bombing against ISI personnel and a rocket attack a year later against an air force base. An anti-terrorism court ordered them to be freed in May 2010, but they were picked up again near the capital, Islamabad.

Four died in custody under mysterious circumstances. The ISI produced the seven surviving men in court last February in response to a judicial order prompted by their relatives, who were looking for them. Two of the men were too weak to walk. Another wore a urine bag, suggesting a kidney ailment. In a meeting with their families on the court premises, they complained of harsh treatment during their detention.

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Flashpoints, Intelligentsia, Military January 21, 2013

Despite curbs on target killings, CIA to get free hand in Pakistan

The Obama administration is finalising a rule book for target killings but these restrictions will not apply to Pakistan where the CIA will be free to direct drone strikes in Fata. The classified manual, called a counter-terrorism “playbook”, sets out stringent rules for targeted killings and details the process of adding names to the so-called “kill list”. But it “leaves open a major exemption for the CIA’s campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan”, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

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Crisis, GeoPolitics, Regime Change January 17, 2013

Pakistan’s crisis could end in a military coup as arrest warrant issued for Prime Minister

Experts are not ruling out the possibility of a military takeover in Pakistan after the country’s top court ordered the arrest of the PM. Anti-government protesters continue with their sit-in outside parliament.

An anti-government protest in Islamabad enters its third day as tens of thousands of people demand the resignation of the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) government and that an “impartial,” interim government backed by Pakistan’s powerful army and newly-independent judiciary be formed.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, GeoPolitics, Military January 15, 2013

High alert as Pakistan mobilises troops along Rajasthan, Gujarat borders

Pakistan has deployed more troops across the international borders with Rajasthan and Gujarat in the wake rising tension between the two countries after the killing of Indian soldiers on LoC in Jaamu and Kashmir on January 8.

“A lot of military movement is being noticed in Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts and Gujarat along the international border for the last few days, which is not normal,” BSF sources said. The BSF has launched an ‘operation alert’ along the border. “Patrolling across the border has intesified while defence personnel are constantly on vigil from watch towers,” they said.

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Flashpoints, Military Buildup January 15, 2013

Pak aims to develop smaller lighter nuclear warheads: Report

Expanding its nuclear arsenal at a rapid pace, Pakistan is now aiming to develop smaller and lighter atomic warheads more suitable for use on missiles, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has said. Pakistan is expected to surpass Britain’s nuclear stockpiles in a decade, the journal said, referring to the rapid development of nuclear warheads by Islamabad.

“Pakistan has shown clear signs of its intention to grow its nuclear arsenal. Most recently, the country has begun to increase its plutonium production capabilities, with two new plutonium production reactors under construction, as well as a new chemical reprocessing facility,” the journal said.

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Military, Policy January 8, 2013

Pakistan’s new military doctrine under Indian threats

The new military doctrine has been declared by incorporating a new chapter titled ‘sub-conventional warfare’ in the Pakistani army’s ‘Green Book’ which spells out operational preparedness, capacities and objectives of the armed forces. According to the new doctrine, the guerrilla actions from the tribal areas along Afghan border and bomb attacks on armed forces and civilians by certain groups have been identified as the “biggest threat” to national security.

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Border Incursion, Military January 7, 2013

Pakistan, India clash at disputed border in Kashmir

Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire Sunday along their disputed border in divided Kashmir, with each side blaming the other for the flare-up and Pakistan saying one of its soldiers was killed.

Pakistan said Indian troops crossed the de facto border known as the Line of Control and stormed a military post, an accusation denied by the other side.

A Pakistani military statement said the Indian troops came across the frontier in the Haji Pir sector, 80 kilometers north of Islamabad, and “physically raided” a check post named Sawan Patra.

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Flashpoints, Paramilitary January 1, 2013

300 Balochistan insurgents being trained in Afghanistan: report

ISLAMABAD: At least three hundred Baloch insurgents are getting training across the border to spread unrest in Pakistan, a report stated. According to Daily Dunya, Pakistani intelligence officials handed over a secret list to Central Investigation Agency (CIA) during a meeting in Washington. The report published by Rauf Klasra states that insurgents are getting $300 a month as their salary.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia December 29, 2012

US using spy agencies of other countries against Pakistan: Asif

Speaking to a select group of journalists at the Defence Ministry, the defence secretary said Pakistan had complete information about the CIA agents working in the country. He said Pakistan has been informed by the US regarding presence of the CIA agents.

He added that no country was allowed to work undercover in the country. “The CIA also uses the agencies of other countries.” He said the US and Britain are against the nuclear assets of Pakistan, adding that America is using agencies of other countries against the country.

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Intelligentsia, Military December 27, 2012

CIA’s Global Response Staff emerging from shadows

The rapid collapse of a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya exposed the vulnerabilities of State Department facilities overseas. Two of the Americans killed in Benghazi were members of the CIA’s Global Response Staff, an innocuously named organization that has recruited hundreds of former U.S. Special Forces operatives to serve as armed guards for the agency’s spies.

The GRS, as it is known, is designed to stay in the shadows, training teams to work undercover and provide an unobtrusive layer of security for CIA officers in high-risk outposts.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia December 21, 2012

The inside story of the CIA-ISI immunity deal

The US State Department’s decision to extend immunity to two former ISI chiefs in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case is in accordance with a clandestine understanding reached between Admiral Mike Mullen and General Ashfaq Kayani during a day-long meeting held at a secluded resort in Oman on February 22, 2011.

The State Department informed a New York federal court on December 19 that the ISI and two of its former director generals enjoyed immunity and cannot be tried in the Mumbai terror attacks case.

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Development, Diplomacy, GeoPolitics December 20, 2012

Taliban, Afghan gov’t attend secretive meeting in France to plot Afghanistan’s distant future

Afghan officials are meeting with Taliban rebels and envoys from another Islamist militant group near Paris, looking beyond Afghanistan’s ongoing insurgency to a future long after international forces have returned home.

French hosts say the secretive, rare meeting among rival Afghans in Chantilly — known partly for its equine training grounds — Thursday and Friday isn’t expected to involve any horse-trading toward a possible peace and reconciliation deal.

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Military, News December 18, 2012

Pentagon quietly pays Pakistan $700m for troops on border

The Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalise support for the Pakistani military after nearly two years of crises and mutual retaliation, The New York Times reported.

According to the report, the United States also provides about $2 billion in annual security assistance, roughly half of which goes to reimburse Pakistan for conducting military operations to fight terrorism.

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Economy, GeoPolitics, Resources, Strategic Interests December 17, 2012

US influence causing threat to Pak-Iran gas pipeline

American influence is overriding Pakistan’s dignity, sovereignty and interests and being compromised without considering national interests.

Pak-Iran gas pipeline, one of the most vital, yet long-delayed project, which was necessary for the survival of the country had been abandoned ending hopes of revival of shambling economy. Dr Murtaza president of PEW has expressed strong dismay over the project to meet ever-increasing energy requirements is being abandoned over the dictation of Washington

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Analysis, Conflict, Flashpoints, Military December 12, 2012

Afghan may be focus of future Indo-Pak rivalry: US

“India worries about a second Mumbai-style terrorist attack from militants backed by Pakistan. A major incident with many casualties and Pakistani fingerprints would put a weakened Indian Government under tremendous pressure to respond with force, with the attendant risk of nuclear miscalculation,” said the report.

Pakistan’s large and fast-growing nuclear arsenal in addition to its doctrine of “first use” is intended to deter and balance against India’s conventional military advantages, said the fifth installment of the ‘Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,’ of National Intelligence Council (NIC).

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Analysis, Conflict, Flashpoints, Military Buildup December 9, 2012

China Inflicts An Arms Race On Japan – Analysis

China and Japan are both at political and strategic crossroads and their destinies seem to be heading towards an intense arms race if not a direct military clash. Richard Segal has wisely observed that historically we have never had a strong China and a strong Japan at the same time in this region.

Comparatively, it is China that has in the last five years or so that has unleashed a long string of provocative acts against Japan. These provocations have heightened Japanese threat perceptions on China. Heading the list is the recent spate of Chinese and Japanese threats and counter- threats hurled over the Senkaku Islands.

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Intelligentsia, ISR December 6, 2012

Military Intelligence collecting information on Pakistani journalists: report

The Military Intelligence (MI) has started a country wide exercise to collect all sorts of information from Journalists, a report said on Wednesday.

Their personnel’s are providing a two-page form in Urdu language to all the journalists and media representatives in the country in which they are obliged to fill all the necessary information about themselves. We saw names of nearly a hundred well known media personalities, including women journalists who live on their own and even included one columnist who is a sitting member of Parliament.

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Intelligentsia, News, Policy December 1, 2012

Pakistan’s Homeland Security Intelligence Agency Proposed By Senate Body

A sub-committee of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights has prepared a draft bill proposing the establishment of an Inter-Service Intelligence Agency (ISIA) to be overseen by the country’s prime minister.

The agency will be responsible for arresting, detaining, interrogating and prosecuting suspects to deal effectively with the challenges of national security and matters related to it. The proposed legislation is called Inter Service Intelligence Agency (Functions, Powers and Regulation) Act 2012.

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Analysis, GeoPolitics, Resources, Strategic Interests, Think Tanks December 1, 2012

The Sri Lankan Silk Road

Sri Lanka, the “pearl” of the Indian Ocean, is strategically located within the east-west international shipping passageway. Like the old Silk Road that stretched from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian all the way to ancient Rome, modern China’s strategic and commercial supply line extends over the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea to include the focal transit port of Sri Lanka at the southern tip of India. Today, over 85 percent of China’s energy imports from the Middle East and mineral resources from Africa transit through Sri Lanka and other so-called “string of pearls” ports.

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Military, News, Public Relations November 21, 2012

Pentagon overseas propaganda plan stirs controversy

Senior officers at the Pentagon are being advised on countering Taliban propaganda by a marketing expert whose company once weeded out reporters who wrote negative stories in Afghanistan and helped the military deceive the enemy in Iraq, according to military documents and interviews.

Since 2000, the military has paid The Rendon Group more than $100 million to help shape its communications strategy, analyze media coverage, run its propaganda programs and develop counter-narcotics efforts around the world, Pentagon documents show.

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Black Market, Conflict, Flashpoints November 15, 2012

Taliban generate 70% of their income off narcotics ‘taxes’

The minister said that Pakistan is fighting against narco-terrorism despite having meager resources, adding that “Our nation has suffered losses both in term of human lives and material ($80 billion loss in economy and over 45,000 people have been martyred in terrorist activities).

He said Pakistan is major transit route for Afghan opiates with nearly 160 metric ton of heroin, which makes up 44 per cent of total Afghan heroin which transits through its territorial jurisdictions.

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Crisis, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics November 1, 2012

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, so will Turkey: Israeli Defense Minister

If Iran starts to build nuclear weapons Turkey would soon follow, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during an interview with UK’s Telegraph. “Saudi Arabia will turn nuclear within weeks – according to them. Turkey will turn nuclear in several years,” Barak was quoted as saying. Egypt will follow as well, causing a “nightmare” as “nuclear material ends up in [the] hands of terrorist groups,” according to Barak.

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Economy, GeoPolitics, Strategic Interests October 24, 2012

Grand Chessboard Pivot: US wants to join Indian Ocean group

The US has shown interest in becoming a dialogue partner in the Indian Ocean grouping, the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). The US request is being considered by the members of the forum.

India has been chairing the forum for the past two years, and its term will come to an end next year, when Australia will take over from India. There are 19 member nations, from across three continents, and five dialogue partners.

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Analysis, Intelligentsia, Paramilitary October 15, 2012

Taliban’s Secret Weapon in Afghanistan – Intelligence “Moles”?

It is unlikely that the recent U.S. and NATO setbacks in the war and the Taliban successes could have occurred without enemy “moles” within the Western forces. An eventual history of this Afghan war will likely highlight the successful espionage efforts of the Taliban and its allies within Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI).

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Analysis, Conflict, GeoPolitics, Resources October 9, 2012

Are the Wars in the Middle East and North Africa Really About Oil?

Another important country is Iran. Iran sits on the second largest gas reserves in the world and has over 93 billion barrels of proven oil reserves with a total of 4.17 million barrels per day in 2009. To the dislike of the United States, Iran is a very active player. The Turkmenistan-Iran gas pipeline, constructed in 1997, was the first new pipeline going out from Central Asia. Furthermore, Iran signed a $120 billion gas exploration deal, often termed the “deal of the century” with China.

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Crisis, Economy September 28, 2012

Bunker Mentality: Iran quietly makes massive wheat buy

Iran’s state grains agency GTC has discreetly snapped up around 1 million tonnes of milling wheat in the past 2 weeks mostly from the European Union, traders said on Thursday, showing increased ability to import food despite financial sanctions.

Iran has in the past exported wheat but Western sanctions aimed at its disputed nuclear programme coincided with a bad harvest, forcing the country to quietly enter global markets and make substantial wheat purchases to feed its large population. While sanctions don’t target food shipments, they make it difficult for importers to obtain letters of credit or conduct international transfers of funds through banks.

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Flashpoints, Intelligentsia, Systemic Abuse September 28, 2012

Disband secret agencies ‘death squads’, stop covert action in Balochistan: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday called for an end to military operations against the Baloch and for the disbanding of the ‘death squads’ of the intelligence agencies operating in Balochistan. The court also sought the civil and military leadership’s “black and white” reaction to the worsening law and order situation in the restive province and to the suggestions made by former chief minister Balochistan Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

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Conflict, Flashpoints, Military September 28, 2012

‘CIA sends monthly fax to ISI outlining drone attack plans’

About once a month, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sends a fax to a general at Pakistan’s intelligence service outlining broad areas where the United States intends to conduct strikes with drone aircraft and Pakistanis, who in public oppose the strikes, don’t respond, US officials have said.

“On this basis, plus the fact that Pakistan continues to clear airspace in the targeted areas, the US government concludes it has tacit consent to conduct strikes within the borders of a sovereign nation,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted officials familiar with the programme.

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Crisis, Flashpoints, Uprising September 26, 2012

Can a Military Coup Occur in the GCC Countries?

According to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the sweeping unrest has forced the GCC governments to spend $150 billion, in the first half of 2011, to appease widespread discontent of its populations.

Clear signs of unrest are evident in the GCC states. They have vast populations of underpaid workers, from Pakistan and India, and are governed by ruling families with little consideration for democracy. Bahrain has a Sunni ruling family, but the majority of its citizens are Shi’a. Saudi Arabia has a repressive regime ruled by old and ailing sons of the nation’s founder Ibn Saud. Furthermore, there is growing unrest on the southern part of the peninsula in Yemen.

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Conflict, Flashpoints, Military Buildup September 24, 2012

RAND Corp: ‘India must prepare for conventional wars with Pakistan, China’

India must prepare itself for future conventional wars with Pakistan and China since nuclear deterrence is not a panacea as demonstrated by the 1999 Kargil War, says a new report by a US think tank.

“On a strategic level, the Kargil War vividly demonstrated that a stable bilateral nuclear deterrence relationship can markedly inhibit such regional conflicts in intensity and scale-if not preclude them altogether,” says the report on the role of the Indian Air Force by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“In the absence of the nuclear stabilising factor, those flash points could erupt into open-ended conventional showdowns for the highest stakes,” says the report by Benjamin S. Lambeth, a senior research associate at the RAND Corporation.

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Conflict, Flashpoints, History September 18, 2012

Can China repeat its 1962 military humiliation of India?

Can the history of India’s humiliation at the hands of China in 1962 repeat itself? As we approach the 50th anniversary of the humiliation next month, we have to analyse this question in depth in our governmental national security community as well as outside. It is important for the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to organise a series of brainstorming on this subject with the participation of experts on China from the government and outside.

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Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Stratagem September 17, 2012

Sri Lanka is no stage for India-China rivalry: Envoy

Amid New Delhi’s concerns over growing military ties between Beijing and Colombo, Sri Lanka’s envoy Prasad Kariyawasam has said there is no zero-sum game between India and China. He said his country will not be reduced to a stage for the two rising Asian powers to play out their “rivalry”.

“We are not in the habit of looking at our relations with India and China as a zero-sum game,” the envoy told IANS in an interview here.

“We will not allow our land or sea to be used for any inimical purpose by one country against the other,” the envoy said.

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History, Military, Regime Change September 12, 2012

History Repeats Again: The Game Plan in Syria

Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the US and the UK undertook military expeditions to destabilise secular Arab nations. They undertook an invasion of Egypt, which failed. They sponsored two assassination attempts on Nasser, which failed. They tried to instigate two revolts in Syria, which also failed.

Way back in 1957 the British cabinet had approved Operation Straggle, a plot to engineer a coup in Damascus. The plan was to create disaffection on the border areas, infiltrate armed insurgents into urban areas and instigate uprisings.

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GeoPolitics, History September 12, 2012

Father of Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb Could Be Country’s Next President

Dr. A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, notoriously anti-American and arguably the most popular man among 200 million Pakistanis, is the head of a recently launched political party dedicated to boosting him to the presidency.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Dr. Strangelove (“How I Learned to stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”) of Pakistan, recently created his own political party, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Pakistan (TTP), closely linked to another TTP, Tehrik-e-Taliban.

To avoid prison, Musharraf ordered A.Q. to recant his misdeeds on Pakistani TV. Khan did so in English, not in Urdu.

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GeoPolitics, Military Buildup September 11, 2012

China multiplies its war toys, India plays catch-up

In 2009, the Indian Army carried out top-secret war games — codenamed Divine Matrix — aimed at analysing China’s threat to the country. The conclusion: China could attack India by 2017, and there was a possibility of Pakistan stirring the pot by trying to trouble India at the same time.

Three years later, while there are no immediate signs of hostility on either border, a rare visit by China’s defence minister to India last week has thrown into focus the latter’s military capabilities to defend itself in a volatile neighbourhood, where India has fought five wars since Independence.

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Flashpoints, Sectarian Violence August 24, 2012

The ‘Wahabi Republic’ of Pakistan

There are many people in Pakistan who oppose the Taliban and their militant activities; however, ironically, not all of them question the Saudi-Wahabi ideology that provides impetus to militant Islamists.

It is not so difficult to find people in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan who despise the Taliban and their suicide bombings that have killed scores of Pakistanis over the past few years. Yet, it is not common to hear voices opposing Saudi Arabia and its Wahabi state ideology.

The Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, which is also home to the sacred Islamic site Kaaba, is one of the most revered cities for Muslims in the world. That alone is enough to make Saudi Arabia a holy country for millions of Pakistanis. Therefore, for many Pakistani Muslims, criticizing Saudi Arabia is synonymous with criticizing Islam.

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Integration, Military August 24, 2012

Iran wants “Islamic CSTO”?

It seems that a possible U.S. attack on Iran is at hand. In recent days, Iran is making frantic efforts to find allies to repel aggression. Last week, Secretary of Defense Persian state A. Vahidi made a sensational statement. According to the head of the military department, it’s time to create a “military alliance of Muslim countries to reflect external aggression to them, and to protect the Palestinian people.”

Observers immediately drew an analogy with the Russian-led military-political alliance CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization Security) and was named the alleged formation of a new “Islamic CSTO” . Recall that now the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty includes six countries: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan .

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Military, News, Paramilitary August 17, 2012

Pakistan nuclear stockpile not ‘endangered’ by Kamra attack

The US on Thursday said Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile was not ‘endangered’ following a daring terrorist attack on the key Kamra Air Force base, believed to house atomic weapons.

“I do not have any indication that this particular attack (Kamra) has endangered the Pakistani nuclear stockpile,” Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters during an off camera news conference.

He was responding to news reports coming from Pakistan that the attack on the military base in Kamra had threatened the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

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Military Buildup, News, Stratagem August 16, 2012

Trench Warfare: India boring border tunnels to take on China, Pakistan

India is finally kick-starting the plan to build as many as 18 tunnels along the borders with Pakistan and China for faster troop mobility as well as storage of critical war-fighting assets like missiles, without the threat of detection by enemy satellites and spy drones.

While preliminary work on seven tunnels is underway after requisite approvals, the construction of 11 more tunnels in Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is now on the drawing board after “a strong endorsement” by the Army.

With China resorting to “tunnelling in a big way” to store important military equipment, the Army wants the tunnel construction plans in the mountains in J&K and north-east to be fast-tracked

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Flashpoints, Military, Paramilitary August 14, 2012

Tensions again rising between Afghanistan, Pakistan

The continuing rocket attacks from Pakistan on eastern provinces of the country have cost two high-ranking officials their jobs and threaten to further destabilize the country’s fragile central government.

Early last month, Abdul Rahim Wardak, the country’s defense minister, was forced to step down after members of parliament called for his removal because of the ongoing shelling. Interior Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, who controls the Afghan National Police, was also forced to step down.

President Hamid Karzai said he would respect parliament’s views and remove the two ministers, but he asked the two to stay on until replacements could be found. Wardak refused the president’s request.

Meanwhile, there is growing anger in Kabul as rockets continue to fall on the eastern Kunar province.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military Buildup August 13, 2012

Indian Army gets battle-ready on Jaisalmer border with Pakistan

Jaisalmer is set to house the first “model modern military station” of the country with reduced response time to emergencies, battle-ready capabilities in modern warfare and a set up critical to the supply chain for army rationing.

According to highly placed sources, the Indian Army has decided to develop a modern army base in the border district to cut down on the response time to an emergency, including a reduction in travel time in case of a disturbance along the border. It’s proximity to the international border of India and Pakistan has got the army to reap the benefits of this strategic location for securing the nation against any foreign aggression in future.

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Diplomacy, GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia August 13, 2012

Pak and India mulling meet between RAW and ISI chiefs: Report

Pakistan and India are mulling a proposal for a meeting of the chiefs of their intelligence agencies as part of a series of confidence-building measures to build goodwill, according to a media report on Monday.

The proposal is among “numerous mechanisms” being explored to reduce the trust deficit between the two neighbours, The Express Tribune quoted official sources as saying.

It quoted a source as claiming that the US was instrumental in persuading the two countries to discuss the possibility of a meeting between the heads of the Research and Analysis Wing and Inter-Services Intelligence.

A Pakistani official was quoted as saying that several proposals, including regular interactions between the security agencies of the two countries, were on the table.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia August 9, 2012

CIA, RAW complicit in Balochistan unrest, says Noorani

Under a well-thought-out conspiracy, sectarian organisations in Balochistan are targeting Ulema of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-Pakistan (JUP) and are assassinating them.

This was disclosed by Shah Muhammad Owais Noorani Sidiqui, Senior Vice-President, Jamiat-e-Ulema-Pakistan, while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club Tuesday afternoon.

He said that the JUP had evidence that the US CIA, India’s Raw, and Israel’s Mossad were jointly conducting subversive operations in Balochistan, including sectarian killings, to create dissension in the province and soften the ground for their subversive activities, but, he said, the cruel irony was that the Government of Pakistan, despite being fully aware of the heinous activities of these foreign intelligence agencies was totally silent on the issue.

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Border Incursion, Intelligentsia, Territorial Dispute August 3, 2012

Afghanistan believes in another theocracy conspiracy on Afghan-Tajik border

Afghanistan Political analysts claimed on Wednesday that some regional actors are trying to foment trouble in areas along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border and install a theocracy there, reported Pajhwok.

The government of Tajikistan launched a clean-up operation after an intelligence official was shot dead by an armed opposition group in the Khariq area. Several border policemen and rebels were killed in the operation.

Tajik officials claimed the rebels, escaping the operation, sneaked into the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.

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Diplomacy, GeoPolitics, Military July 31, 2012

Regular military exchanges between Pakistan and China to further strengthen strategic ties

Regular exchanges between the armed forces of Pakistan and China would deepen the existing strategic ties and give further push to the all-weather and time-tested friendship between the two countries. Ambassador Masood Khan expressed these views while speaking at an impressive graduation ceremony of the 2nd Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC)-Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Officer Development Programme (APOD) held in Beijing Saturday. The Pakistan Envoy in China expressed deepest appreciation to AVIC, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), and the AVIC University for organizing an advanced and sophisticated programme with rich contents for the participants from the PAF.

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Conflict, CyberOps, Flashpoints, Military July 30, 2012

War by “Remote Control”: An Invisible Confrontation

Syrian activists and FSA leaders have confirmed spotting UAVs in the skies above Syria, suggesting that drones are often seen on reconnaissance missions of targets that are subsequently bombarded.

Meanwhile, military sources and experts have reported the flight of Iranian, as well as “American and Israeli” drones, over Syria. This means that what might look like a domestic confrontation in Syria can also double as a war by “remote control” between Western and regional intelligence groups, especially between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Iranian Republican Guard Corps (IRGC).

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Economy, Policy, Resources July 26, 2012

Developing Eight: D-8 works to create ‘seed bank’

The Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation has launched a “seed bank project” to fight global food crises.

D-8 Secretary-General Professor Widi Pratikto told Anatolia news agency that the world was facing another food crisis.

“To prevent a new food crisis, the organization has launched a ‘seed bank’ project which will be focused on the sectors of agriculture, food safety, energy and trade as well as industry and transportation,” said Pratikto.

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Military, News July 25, 2012

US to deploy surveillance drones over the Caribbean

The US Department of Homeland Security has announced the setting up of a drone squadron for surveillance activity over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, ostensibly for the purpose of fighting drug trafficking.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already approved the air routes for the spy drones, known worldwide for their raids over Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as part of US military activities in those nations, PL news agency reported.

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Intelligentsia, News July 24, 2012

Fearing recruitment, India restricts contacts with CIA

Fearing that the CIA might use counter-terrorism meetings to recruit Indian intelligence operatives, New Delhi has restricted agency-to-agency contacts with Washington, says a new book.

“Today, middle-ranking IB (Intelligence Bureau) and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officers are vulnerable to enticement by well-funded foreign intelligence agencies – a factor which has constrained counter-terrorism cooperation post 9/11.”

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Intelligentsia, News July 23, 2012

Australia’s spies active in world’s strategic hotspots

ASIS specialises in “HUMINT”—human intelligence—mostly derived from spies “running agents.” Since 2001, under the cover of the so-called “war on terror,” the agency has already acquired new roles, conducting “active operations” and providing front-line intelligence support for Australian military units, particularly the SAS, in the US-led invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. It has received an unprecedented five-fold expansion of its budget—to about $250 million a year.

Now, ASIS is being increasingly focussed on three fronts that provide a pretext for its agents to step up their activities in far-flung and critical conflict zones. Most notably, these are in Central Asia and South East Asia, where the US and its allies are aggressively combating China’s economic and strategic influence.

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GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia, News July 18, 2012

ISI-CIA meeting: Spymasters plan US rendezvous

In a key development in thawing ties with Washington, the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will visit the US in coming days, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Well-placed sources said that Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-General Zaheerul Islam’s visit has been approved by the government. It will be the first visit by the army chief or an intelligence chief to the US in over a year.

The ISI chief will meet his US counterpart, Director Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) David Petraeus, and other senior American officials to discuss matters related to counter-terrorism cooperation.

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Conflict, Military, Military Buildup, News July 1, 2012

Russian Realpolitik: Inside the Arms Trade with Syria

Welcome to Russia’s premier weapons expo, the deceptively titled Forum of Technologies in Machine Building, a military smorgasbord for the dictators of the world that Russian President Vladimir Putin opened in 2010. Delegations from Iran, Zimbabwe, Bahrain, Pakistan and Uganda, among many others, came to the fair last week, but the Syrian presence was the most controversial. Since the 1950s, when it first became a client state of the Soviet Union, Syria has purchased almost all of its weapons from Russia, making it a cherished customer.

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Analysis, Conflict, Development, Military Buildup, News, Stratagem June 26, 2012

The new Obama doctrine, a six-point plan for global war

The face of American-style war-fighting is once again changing. Forget full-scale invasions and large-footprint occupations on the Eurasian mainland; instead, think: special operations forces working on their own but also training or fighting beside allied militaries (if not outright proxy armies) in hot spots around the world. And along with those special ops advisors, trainers, and commandos expect ever more funds and efforts to flow into the militarization of spying and intelligence, the use of drone aircraft, the launching of cyber-attacks, and joint Pentagon operations with increasingly militarized “civilian” government agencies.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Development, Flashpoints June 22, 2012

AP sources: US mulls new covert raids in Pakistan

U.S. military and intelligence officials are so frustrated with Pakistan’s failure to stop local militant groups that attack U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan that they’ve considered launching secret joint U.S.-Afghan commando raids into Pakistan to hunt them down.

U.S. officials tell The Associated Press the idea comes up every time the deadly Taliban faction known as the Haqqani (hah-KAH’-nee) network launches a spectacular attack in Afghanistan. Its fighters arm, plan and train in neighboring Pakistan.

The officials say the White House has consistently rejected the idea, believing the raids would not be worth the diplomatic blowback from Pakistan.

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