Dr A Q Khan’s 13-Page Confession
I was in Belgium in December 1971 and had just submitted by Ph.D. thesis when I saw the most painful and humiliating scenes of the surrender of the Pakistan Army in Dacca. To see our officers and jawans with crosses on their backs and their heads shaven being herded like cattle by Indian soldiers being kicked and hit with sticks was such a traumatic scene that I would never forget it my whole life long. In May 1974 I was working as a Senior Scientist at FDO in Amsterdam and had specialized in uranium enrichment technology, the most advanced and the most complicated technology that the Dutch, the Germans and the British had perfected after spending billions of dollars over a 20 year period. Even today it is the best technology for enriching uranium. On 18th May, 1974 the Indians exploded their first nuclear weapon. Appreciating the immediate dangers posed to Pakistan’s security and very existence, I offered my services to the Prime Minister, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. On 20th December 1974 I paid a short visit and explained the whole process to the Prime Minister and told him that I could give Pakistan nuclear capability. After explaining the process to Munir Ahmed Khan, Chairman PAEC, we went back to Holland. On 21st December 1975 we again came on holiday. I went to see the progress of the work done in one year, which turned out to be almost nil. I explained this to the Prime Minister, who asked me to stay back and send my resignation to FDO. It was a tough decision for me and my family but we decided to stay so I could serve my beloved Pakistan. I was appointed Advisor to PAEC in June 1976. For six months I had worked without being paid and under miserable and disgusting conditions. I was later paid Rs. 3,000 per month. Working under PAEC proved to be impossible, hence the Prime Minister detached the Project from PAEC and made it independent under a Board of Coordination with Mr. A.G.M. Kazi (Chairman), Mr. Agha Shahi (Secretary General Foreign Affairs) and Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan (Secretary General Defence ) as members. We were to work directly under the Prime Minister. One should not forget that I had brought with me technology, experience and personal notes worth billions of dollars. Without my knowledge and experience, Pakistan could never - repeat never - have become a nuclear power. It was only because of my initiative, knowledge and achievements that our nation can walk straight and tall today! How I organized the work, set up the facilities and organized a most efficient network of companies to import materials and equipment is part of our history. I personally supervised each and every aspect of the Project and prepared the drawings and specifications to give to the suppliers. I trained hundreds of scientists and engineers who were initially totally ignorant of this high technology. The speed of the work and our achievements surprised our worst enemies and adversaries and the West stood helplessly by to see a Third World nation, unable even to produce bicycle chains or sewing needles, mastering the most advanced nuclear technology in the shortest possible span of time. Our mastery of this most advanced and invaluable technology enabled us to sign a historic contract for a giant plant in China. Because of my assistance to the Chinese, they in turn helped Munir Ahmed Khan in various projects that had been stagnating for years (i.e. UF6, Reprocessing, Conversion, Production Reactor etc.). By 1984 we had conducted successful cold tests and had manufactured all components for 30 nuclear devices. Upon my personal request, the Chinese Minister for Nuclear Technology had gifted us 50kg of weapon-grade enriched uranium, enough for 2 weapons. This gift clearly illustrates the importance the Chinese attached to the enrichment technology they received from me. I had asked for this to neutralize Indian nuclear blackmail and the imminent security threat to our country. Work was progressing very fast and I worked 14 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week to get the job done against all odds, against all embargoes and despite the non-availability of trained manpower or expertise. In August 1988 President Gen. Zia-ul Haq died in a tragic air crash. Elections were held and Benazir Bhutto became the Prime Minister. Gen. Imtiaz, former M.S. to Mr. Bhutto, became Advisor on Defence to the Prime Minister and took over the supervision of the nuclear programme. In 1985 the revolution in Iran took place and there were many in Pakistan who sympathized with the revolution and change of dress code. Kahuta had a large number of Shias working there. One senior officer, Hanif Khalil, was even reported to have contacted the Iranian Ambassador, Mr. Mousavi, but, apprehensive of overzealousness and leakage to favour Iran, I warned him to be more cautious and carefull. In 1989 or 1990 COAS, Gen. Aslam Beg, promised to give the Iranians a few weapons and technology in lieu of 10 years of our defence budget. The Iranian Army Chief, Shamkani, flew to Islamabad in his own plane to pick up the weapons and papers. Admiral Sirohey as Chairman JCSC had a hard time trying to get out of this commitment, in which he succeeded. Later there was a lot of pressure by the COAS on Gen. Imtiaz and P.M. Benazir Bhutto to honour his commitment. Under pressure, Gen. Imtiaz asked Dr. Hashmi (I was out of station) to give some centrifuge parts and drawings etc. to the Iranians. He (Hashmi) asked him to wait until my return. When I got back, Gen. Imtiaz advised me to get components of two old (P-1) discarded machines and pack them into boxes together with 2 sets of drawings prepared by the late Mr. Khokhar. These drawings on their own were not sufficiently detailed to enable mastery of this difficult technology. The components and drawings were handed over to the late Dr. M.Z. Niazi for further disposal. As you know, Dr. Niazi was a confidante of Benazir Bhutto and Gen. Imtiaz. It was some time in 1994 or 1995 that Dr. Niazi requested me to see a few Iranian scientists passing through Karachi from China on their way to Dubai and then on to Teheran. I met them in our guesthouse in Karachi for about half an hour. I did not know any of them and they didn’t give any names. They said that they could not make any progress with their programme and asked whether it would be possible for me to visit them or to send a team for a few weeks. I flatly told them that it was not possible to have that kind of contact. They then asked a few simple questions and I advised them to study the available scientific literature, which contained all the information they were asking for. They seemed to be ignorant of the basic knowledge available in publications. During Gen. Zia’s rule, Benazir, her family, Gen. Imtiaz and Dr. Niazi were financially supported by Col. Gaddafi. It was reliably reported that Col. Gaddafi had given $ 200 million to the late Mr. Z.A. Bhutto to launch our nuclear programme. This was confirmed by Mr. Khalid Hassan, Press Secretary to Mr. Bhutto, in the mischievous BBC film “Project 706 - The Islamic Bomb”. I believe that one set of the drawings and components given by me was given to the Iranians and the other to the Libyans. Dr. Z.K. Niazi used to travel between Dubai, Tripoli and London and in Dubai he became friendly with Farooq of Sri Lanka through a British common friend named Peter. He probably brought a Libyan in contact with Farooq and asked him to arrange a meeting during one of my trips to Turkey. Once when we went to Istanbul (I donot know the date) to have discussions with Dr. Heilingbrunner, Lerch and Ruegg, Farooq (Sri Lanka) told me that a friend of Dr. Niazi’s would like to see me in the nearby Sheraton Hotel. We were staying at Hotel Dilson, Taksim Square. I met the gentleman, a plump darkish person who introduced himself as Magid or Mageed. He said that they wanted to start some R & D programme in the enrichment field and had been given assurances of Pakistan Government assistance. I said they lacked the trained manpower and infra-structure. He said that they could still start learning and do some laboratory experiments. I gave him a brief idea of how complex and difficult the whole technology was. After about half an hour we left and he said he would contact Farooq (Sri Lanka) whenever necessary. He was not a technical person. We did not hear from them for years and then during one of our trips to Turkey to meet our Turkish and Swiss suppliers, Tahir (nephew of Farooq) said that his uncle had phoned to say that a gentleman from Libya was there to see us. I met this gentleman with Tahir. He was of medium stature, average weight and a bit bald. He introduced himself as an Engineer and the name I understood was Mahfooz (you mentioned it as Matooq). He said he was now planning to start the programme as nothing had been done so far and he wanted to start on a small laboratory scale. I told him the plant needed a lot of space and many workshops and manpower. He said that they could go underground, to which I replied that it was not possible for such a big plant with all the facilities to go underground. Since he was planning on a small scale, he thought they might set up a farm of camels or goats and put one or two small sheds in between to put up the laboratory and start training the people in various technologies (vacuum, welding process, computer etc.). I suggested they first send enough people abroad for degrees/training and then start the research programme. He seemed to like that idea. We met for about half an hour at the most. We did not meet again for a long time. After 4 or 5 years, while in Dubai, Tahir invited us to dinner in his flat and the whole Matooq family (9 or 10 people) was there too. He said that they were now starting the work and that he was in touch with foreign suppliers. These had agreed to supply components, equipment etc. through Dubai and other countries. I just listened, being sure in my mind that there was not a committed approach and that they would not be able to achieve much. What they needed was commitment and trained manpower, neither of which they had. I met this same gentleman at dinner at Tahir’s place once or twice more over a period of 4 to 5 years. On those occasions he never discussed any technical matters or asked any questions. I only heard him discuss payment problems to suppliers with Tahir. Tahir once mentioned that Matooq was always taking away quite a bit of money for his personal use. There was always a young man named Karim with him. The last time I met him was in Casablanca for half an hour at tea when we were going to Timbuktu. Tahir said he had asked to see him there as the suppliers were making his life difficult. Tahir asked him to send some money as quickly as possible as the suppliers were pressing him very hard and chasing him. Matooq neither gave me any detail of his work nor asked any questions. I was aware that Tahir was assisting him with the placing of orders according to the supplier’s quotations. It was business between user and supplier. The suppliers had all the drawings that we had originally given them as well as their own modified drawings and were, thus, in a position to supply the requested or suggested products, make their own suggestions and/or submit quotations. Even when we met the last time, I was sure that the Libyans were unable to run any machine properly, not to talk of enrichment. Since I never visited their country or saw any film of their facilities, I did not know anything about their programme. I had heard that they had not even erected a single shed to do some preliminary work. Western suppliers were supplying components etc. and one factory in Malaysia, owned by the son of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Ahmad Badawi, was producing milk/oil tankers, liquid petroleum tankers etc. A Swiss Engineer had put up some machines in this factory to manufacture some components. The components intercepted on the ship near Italy were reportedly manufactured there. Pakistan or KRL had nothing whatsoever to do with it. At one time Tahir asked if he could hire some retired/nearly retired engineers for his factory. Farooq (KRL) was quite unhappy at being demoted and was interested in a good job. Mr. Nasimuddin was nearing LPR and wanted to find a job abroad as his children were studying in the U.S.A. I asked them to send their C.V.s to Malaysia. Mr. Nasimuddin paid a visit there but did not like the place and preferred a government job in the Middle East. Farooq showed some interest, but then preferred to stay back as he was hoping that Mr. Azmat would retire and that he would again be promoted to the post of D.G. That was the end of their interest in Malaysia. If the Libyans have any papers/drawings bearing our name or signatures etc, they must have obtained them either from Farooq (Sri Lanka), Tahir or our old suppliers, as the two first-mentioned had them in Dubai for our use. I have heard that Tahir is being interrogated by the Malysian, American and British authorities and is telling all sorts of stories to save himself. He must be saying the things that the interrogators want to hear from him, even though they may be incorrect. I did not ask anybody in KRL to send any gas to Libya and it is impossible to get 2 tons of gas out of Kahuta without this discrepancy being found out or caught. Our material balance sheet is foolproof. If one believes in the disappearance of this quantity of gas, one could also accept the possibility of the disappearance of Kg 200 or 300 weapon-grade material, which is also impossible. The suggestion that I ever asked for a Libyan passport is both ludicrous and preposterous. I lived in Europe for 15 years and could have got nationality of Germany, Holland or Belgium, but I was proud to keep my Pakistani passport. H.H. Prince Mamdouh bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, brother of King Fahd, offered us (Gen. Chowhan, Dr. Nazeer and me) Saudi passports during one of our visists to the Islamic Development Bank meetings in Jeddah, but I very politely refused. H.H. Gen. Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed, Chief of the U.A.E. Armed Forces and Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, offered me U.A.E. nationality many times together with a luxurious villa, which I also politely refused. I discarded all these lucrative and attractive offers and preferred to work and live in Pakistan.
Iran
The Iranians went on their own to buy, process or manufacture components and equipment. We did not hear from them for years. Some 10 odd years ago Tahir asked for some P-1 components from Farooq (KRL). I don’t remember the exact details. As you mentioned, some small components (200 sets) were collected from our old, discarded stock or a few may have been manufactured and sent by Farooq (KRL) to Tahir, who then probably passed them on to some Iranians. There were no casings, bases, feed systems, scoops etc. Without this system the machine is useless and hence the components were of little value in the overall project. Furthermore, the components were old, mostly rejected due to being out-of-tolerances. They could, at the most, be useful for assembling a few machines but it would not have been possible to make them run to the desired speed. You have to be extremely competent and expert to assemble, balance and run these machines to full speed (63,000 rpm). I allowed it as it was earlier sanctioned by Gen. Imtiaz and the Government and it would keep the Iranians happy and our friendship with them in tact. That the Iranians failed to achieve any progress in 15 years, shows the complexities and extreme technical expertise required to master this technology. It is most unfortunate that, having been betrayed by their own opposition nationals (Mujahideen Khalq Group) and having failed in their effort to achieve any progress, the Iranians have reportedly pointed their finger at us and are now putting us into trouble. They say that they have not given any names or sources from Pakistan. This was emphatically assured and conveyed to me through Izaz Jaffery by ex-Ambassador Agha Siraj Mousavi himself. The spirit behind giving some assistance to Iran or Libya was to maintain friendly relations between them and us. At no time did I seriously believe that they were capable of mastering this technology as they didn’t have the required infra-structure, the trained manpower or the technical know-how.
North Korea
After approval from the Prime Minister and the COAS, a contract was signed with the North Koreans for a Km 1500 surface-to-surface guided missile. A delegation led by me and including Gen. Mian Mushtaq, DGCD, Admiral Sohail Ahmed Khan, Col. Qazi, Dr. Mirza, Nasim Khan and others visited North Korea for about 5 days. Later their team came here and the deal was finalized with the participation of the then DGCD, Gen. Ziauddin, Dr. Samar Mubarakmand and Chairman Suparco, Mr. Sikander. The Korean team was officially allowed to stay at Kahuta once the products started coming. This was some time in 1993-4. They had to work in the shops and instruct our engineers and technicians in the making of the components. Most of their work was in the two machine shops that were also producing and assembling centrifuges and centrifuge sub-assemblies. They became interested in the technology and some engineers spent a lot of time with Khokhar in his shop where rotor tubes, bellows, etc. were being made and there was a test-bed of P-2. Khokhar was making the liquid fuel rocket engine and needed the Koreans the whole day on a daily basis. During the course of their stay it is quite possible that he explained some details of centrifuge machines to them. Some time in 1996, when the missile project was in full swing, some payments from the GHQ to the Koreans were pending. Somebody from GHQ advised Gen Kang, the Korean representative, to pay some money to Gen. Ziauddin to get the money released. Gen. Kang gave him a suitcase containing $ 0.5 million. Gen. Ziauddin informed Gen. Waheed, COAS, and they returned the money to Kang. Gen. J. Karamat, CGS, came to know of this and phoned me after a few days saying that I should arrange with Gen. Kang to pay this money to him for some secret army funds. He would then sanction the payment of their outstanding charges. He phoned me a few times to expedite the matter. I talked to Gen. Kang and he gave me the $ 0.5 million in cash, which I personally delivered to Gen. J. Karamat. In the meantime Gen. Karamat became COAS and said to me that he needed more money for the same secret funds and that I should talk to Gen. Kang. Gen. Kang came back to me after a few days and said that his boss was willing to give a further $ 2.5 million, provided we helped them with the enrichment technology. They already had a production reactor and were producing plutonium. They had also manufactured a few weapons as, according to Gen. Kang’s boss, they had received Kg 200 plutonium and weapon designs from the Russians in the mid-fifties after the Korean War. They had shown Dr. Mirza and me the perfect nuclear weapon, technologically more advanced than ours. They wanted this technology only for fuel for the power reactors as it cost only 1/10 of that of the diffusion process and required only low capital investment. They were not interested in weapon-grade production of material and did not ask any questions or for drawings for specially designed cascades for weapon-grade material. I informed Gen. J. Karamat; he agreed and gave me a go-ahead. I asked my people to prepare 20 outdated P-1 machines and gave them. Since they were working in the plant and were familiar with the P-2 machines, they asked for 4 of these too. I discussed the matter with the COAS and obtained his approval. After that I personally gave the remaining $ 2.5 million to Gen. Karamat in cash at the Army House to make up the whole amount. The senior engineers at Kahuta were responsible for the Korean’s movements and work. People at the plant were mixing with them every day and taking them around or discussing things with them. I was hardly there. I used to go to Kahuta for 3 or 4 hours to do administrative work and mostly spent the time in my office or with Brig. Behram who was making a launcher, which was our priority at the time. The Koreans took the machines in their own plane with which they were bringing missile parts for us. Security Staff was always present to check incoming and outgoing cargo. Even Dr. Mirza and Nasim Khan made some control panels and software packages and gave them. The Koreans had brought some UF6 gas for analysis, which we tested and found that it was not pure enough. They requested a few Kg of depleted gas for comparison purposes, which we gave them. Technically and monetarily it had no value. One could buy such a sample from abroad. One flowmeter was given to them as a sample. A flowmeter is an ordinary instrument in a UF6 plant. It is banned for Pakistan but available in the open market in Europe. They, in return, taught us how to make Krytrons (fast switches), which were banned items and are needed in nuclear weapons detonation. This was very valuable to us. After having been here for years, the COAS (Gen. Pervez Musharraf) desired that we should send the Koreans back immediately. They left within 3 days. After that we had no more contact with them. I left KRL on 31.3.2001 and that was that. As far as the destroying of any papers or gate passes is concerned, I only advised people not to keep any papers or records that could implicate Pakistan with transfer of technology or equipment to North Korea at any later stage. At that time there were various lobbies against Pakistan and I feared that these papers could, if falling into wrong hands, be used to implicate Pakistan. It was only meant as a precautionary measure. I have done nothing against the interests of Pakistan and whatever I did could not have resulted in proliferation of nuclear weapons. It was primarily meant to keep up our friendship with those countries that had been helping Pakistan from time to time. I would like to reiterate that I never - repeat never - ever put foot on Iranian or Libyan soil. In early 1989 Gen. Aslam Beg asked me if I could help the Iranians in enrichment technology so that they could also achieve nuclear capability. He was convinced that, if Iran had this capability, it would work as a shield between Pakistan on the one side and the U.S.A. and other Western countries on the other side and that these countries would then not be able to undertake any mischievous or adventurous action against Pakistan. I agreed in principle, but told him I could only do so with a go-ahead from the Government. When Gen. Imtiaz told me to do the needful, I did so as I knew he must have obtained clearance from the Prime Minister. So also was the case with Libya. Dr. Zafar Niazi told me that it had been cleared by the Prime Minister, upon which I took the necessary action.
The A Q Khan Report by Pakistan’s ISI
After hearing press complaints and information coming out from various sources after agreements, first by Iran and then Libya, to abandon their programmes of weapons of mass destruction, the Government of Pakistan took a very serious note of the allegations made by various international newspapers and media and started an intensive, thorough and aggressive investigation against a number of scientists and engineers who had anything to do with the production, assembling and testing of centrifuge components and machines as well as those responsible for the import and export of equipment and materials. The Director General of Security and the Director General of Maintenance and General Services were also detained for thorough investigation. The Principal Engineer of the Design Office, who had been abroad for 4 years, had just returned and was also detained. Similarly, the Director General Process Division who was responsible for keeping records of UF6 gas and the Director General Health Physics who kept the records of incoming natural gas and outgoing depleted gas, uranium metal etc. were also detained. The founding father of KRL, Dr. A.Q. Khan, was also interrogated 3 times for many hours by the DG ISI and the DG SPD. The investigation has yielded the following results:
1. When the organization was set up in mid 1976, a free hand was given to the Project Director to acquire each and everything through any means. There was a direct and imminent threat to Pakistan’s security and existence in the wake of the dismemberment of the country in 1971 and after the Indian nuclear test in 1974.
2. Gen. Ziaul Haq had openly proclaimed that to “beg, borrow or steal” was the policy of the day in the light of the imposition of stringent embargoes and restrictions on any nuclear-related materials and equipment to Pakistan.
3. Pakistan, being an under-developed country with no industrial infrastructure, had to buy each and every bit of material and piece of equipment surreptitiously from abroad in the open market and had to establish a network of cover companies within the country and outside to by-pass embargoes and import all the necessary items. Such companies were operating in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Singapore, the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, etc.
4. Since no industrial infra-structure was available within the country, production drawing of all the components of the centrifuge machines were sent to England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland etc. for the placing of orders for the thousands of components and equipment required in order to expedite the work, which was a race against time.
5. Dubai, having no customs formalities or restrictions and no financial impediments, was made the main operating centre. All the foreign suppliers (Dutch, British, French, Turkish, Belgian, Swiss, German etc.) were regularly coming to Dubai to discuss offers and orders. A company named Ben Belilah Enterprises BBE), owned by an Arab police officer, was introduced by Mr. A. Salam, a British national. BBE had a Sri Lankan Manager named Farooq. Salam and Farooq, both being Tamils, were good friends. Due to the frequent meetings between our experts and the foreign suppliers, sets of almost all the drawings were kept in Dubai in a flat that had been rented especially for this purpose so they wouldn’t have to be carried to and fro all the time.
6. Due to religious and idealogical affinity, Pakistanis had great affection for Iran. Former COAS, Gen. Aslam Beg was in favour of very close cooperation in the nuclear field in lieu of financial assistance promised to him towards Pakistan’s defence budget. Benazir Bhutto’s government came under a lot of pressure for cooperation and under this pressure and the decision/approval/directive of Gen. Imtiaz Ali, Adviser on Defence (including nuclear matters) to the Prime Minister, KRL gave some drawings and components to Iran for R & D work. The information given was by no means sufficient to enable Iran to establish even a small pilot plant, not to talk of a fully fledged centrifuge plant or produce nuclear weapons. The Iranians already had excellent contacts with European suppliers and they also started importing components and equipment through Dubai (Farooq). For some time there was close cooperation through Farooq. The Iranians wanted drawings etc. of valves, inverters, control panels, cascades etc. from Farooq and they gave him $ 5 million to help them in their efforts to acquire this information. Farooq gave some money to Dr. Niazi who had arranged the initial contact between him (Farooq) and the Iranians and some he transferred to his own accounts. Part of the money was put in an account in the fictitious name of Haider Zaman, which first Farooq and later on Tahir (Farooq’s nephew) and Dr. A.Q. Khan could operate. This account was opened personally by Farooq. Some of the money from this account was used by Tahir for payments etc. and some was donated for vaious social, educational and welfare projects undertaken by Dr. A.Q. Khan in Pakistan.
7. The Iranians needed some P-1 (early discarded model) components. They approached Tahir to request Farooq, an engineer in KRL, to send them these components. These were old components that were no longer being used by KRL and were not sufficient or adequate for the establishment of a small pilot plant or to produce nuclear weapons.
8. If it is true, but this is highly unlikely, that there were some traces of uranium in the Iranian facilities, there is just the remotest off chance that one or more KRL components inadvertently had traces of UF6 gas on them that had not been properly decontaminated before shipment.
9. Farooq (Sri Lanka) was the main contact with the Libyans through Dr. Niazi. He brought the suppliers in contact with them and gave copies of all the drawings etc. which Dr. A.Q. Khan had kept in Dubai for discussions with the suppliers. These drawings also included those of the device, as Dr. Khan was ordering components from England, Switzerland etc. His own old notes were also kept there for necessary use. Farooq and/or Tahir had access to the flat as they were maintaining it and they must have given copies of all the papers to the Libyans. The Libyans gave Farooq/Tahir $5 million, some of which they gave to Dr. Niazi, some they transferred to India, Singapore etc. and some was put in the account of the fictitious Haider Zaman. Some money from this account was used by Tahir for payments to suppliers etc. and some was again donated for social, welfare and educational projects in Pakistan run by Dr. Khan.
10. The Iranian affair was closed long ago, but the Libyans were trying to acquire components and equipment from abroad via Dubai either through Tahir or directly from other suppliers in Europe.
11. Whatever assistance was given was done in order to maintain friendly relations between the concerned country and us. It was never seriously believed this would lead to anything as they were scientifically and technologically backward countries unable even to establish a pilot plant of this nature or produce nuclear weapons.
12. It is most unfortunate that these things happened due to the peculiar nature of the circumstances and loose arrangements in those early days and because of the personal obligations of previous governments to these countries. There is a very strict command and control system now under the National Command Authority and nothing can be leaked out or taken away from any facilities any more. Fortunately, these happenings have not done irreparable damage to weapons control regimes and have awakened everyone all over the world to the danger of the vast underground network of western suppliers of this most sensitive and dangerous technology.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/16/aq-khan-report-isi/?intcmp=related#ixzz1Yz2sv04oLetter Written by Dr A Q Khan to His Wife
Darling,
If the government plays any mischief with me take a tough stand:
(1)You know we had cooperation with China for 15 years. We put up a centrifuge plant at Hanzhong (250km south-west of Xian). We sent 135 C-130 plane loads of machines, inverters, valves, flow meters, pressure gauges. Our teams stayed there for weeks to help and their teams stayed here for weeks at a time. Late minister Liu We, V. M. [vice minister] Li Chew, Vice Minister Jiang Shengjie used to visit us.
(2)The Chinese gave us drawings of the nuclear weapon, gave us kg50 enriched uranium, gave us 10 tons of UF6 (natural) and 5 tons of UF6 (3%). Chinese helped PAEC [Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, the rival organisation to the Khan Research Laboratories] in setting up UF6 plant, production reactor for plutonium and reprocessing plant.
(3) Probably with the blessings of BB [Benazir Bhutto] & Gen [Aslam] Beg , Gen Imtiaz asked Hashmi [a former colleague of AQK] & me to give a set of drawings and some components to the Iranians. We had no direct contact and we never sent anybody or received anybody. The names and addresses of suppliers were also given to the Iranians. [Note in margin] Gave these things through Dr Niazi [Bhutto family dentist and confidant, now dead]. Must have got money for it ($1 million).
(4) Gen Jehangir Karamat [still alive, chief of army staff 1996-8, sent by Musharraf as ambassador to U.S. 2004-2006] took $3 million through me from the N Koreans and asked me to give them some drawings and machines.
(5) We sold [conventional] weapons to Libya, Sudan and Malaysia. And sent [conventional] weapons to Bosnia. [Khan’s KRL plant also made anti-tank missiles and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.]
(6) There is proof of all this stashed somewhere safely which will be given to public and press.
Use Major Islam or Hashmi [former colleagues of A Q Khan] and get S M Zafar [lawyer of AQK] to take up these matters in court/public. Get in touch with Simon Henderson and give him all the details. Ask Henk [Slebos, part of Khan’s purchasing network in The Netherlands] to get a guy from Telegraaf and give him all the details. Tell them the bastards first used us and now playing dirty games with us.
Love you
Khantje [diminutive name used between Khan and his wife]
Get out quickly to Dubai with Tanya [grand-daughter who lives with them] for a while or leave Tanya with Ayesha [daughter who lives in Islamabad]. I believe they want to make me a scapegoat as Mr Wajid Shamsul Hassan (former HC [high commissioner] in London) had warned in an article (with Major Islam). They might try to get rid of me to cover up all the things (dirty) they got done by me in connection with Iran, Libya & N. Korea. This is just to forewarn you.
Dr A Q Khan
NI & Bar, HI
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/15/letter-written-by-aq-kahn-to-his-wife/#ixzz1Yz3pXRmj
General Jehangir Karamat’s Letter to Fox News
Dear Ms Browne,
Thank you for reaching out to me prior to your planned broadcast and website postings. I am sure that a prestigious news organization like the Fox News will satisfy themselves about the authenticity and credibility of sources, documents, letters, statements etc because many of these have been in circulation and have been changing hands for years even as new fabricated ones keep cropping up. There are obviously many motivations for this activity. None of the information that you have asked me to comment upon is new. It has all been published before in different formats and pertains to events almost fifteen years ago. The entire proliferation episode actually spans a much longer period with more than one country involved. The total episode was the subject of an exhaustive and thorough investigation before it was formally closed. The allegations and information surfacing now have to be seen in this overall context as regards their timing and motivation as well as coincidence with other currently ongoing situations----these aspects will inevitably be discussed. Having retired in 1998 I was not privy to the details of the proliferation episode and the final investigation report. I can only comment on the specific issues that concern me and are supposedly from ‘statements made during investigations’. The allegation that I accepted any payment from Dr Khan for letting him pass on material to North Korea is preposterous, false and a malicious fabrication. In fact if such an allegation has been made then it fully implicates Dr Khan in ‘one on one’ dealing with another country including receiving money. Where that money subsequently went (if it was paid) is speculation and no one persons word can be accepted especially if that person was actually involved in such matters over a prolonged period. I doubt that Dr Khan would put himself in such a position because it in no way clears him—it actually implicates him. I categorically deny this baseless allegation because I never asked Dr Khan to pass on to the North Koreans ‘drawings and machines’ related to uranium enrichment. As CGS I was not in a position to demand anything from Dr A Q Khan. He was neither my subordinate nor could I delay or sanction payments to him or anyone else. I had nothing to do with the payments or the program. I am also sure that a person of Dr Khan’s standing would not get into the business of carting around money in brief cases like a bagman. If any illegal demands were being made then those could, and should have been reported to my superiors because the CGS was never in the loop on matters pertaining to the nuclear program. I am not aware of the dealings between ‘Kang’ and Dr Khan or anyone else. I have no knowledge of the details of the North Korean program that are given in your note. I do know that as COAS I did not personally control any enrichment program and that GHQ never made payments of any sort to anyone. All contact was through designated staff and GHQ had nothing to do with contractual payments. There were never any ‘secret funds’. All contracts were between governments with laid down channels for payment—these could not be violated or circumvented. No contract with North Korea was signed during my tenure as COAS. Any material given or received outside the ongoing contracts by the person in charge of those materials was illegal. There was no reason for anyone to make any payment to me at Army House or anywhere else—no such payments were ever made because no transfer of material was ever authorized by me. The comments about the status of the North Korean program and the details given are something that I do not know about and therefore cannot comment upon. All this has been written about before and if you so desire I can try and locate that article and forward it to you. This probably pertains to a much later period 1999-2003 possibly so the question of anyone asking me for permission to transfer material does not arise. This never happened. I am not sure who is being indicated when it is said that ‘since they were working in the plant with P-2 machines’ but if it implies North Koreans then their presence was completely illegal and unauthorized. I would seriously question such an assertion. Finally let me say that as a rule I do not get into correspondence or discussion over such issues because no country would want its responsible people to publicly debate sensitive matters. I have given you my views frankly and I hope you will use this material judiciously.
With best wishes and regardsJehangir Karamat
But hold on Prasun....you still believe that Pak can't make Nuke's....(along with BR)....Because there are no pics of the bombs coming off the assembly lines in KRL or other places!!!! Oh dear, how can a nation makes bombs when it can't even make a bicycle chain. Just tell your boys in unform not to blink each time they see PA and you will know for sure.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@11.17PM: It is not about 'still believe', but rather about 'always believed'. And for those who still have their blinkers on, the coming weeks will be an eye-opener, rest assured, when USAF B-1Bs and B-2s will in all probability be unleashed over the skies of Pakistan. One could have got away by trying to raze to the ground the Indian Embassy in Kabul, but one cannot get away after trying to do the same to the US Embassy in Kabul.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@11.17PM: The best, however, is yet to come, as the latest revelations have proven that countries like Pakistan and Malaysia were hand-in-league in violating the UN-imposed arms embargo against rump Yugoslavia. Therefore, don't be surprised ifd some former national leaders of these two OIC member-states were to be charged with war-crimes in the near future.
ReplyDelete'when USAF B-1Bs and B-2s will in all probability be unleashed over the skies of Pakistan'
ReplyDeleteHow did you come to this conclusion?
They need Pak for transit of military cargo.They are their allies
This will make the muslim world hostile 2wards the US.
the US will lose any control over Afghanistan w/o Pak and these are usually preceeded by rhetoric.
The US has not yet warned the Govt of Pak or named the army cheif.
This certainly is very surprising
To Anon@12.29AM: Why should you conclude that just because of punitive US air strikes the US will loose all transit facilities for NATO supplies destined for Afghanistan? Do you really think that Pakistan's armed forces will dare to engage in strategic military defiance against NATO? All that the US wants to do is neutralise the Haqqani clan-led organisation through surgical air strikes and limited ground operations inside Pakistani territory and if this results in regime change (as the civilian politicians in Pakistan are ever willing to be bought over for as long as the US can reduce the bargaining powers and clout of the all-powerful Pakistan Army in the process), then so be it, for as long as the US can install a puppet govt in power. The PML-N is ever willing to depose the PPP-led coalition and will do anything to come to power so long as the Pakistan Army is reduced to a mere operational player, as opposed to the strategic player that it now is. As for the Muslim world being hostile as a consequence of US actions, when has the US really bothered about this possibility? Right now the Muslim Ummah is deeply divided among the Sunnis and Shias and both have their own troubled backyards to look after. The Iranians for one will deeply rejoice over any intrusive US military action within Pakistan as this will lead to an increase in Iran's influence in Afghan affairs, something even Russia and India can live with without any complaints. That then leaves only the Saudi-led Sunni grouping as the last diehard supporter of Pakistan and this too can be taken care of by the US by telling the Saudis in no uncertain terms that if there is any Arab opposition to US military operations inside Pakistan, then the winds of change emanating from the Arab Spring will surely be made to reach Saudi airspace in the very near future and could poossibly cause regime change of the types witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.I don't think the Saudis would like this prospect to become a reality and will therefore likely fall in line.
ReplyDeleteTo Mr.RA: "Obviously the nuclear capabilities of Pak666 were always humbug. They got it from the Red Dragon china."
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------Absolutely right! Otherwise how else does one explain all the money poured into Dr A Q Khan's quest for obtaining HEU, while the operational nuclear warheads are plutonium-based.
To Mr.RA: I had a chance encounter with the Malaysian Chinese tycoon--the late Tan Sri Eric Chea in 2006--one evening at a Hotel in Kuala Lumpur who was formerly the CMD of Perwaja Steel Co of Malaysia and towards his last years was wrongly accused and dragged to the court for the heavy financial losses sustained by Perwaja Steel throughout the 1990s. What he told me in confidence at that time was that if things really got worse for him, he would once and for all reveal that in the early 1990s it was the then Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had 'borrowed' about US$4.2 billion from Perwaja Steel (a government-linked company, or GLC) for financing the war effort of the Bosnian Muslims (by buying weapons made by Pakistan and Iran), money that was never returned back to the company.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Everything revolves around the breeding of centrifuge and HEU, but the end product is an albino child i.e. Plutonium.
ReplyDeleteI feel the China used Mr Bhopali Khan for obtaining some updated tech from the west to upgrade its own nuke arsenal stocks.
To Mr.RA: Precisely! Like obtaining uranium enrichment technology required for fuelling the n-reactors on board the Jin-class SSBNs and Shang-class SSNs.
ReplyDeleteThat tycoon must be correct, as those were the years of a global jihad against Yugoslavia and particularly against the Serbs.
ReplyDeleteEven Iran and US both got infamy for sending together the arms to Bosnian jihadist separatists. In US this was considered a second Contras. However with the oblivion of Yugoslavia, the things were suppressed and forgotten.
"Precisely! Like obtaining uranium enrichment technology required for fuelling the n-reactors on board the Jin-class SSBNs and Shang-class SSNs".
ReplyDeleteI think you must be correct if china had no better means. And it is the case of concise HE Uranium plant for the Subs. So these Subs should be named after AQ Khan.
There is one thing you gents forget. Power is taken, not given. Paks have the balls, to take what they need. From the day pak was made, with not a single armament depot in its territory, indians have hoped that somehow pak will break. or more recently that someone will break it for them. keep hoping.
ReplyDeletewar crimes eh :-) maybe whilst they are at it they will also charge you guys for the thousands of kashmiri's civilians found buried in un-marked graves in indian controlled kashmir?
Prasun pray tell me how USA engineered the arab spring? Do you have any idea what the arab street thinks of USA....ever talked to a vendor in Tunis, Marrakash, Cario? People power is here to stay in magrib and the larger ME and guess which side they are on?
Have you noticed how the pak relationship has gone with iran, russia and CIS recently? Are you guys even in the picture?
To Anon@3.19AM: There’s one thing you’re get mixed up with: don’t ever equate ‘taken’ with ‘stolen’. One reaps what one sows and that’s exactly how things are turning out. Pakistan doesn’t need India to cause its break-up—for it is already breaking up due to internal sectarianism. And aren’t you forgetting that along with the thousands of Kashmiri civilians buried in unmarked graves, there are another 5,000 non-Kashmiri foreigners hailing from Pakistan that are also lying buried in unmarked graves there, who were killed while trying to stoke sectarian clashes in J & K? I for one never said or claimed that the US had engineered or fathered the Arab Spring. And talking of ideas, have you ever spoken to an average Pakistani since 2005 and found out what he/she thinks about the prevailing socio-economic conditions inside Pakistan? As for Pakistan’s relations with Iran, Russia and the CIS, the lesser said the better, since the Iranians are ever willing to avenge the barbaric actions of the Jundullah, while the Central Asian Republics are ever willing to banish and dump their unwanted citizens (like the Uzbeks) into Pakistan—the only country which bothers to give asylum to such inhuman creatures.
ReplyDeleteExplain to me this:1947 Pakistan invaded India; 1967 pakistan Invaded India; in 1971 India ONLY made a move because of the atrocities committed by pakistani rulers in bangladesh and I was growing up in West Bengal so I know - pictures and stories from escaped refugees told the truth in unedited version and yet Pakistan always portrays India as the perpetrator, threats to its existence, and having absolutely No ethnic difference to the nation it once shared as home!Not only is this laughable but their paranoia is likened to the Mafia seeing the Law and order as the enemy.And strangely enough the same Islamic Republic of Pakistan that champions the cause of Islam (well make believe anyway) is actually responsible for the much maligned image of Islam because now people look at Islam and inevitably sees terrorism written under it.Like I always said a world without red capitalist China and Pakistan would make a much stable and peaceful world.
ReplyDeletesir, i believe India too has quite an interesting story behind its nuclear weapons program, in-between the CANDU reactor and Smiling Buddha. Would you please get into details of this? Or is it still buried? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNo one is in any doubt that the one and only Anonymous from a country where half the moon is blown up in a Nuclear accident is pretending to be people in this blog and trying to "break ceasefire " like his troops along the border!If you gotta say something don't pretend to be Prasun or someone else.
ReplyDeleteThe latest news is that US anger has
ReplyDeletereally LED to " BROWN Salwars" in the GHQ Rawalpindi
And Pakistanis are USING Back Channels To defuse the tensions
Pakistanis please understand that
THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AFTER
MAY 2 ,2011 When Osama WAS found in PAKISTAN
Now NO country WILL PROTEST IF
Pakistan is WHIPPED
The history and future of the world would have been much better and different, if India had somehow on any pretext and to any extent invaded Pakistan on 8th Jan 1980.
ReplyDeleteAlas! We do not have a time machine. Lol...
AQKhan is a traitor after all Pakistan gave him... why? his a qadiani fool
ReplyDeletemahathir supporting the bosniaks were due to influence by asshole chandra muzaffar. in 95 malaysia announced that it would not adhere to the embargo and send weapons to bosnia. the same line was persued by the oic. however i really doubt that any of the 4-odd billion was actually used for supplying the bosniaks with arms. i'm more inclined to believe mahathir swallowed the money... who knows... and could eric chea (who anyway was a corrupt and immoral man like the present vincent tan) have expected mahathir to pay back money taken for funding a war? lol
ReplyDeleteA case for Total Reorientation And Restructuring of the Pakistan*Army
ReplyDeleteBy:*Yasub Ali Dogar Brigadier(Rtd.)
I was born on 8th Dec 1946. My father Maj (Late) Mahbub Ali was then a Capt of 6/12 FFR seconded to the Indian Army Education Corps. Thus you can say that I was born in the Army, grew up in the Army and got educated at the Military Collage Jhelum. I got commission in 1965 soon after the 1965 war, at that time the brigade, division and the corps commanders had no responsibility other than the operational one or to look after the welfare of troops under command. The then Corps Commander, Lt Gen M M Attiqur Rahman had known 2/Lt Yasub Ali personally and knew what books he was reading as he had questions regarding that book on his subsequent visit. Similarly as late as 1978 the GOC Maj Gen Shamas ur Rahman Kallue knew every officer of his division personally. This personal knowledge is needed for the simple reason that the troops have to be led from the front and it is only possible when you have deep intimate knowledge about everyone in your command. During this period of over 45 years I have seen a gradual degradation of the operational preparedness, efficiency, integrity and welfare of the subordinates particularly of the soldiers. It would have further degenerated had this trend not been arrested by Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The credit goes to him to once again prioritize the wellbeing and welfare of soldiers. However the recent events have clouded that good work. The degradation of the military’s professionalism started off during the era of Gen Yahya Khan, was grossly accentuated during Gen Zia ul Haq’s period of 11 years and reached its’*climax in Gen Musharraf’s decade long rule. Since then over a period of time the Pakistan Army has become unwieldy, over staffed by general officers and has been moving away from its core responsibility of defending the Nation. Now a day’s a corps or a division commander would be involved in some or all of the following activities at the time and cost of operational preparedness of his command.
*(DHA at all major military garrisons.
*Logistics Areas i.e. which control the static installations which were under GHQ before 1977 were placed under command corps during Gen Zia’s period.
*Garrison schools in the cantonments and admission for Army Public Schools/Garrison Academy’s.
*Looking after the Station/Services/Garrison clubs
*Golf courses /polo grounds which are mostly played by officers.
*Managing shopping centres like the Fortress Stadium, petrol pumps and a host of other commercial activities.
In short the corps/division commanders are doing most of the above tasks at the cost of their own primary responsibilities of keeping their commands operationally sound. This unfortunate trend to get involved in non-operational matters finally led to failures like the Abbottabad incident. An effort has been made to single out major problem areas and recommendations have been made to rectify them.
Problem Area and Recommendations
ReplyDeleteOperational Commands: The corps, divisions or brigades should not have any station or administrative responsibilities. They should just concentrate on their operational roles. All other aspects may be looked after by other organizations/HQs within the Pak Army.
The Logistic Areas: They should fall under the GHQ with control over CMH’s, supply depots, ordinance depots and all other static installations. Similarly all APS/Garrison schools be placed under the HQ Logistics Area and monitoring responsibility be that of GSO 1 (Education) at the HQ Logistics Area.
Corruption: There have been reports of corruption at higher level without any accountability e.g. the NLC scandal. It is clear that a corrupt leadership cannot lead*troops in the field to give the supreme sacrifice of their lives.
Austerity and Simplicity: Simple and austere living should be the hall mark of Defence Services, they should be an example for the entire nation. Palatial messes, ornately decorated offices and excessive expenditures on entertainment from official funds are not keeping with Islamic or that matter military traditions. Similarly move Sanction to attend marriages and private functions should be ruthlessly cut down.
Restructuring of the Army: Over a period of time the Pakistan Army has become too big for peace time and too small for a war with our main adversary. We need to find our solution in a military system like that of Switzerland, Sweden or Israel. The size of the Army can be safely reduced by 25% by adopting a hybrid system of mobilization suited for our requirements.
Organizational Restructuring: In certain sectors the Division HQs may be reduced to the level of a Tactical Headquarters and huge paraphernalia of administrative services saved or merged in Logistics/Sub Areas. It is understood that France, Italy and even Turkey have removed one of the echelons i.e. either Brigade or Division HQ. I suggest merging the Corps HQs and Division HQs. The concept of a pentangular organizational structure may be examined for adoption in the Army instead of the present triangular one. This entails having five brigade groups of five battalions each. Lahore/Sialkot Corps areas can be looked after by one such Combat HQ each. The strength ratios for other sectors can be worked out separately. There is no requirement for a division HQ in such a setup. The pentangular organizational structure is already in place to an extent in 10 Corps. Cadrize one battalion in each brigade within holding divisions. Cadre. Cadrize the fourth infantry company in a Battalion. Even the last bastion of the British orthodoxy, the British Army has only three infantry companies in a battalion now. Quetta has the largest number of General Officers in Pakistan after Rawalpindi. A senior officer is also a catalyst for development in his area as because of his seniority he can pull lots of developmental efforts in his direction. By sending the two GOCs to Loralai and Khuzdar and creating a ‘Mekran Military District’ at Turbat, half the Balochistan problems will be solved besides achieving much better interaction with local population.
ReplyDeleteSpecial Forces: It is the future of warfare, properly employed they yield results out of proportion to their numbers. At least one commando battalion can be created in every infantry division.
Wastefull Organizations: Artillery Divisions, HAT, LAT in particular referring to the HAT and LAT battalions. If you recall that till the reorganization of the 60’s the Anti-Tank Regiments were part of the Corps of Artillery. The Infantry should have only two components i.e. the Light Infantry or the Mechanized Infantry. The remaining nomenclatures are just semantics. I visualize the anti-tank assets presently held with the LAT battalions be handed over to other infantry battalions of the formation thus augmenting their anti-tank resources. These units should be converted to light commando battalions on the pattern of US Rangers battalion in every division. Similarly the HAT elements if required to operate independently may be reorganized into independent companies to be attached with independent brigade groups.
Balochistan: Quetta has the largest number of General Officers in Pakistan after Rawalpindi. A senior officer is also a catalyst for development in his area as because of his seniority he can pull lots of developmental efforts in his direction. By sending the two GOCs to Loralai and Khuzdar and creating a ‘Mekran Military District’ at Turbat, half the Balochistan problems will be solved besides achieving much better interaction with local population.
Teeth to Tail Ratio: Maximum manpower of Army, Navy and PAF should be converted into teeth. Israeli Army IDF’ ratio may be taken as an example. It is felt that we have a very heavy tail employing a large number of officers and men on administrative tasks at the cost denuding these resources from operational tasks. The large Army in waiting for a war in EME, S & T, and Medical units may be reduced. As an Independent Brigade Commander, I had almost 200 strong Infantry Workshop Company (EME) doing the job what 10-15 persons would be doing in the private sector. Similarly huge establishment of RV & FC needs new challenges in not becoming an unnecessary burden in this modern era. Most of their present tasks can be better performed by the private sector. Similarly, you may consider doing away with the ‘Ghori Paal Murabba’ and other such schemes, which are of no operational consequence and instrument of oppression for the allotted.
Manpower Issues: GHQ should be right sized, 50% officers and staff should be cut down to be employed the field areas. Over a period of time it has become a dumping place for officers wanting to settle down in Rawalpindi/Islamabad area. A lean and thin organization will always produce better results that a overstaffed one and at the same time not suffer from confusion created by too many officials.
ReplyDeleteThe ISI: It also needs to be reduced to a size where quality and efficiency should be criteria for stay. It should not become a repository of officers waiting to serve in Islamabad & Rawalpindi.
Down Grading of Appointments: A large number of appointments were upgraded in last 10 years to appease senior officers. They should be brought down to a natural level.
Civil Armed Forces.Deployment of CAF for IS duties: The CAF’s were taken out of their primary role of border surveillance and put on IS duties in Sindh. Additional troops were raised subsequently as the requirement kept on growing. Later their role in this field was extended in Punjab also. A large number of Army officers commanding troops in such roles have to do ‘public dealing’ like the police or magistracy for which they are neither trained nor required to do so. The recent cases in Karachi and Quetta are indicative of our own ill-preparedness for such roles. It is felt that with raising of additional ‘Elite Police Force’ the CAF’s can go back to their traditional role of guarding the Nation’s frontiers.
HQ CAF’s: There is no coordinating HQ for the CAF’s in Pakistan unlike the BSF in India. To have a uniform policy, guidelines and interaction with Ministry of Interior and GHQ the HQ CAF may be raised. It was under rasing in 1977 with Major General Amir Hamza as the 1st*Commander when the Martial Law was proclaimed by General Zia-ul-Haq. Both this HQ and FSF were disbanded.
Officers Deputation to CAFs: There should be 2 streams, 1st after 5 years of service in the Army followed by permanent absorption in CAF Cadre 2nd after approximately 17 years of service in Army for officers who do not make the grade in the Army but still have potential for a 2nd line service.
PAF/Navy Officers Induction to CAF: Regular officers of the other Services may also be given an option to serve in the CAFs. These Officers particularly with SSG training can act as value aided asset.
Deputation in ANF: The arrest of 2 Majors in Lahore for the murder of an under trial person is a clear indication of the Army’s unpreparedness for such roles. As I was the persons who raised the ANF Punjab, I am fully aware of the pitfalls these officers were exposed to and at one time even recommended either their permanent absorption in the ANF cadre or its handing over to the Police officers who are trained for such jobs. It may also be borne in mind that a large number of Army officers in ANF are exposed to dealing with foreigners (Drug Liaison Officers) on daily basis which needs to be avoided at all costs.
Federal Security Force (FSF): It was raised by the late Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in early seventies but was disbanded by the Martial Law regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 being considered as forces countering the Army. Such a force maybe re-raised to take the burden of internal security from the Army and the CAF’s.
Training Institutions
ReplyDeleteJoint Services Staff College: All Services Staff Colleges may be combined at Quetta. There is no justification for separate staff colleges particularly the Naval war College at Lahore.
Concentration of Training Institutions: Almost all Training Institutions are within 100 miles of Rawalpindi. Even the Baloch Regimental and EME Centres which were in Quetta were brought near Rawalpindi being nearer to an area from where most of the Officers Corps hailed. I trust you will take cognizance of this and move some of the Training Institutions from heavily saturated Cantonments i.e. Abbottabad and Nowshera etc. to interior Sindh and Balochistan. This will ensure better interaction and economic growth for local population.
Training Centres: Finish off the recruit training at the Training Centers. This measure alone will liberate 6 x Infantry Brigades, 1 x Armour/Artillery/Engineer Brigades which is almost a Corps size strength locked in them. The ‘Record’ functions could go to the respective Directorates. The training could be at the formation battle schools and the advance one at respective schools of instructions. Advanced countries like Germany and France cannot afford the luxury of the Training Centers.
Nation Building Role: Army should take pride in having a permanent role in nation building activities in inaccessible areas of Baluchistan, NWFP, Sindh, AK and Gilgit-Baltistan areas by earmarking at least one third of its elements like Engineers, Signals and EME etc. for this purpose. Besides FWO and NLC, even active formations’ elements may participate in such ventures. It is time it undertakes projects like the Gwadar Railway Link and Quetta-Zhob- DI Khan Railway Link Projects.
Cantonments Structure: We have allowed our Cantonments to become a mixture of civilian areas, semi military, military and unit areas. There is no security as civilian population and military personnel are living next to each other. This trend should finish, military garrisons should be military garrisons and nothing else. In some of the cantonments particularly Karachi, the accommodation between the 3 Services is being shared in a most haphazard manner. There is a requirement to have clear Army, Navy or PAF areas. One suggestion is to move the Navy towards Korangi and Saddar, the PAF may take over along Drig Road including Karsaz and Army could be east of Karsaz towards Malir.
Army Housing Schemes: Welfare projects like Army Housing Schemes may go to the Army Welfare Trust or Fauji Foundation, which could also act as a source of employment to the retired army personnel. The rank based housing/plot schemes should be finished. It has created more heart burning and polarization within the ranks of the Pak Army than be a source of welfare.
NLC: It should be only in transportation of goods, all other aspects may be closed down. There is no need to duplicate functions of FWO e.g. road construction or infrastructure development. Only retired officers should be employed.
Fauji Foundation: A Board of Management composed of ex Chairmen JCSC with 3 ex-Chiefs of Services should manage its affairs. Besides the services being provided in the medical, education, vocational training, it should gradually move away to manufacture of vehicles, arms, munitions & equipment required by the Armed Forces. The ‘Turkish Askari Foundation Model may be followed.
AWT/Bahria/Shaheen Foundations: 3 x ex-Chiefs of respective services should govern their affairs with of Board of 3 to 4 senior most retired officers to assist them. They may be asked to move into manufacture of goods & items required by the respective service as the first priority.
DHAs: They should be placed under the DCOAS. No serving officer should serve in them. The rules and regulations for any wrong doing by any one should be made very stringent so that these Institutions cannot be allowed to be used for any personal gains.
Militarization of Civilian Posts: Militarization of civilian posts i.e. DML & C (Director Military Lands & Cantts) and CMES (Commander Military Engineering Services) should stop as it has not improved anything. Instead cadre based officials should be selected on merit to give their best to the Defence Services.
ReplyDeleteDe-centralization: Quetta has the largest number of General Officers in Pakistan after Rawalpindi. A senior officer is also a catalyst for development in his area as because of his seniority he can pull lots of developmental efforts in his direction. By sending the two GOCs to Loralai and Khuzdar and creating a ‘Mekran Military District’ at Turbat, half the Balochistan problems will be solved besides achieving much better interaction with local population.
Special Forces: It is the future of warfare, properly employed they yield results out of proportion to their numbers. At least one commando battalion can be created in every infantry division without any additional expenditure by changing the role of LAT Bn.
Human Resource Quality: MS Branch needs to open up and not work as a secret service agency. Its working has created a lot of disgruntlement in our officers’ lot. It should adjust its attitude towards officers so that they are able to give their best till the last day of their service. A survey may be taken of all Cols and above about how much time they have spent in and around 100 miles of Islamabad/Rawalpindi. They should all be posted out to the field commands. At the lower ranks the usefulness of JCOs in Command appointments maybe re-examined. Whereas they could stay in administrative appointments, more NCOs could be directly commissioned to command platoon/troops at comparatively younger age (35-40 years maximum). This will have a blend of efficiency while keeping avenues open for promotion in the lower ranks.
Officers Messes: The concept of officers’ mess maybe re-examined. We are trying to live a post-colonial life, which was by no means ours. The mess staff on the TO & E of units may be converted into more useful categories. All differences between the feeding of men and officers should finish particularly in the field.
Ceremonial Guards: Should finish off except at the residence of the senior most General officer in a Military Garrison. There should be a ceiling on the total number of persons working in a Flag Staff House.
Allotment of Plots/Agricultural Land: It should be done only after the retirement notice has been served or maximum 6 months before retirement. Only 1 plot per officer, remaining all through ballot including commercial plots.
Border Lands Committee: It had lost its purpose decades back, with 95% of the border belt in private ownership it is just a tool of oppression for the hapless citizens who fell afoul of the prevailing system.
Accommodation: Repairs and renovation expenditure of senior officers, brigadiers and above’s accommodation should be made transparent and auditable.
To Anon@12.36: The details are indeed most interesting and are by no means buried. Watch the documentary WAR & PEACE by Anand Patawardhan (available in DVD) in which the interviews of the late Dr Raja Ramanna and Dr P K Iyengar explain everything.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@4.58PM: Malaysia stopped supplying weapons to the Bosnian Muslims after the UN arms embargo came into effect, but continued to provide funds for buying weapons. That is the reason why after the civil war ended and there were still leftover funds in the hands of Pakistan, Pakistan had proposed that instead of refunding the money it would like to pay back in kind, it was decided that the Malaysian Army would receive supplies of Anza Mk1 MANPADS and Baktar Shikan ATGMs from KRL. And that's exactly how things turned out to be.
ReplyDeleteOnce the US & NATO forces are preparing to leave Afghanistan, the Pak-ISI-Arab-Taliban axis is coming out more and more in to open. Northern alliance is going to be their first target.
ReplyDeleteTo Mr.RA: But the far bigger issue is this: Pakistan is now in breach of post-9/11 UN resolution 1368 on terrorism. How will the world react to this? And what are India's contingency plans if indeed limited war breaks out between the US and Pakistan? Are the PMO and South Block capable of having the balls reqd for taking pragmatic and decisive actions when they're needed most?
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat does he mean when he says "By 1984 we had conducted successful cold tests and had manufactured all components for 30 nuclear devices."
Does that mean that they had 30 nuclear devices (uranium) by 1984? imagine if there had been a war then....would that have really allowed them to destroy 20-30 indian cities?
This situation is neither new nor unique for Pakistan. They had been through such rituals for the past 666+154 and some more years and so far they have successfully survived.
ReplyDeleteThis time only difference is that their survival is not visible on the cards. So their only problem will be their survival and this problem will get erased once they no more survive.
However before that they will as usual try to put the innocent and ignorant looking poker face, which will not be believed by anybody.
Our leaders may not have any courage to do anything extra from our side except for their normal duties and steps against the global terrorism. Even such half-hearted actions may be construed as attack on their Sovereignty by the ChinoPak axis. This may put brakes on US/NATO and India may be isolated and may take its own time to retaliate as the situation further develops.
In nutshell, US will react, India will take only normal safety measures, ChinoPak will construe it as Indian attack on them, ChinoPak may make undue advances, US becomes inactive, India under duress and retaliates.
Is this a price worth paying?
ReplyDeleteBrian Cloughley
In the course of research for a paper on US-Pakistan relations I came across a speech given by President Obama in March this year, titled ‘A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan’. It was interesting and quite informative, if misguided and engagingly ingenuous, but the fascinating sentence that leapt from the page to my astonished eyes was the declaration that “The United States of America did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan.”
It’s a bit like being told “Hitler didn’t cause World War Two”, or reading a newspaper headline such as “Republican Politician Tells Truth” or “Gaza is Earthly Paradise.” But the Obama assertion was even further removed from reality.
Nobody grabbed America’s collective nose and ordered it to send special forces to go to Afghanistan’s Tora Bora region on October 7, 2001, along with a few dozen British colleagues and a now-rich bunch of raggy baggy Afghan warlords who took millions of CIA dollars in enormous shrink-wrapped bundles and then sat down on their money and did nothing. The prime mover in that farce (for such it was, alas, in spite of instances of exceptionally courageous conduct by US and British soldiers; I have had a first-hand description of the operation, but alas can’t recount it because of the UK’s Official Secrets Act), was the White House.
The pathetic Blair of Britain followed in his usual fashion, desperate to have bonding photographs taken alongside the grinning Bush.
It was most certainly the United States of America that chose to invade Afghanistan. And it was the United States that manipulated the United Nations Security Council into a resolution that seemed to give justification for its unwinnable war.
Two researchers in the British House of Commons have produced a paper titled ‘The Legal Basis for the Invasion of Afghanistan’. These analysts are not bleeding-heart liberals; they are intelligent, independent assessors of fact. And they wrote:
“The military campaign in Afghanistan was not specifically mandated by the UN -there was no specific Security Council Resolution authorising the invasion – but was widely (although not universally) perceived to be a legitimate form of self-defence under the UN Charter.”
The whole thing was a con-job. And dozens of nations were summoned to give it a slimy veneer of quasi-legitimacy. They were all duped – or chose to be manoeuvred – into committing blood, young lives and treasure to the preposterously named “Operation Enduring Freedom.”
While writing this piece I went to the website icasualties and saw that yet more young foreign soldiers had been killed. Boys of 19 and 20 are dying in Afghanistan for...for what? There are no names of Afghan soldiers, of course, because they don’t matter to the West – any more than the deaths of Pakistani soldiers matter to Western politicians and generals who demand that “Pakistan must do more to combat terrorism.” What they mean is that even more soldiers of the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps should sacrifice their lives in order to make it easier for the West to claim that things are improving in its Afghan debacle.
ReplyDeleteHad there been no invasion of Afghanistan by foreign troops, Pakistan would not be in the dreadful situation in which it now finds itself. The fanatics came over the border and found sanctuary amid the lawless but culturally hospitable tribes, which at that very time were being encouraged, with signs of modest success, to join mainstream Pakistan. But the displaced militants began energetic campaigns of propaganda and hatred, and then wreaked havoc by brainwashing home-grown barbarians to develop their own brand of evil mayhem.
Pakistan had no suicide bombings until 1995 when an Egyptian citizen tried to drive a bomb-truck into his embassy in Islamabad. There were no other attacks until 2005, when there were two, by sectarian religious fanatics. But then the foreigners’ war in Afghanistan really got going, and in 2007 there were over 50 suicide attacks in Pakistan, most of which directly targeted military forces. Since then it’s been a hideous growth industry. Last year 50 bombings killed over 1100 people, and so far this year the score is 500 dead innocents. Thank you, Operation Enduring Freedom. And thank you, too, America, for the deaths of over 3,000 soldiers of the army and Frontier Corps, because none of them would have been killed were it not for your war in Afghanistan.
Kabul’s fraudulently elected government and its supporting foreign forces whine about Pakistan being unable to control movement of militants to and from Afghanistan, and certainly it is impossible to do this – as the US well knows but won’t admit. Across its own fenced and heavily patrolled border with Mexico, which costs an annual six billion dollars to maintain and has over 20,000 border agents, pass hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every year.
Ignoring its own backyard cross-border shambles, the US demands that Pakistan commit its soldiers to invade North Waziristan to fight militants who – undoubtedly – cross the border to Afghanistan to fight there.
This operation – or, rather, long series of operations, because it would take years – would require some 60,000 soldiers, of whom a thousand would be killed in a two-year campaign. There would be at least 3,000 Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps soldiers wounded, with hundreds of them maimed for life. There would be thousands of widows, orphans and grieving parents and families.
ReplyDeleteThe aim of the US and its dwindling number of international supporters in Afghanistan is not further stability in Pakistan – because a North Waziristan military operation would mightily increase the numbers of suicide and other attacks throughout the country. Their objective is to make it easier for them to claim that their war is going well, as part of President Obama’s ‘New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.’
Does Pakistan think this is a price worth paying?
Currently the US is threatening to invade Pakistan rather than endorse ongoing negotiations with militants in Fata. The intention was made clear when defence secretary Panetta, referring to Pakistan’s supposed support of militant operations in Afghanistan, declared that “We’re not going to allow these types of attacks to go on.”
I’ve got news for Panetta. - If he imagines the Pakistan Army will be a pushover like the Iraqis, he should think again. If US forces attempt an invasion of North Waziristan they will meet reaction not only from militants but from an army which will not accept flagrant violation of national sovereignty. I know the Pakistan Army, and I state flatly that man-for-man it will hammer any opponent, no matter if the skies are horizon-filled with US bombers.
Does America think this is a price worth paying?
To Anon@2.09AM: If indeed 26 n-devices and their fissile materials were ready by 1984, why then did China, according to Dr A Q Khan's own admission, gift Pakistan 50kg of enriched uranium for two n-devices? The only logical answer to this is that there was ZILCH made by KRKL or PAEC by then and therefore help was sought from China, which not only obliged with gissile materials, but also the blueprint for a nuclear gravity bomb. The problem then faced by Pakistan was that such a n-bomb could be dropped only by PAF-operated C-130Hercules transport aircraft. Such a bomb was fabricated by the PAEC only by 1989.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@2.26AM: In case you don't know who the Haqqanis are, here's something to update your database: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2476841.ece?homepage=true
And FYI there are several more options on the table than the one suggested by you, i.e. deploying Indian soldiers in Afghanistan. Think harder.
To Anon@2.40AM: And I got some news for Brian Cloughley: for as long as the problem (Pakistan) is treated as being part of the solution, any war in Afghanistan will be unwinnable. Secondly, despite all the global protestations, the average Afghani does not view OP Enduring Freedom as an invasion, but as a war of liberation. Lastly, no one is talking about taking on the Pakistan Army head-on, but rather undertaking punitive surgical strikes throughout North Waziristan in a way that will push this region back to the stone age. That's what was conveyed to Gen Musharraf in September 2001, and that's exactly what is being reiterated this time.
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteThe reason i asked about the 26 bombs was because you are taking one part of his article as gospel but avoiding the other part, which disagrees with your long held view. My understanding is that the chinese gave the material much earlier than 1984. Dr Khan was on the programme since 1979 and interacting with the chinese. It also explains gen Zia's remark during the cricket diplomacy to Rajiv, along the lines of...we will destroy your cities if you dare to take one inch or pakistan.
One thing that this article has done is made pak realise how much of a friend china is. Its a pity our two counties would have been friends, but for Kashmir...
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat you have to realise is that NW is already in the stone age. So what will you bomb there.
I am going to make you think here:
Can you tell me the distance between NW and Kabul, as crow flies? Now multiply that by 5 to get the distance a haqqanni would travel to get to kabul, through the mountains, valleys, USA, ANA check points. Now answer this, Why can't NATO and the super power apprend these befoe they get to their targets?
Believe me when i tell you India has no options in Afghanistan apart from being uncle sam's tail. You have no standing in Afghanistan and never will. Look what you did to iran...for a promise of nuke energy you spat in their face. The whole of the ME, Central Asia knows this and learns that the old stories of indians are indeed still true.
Afghans also know that pak will do what they need to survive, but at the same time no amount of money will amke them handover their allies, their blood brothers. And this Prasun earns respect, standing and awe even in the eyes of enemies. Pak and Afgani's are basic societies where honour and standing counts far more than money.
To Anon@3.20AM: As I had tried to explain earlier (even in my previous blog), Pakistan first tried the HEU route but gave up because of the sheer weight of the gravity n-bomb, for which the only available nuclear delivery system then available to the PAF was the C-130 Hercules. Therefore, whether Pakistan had 26 or 226 n-devices makes no difference since the delivery system--C-130 Hercules--was highly vulnerable to interception by the IAF. This then brings us to the second option left for Pakistan: acquire ballistic missiles like the M-9 & M-11 from China and the Al Zulfiqar/Ghauri-1 from DPRK. Now, since these missiles had much smaller warheads using plutonium, and were not vulnerable to interception, they were seen by Pakistan as being the perfect n-deterrent. The question that therefore arises is: where is the plutonium going to come from (since KRL was producing only HEU and PAEC's plutonium-production reactors were not yet ready before 2000), and where will be warhead design or fully fabricated warheads come from? This is where Dr A Q Khan fails to provide any answers simply because he was not in the loop and all activity on plutonium-based warheads was being jointly undertaken by PAEC and China. And since Pakistan was unable to produce plutonium till 2001, where did the 'albino' plutonium and warhead designs come from for the May 1998 n-tests? The answer is obvious, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@3.20AM: "Its a pity our two counties would have been friends, but for Kashmir..."
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------
My dear ol'chap, Pakistan's compulsive hostility towards India has nothing to do with Kashmir. Just read the school textbooks on Pakistan's version of history, and Nagam Sethi's critique of such textbooks and you will realise the reasons behind such unabashed compulsive hostility.
Ok Brian is wrong...now why would pak help USA when its interest are not taken into account? What do they get out of it?
ReplyDeleteAnother factor is free Pak media didn't exist in 2001, now its everywhere, 10's of different channels, competing, questioning and blaming. The public has no love for the taliban, but they still donate to them in every village, city of pak...because they think of afghans as brothers fighting for their right. Paks are returning a favour the afghans gave them and they will return it when paks needs it. Many paks also go and fight in afghanistan, there are many different reasons for this...but one of the big reasons is simply because they like fighting....warriors are respected in the society and have standing. This is case why men join pak army.
Brian understands this...
US has done most of the things correctly so far in the war against terrorism. They even correctly invaded Iraq, but this was their only fault. If they had attacked Pakistan in place of Iraq, then by now all the problems would have got flattened.
ReplyDeleteYou are still behind the curve Prasun!Why were the text books written as such, in the first place? Want me to tell you when those text books were written?
ReplyDeleteDon't look at the symptons....look at the cause!
What do you think will happen to the symptons when the cause goes?
To Anon@3.39AM: How's talking about India's options in Afghanistan? Not me, for sure. I'm more concerned about the regional scenario. Unlike Pakistan, India's regional geo-strategy for Central Asia is not Afghanistan-centric. Nor, it seems, are you able to comprehend the dynamics behind India-Iran realtions. And as dor Pakistanis and Afghanis being "basic societies where honour and standing counts far more than money," pray shower such sanctimonious platitudes on those elements of the Pakistan Army who have enriched themselves since October 2001 by collecting the CIA-origin bounties! Today, it's all about money, be it about the poppy-fields nurtured by the Taliban, or the brazen duplicity of the Afghan warlords and Pakistan's ruling elite that perpetuates the existence of a fuedal society. All this hype about "blood brothers, respect, standing and awe" begins and ends with Rambo 3-type movies, so spare me your preachings.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@3.51AM: "The public has no love for the taliban, but they still donate to them in every village, city of pak...because they think of afghans as brothers fighting for their right."
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------
That's not what the world has been seeing for the past decade. Have you seen in Al Jazeera how the Baluchis and Punjabis beat the crap out of the Afghan refugees in Quetta or Lahore?
To Anon@3.56AM: Both the symptoms and cause are an internal creation of Pakistan and one cannot use them as a pair of crutches and pass the buck.
To Anon@3.51AM: Pakistan had enough time to negotiate with the Afghans before and after 1996 to redraw the international borders and replace the Durand Line. How can the US be held responsible for Pakistan's failure to do so and its inability or unwillingness to secure its national interests when the opportunities had existed?
ReplyDeleteActually (hatf II - IV), Ghauri and Ghaznavid both could take the uranium wareheads and at the time India had no means to intercept or detect them (unlikely that they do so now). They were delivery mechanisms, though rudimentry. That is why I say you are incorrect to say Pak did not have (uranium) nukes. Plutonium is another story...and now we seem to be making more than what we need :-(.
ReplyDeleteLike i said before we are a people who know how to get parity even though we don't even make a bicycle chain ;-)
In the matters of Pakistan, there is no dialectical relationship between the terms symptoms and cause. In Pakistan the cause and symptoms were fused together since many hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@4.16AM: "Actually (hatf II - IV), Ghauri and Ghaznavid both could take the uranium wareheads"
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------
Really? Try telling that to the North Koreans, who too had by the 1990s invested in plutonium reprocessing in order to make the warhead small and light enough to fit onto the Nodong-1/Ghauri-1. A bit of 'revelation' for you now regarding plutonium: yes, production is underway inside Pakistan, but not reprocessing. All plutonium-based fissile materials produced inside Pakistan is ferried by the likes of Shahine International to Maniyang in Sichuan province, where the reprocessing takes place. That is China's way of controlling n-weapons proliferation.
You have logically at every point and with details exposed all the nefarious and diabolical nuke activities of Pak.
ReplyDeleteActually the logic's and evidences cease to be working with Pakistan in any manners, otherwise the partition would have never occurred at the first place.
To Mr.RA: You're spot on! Logical reasoning and common sense are the rarest of the rare virtues, it would seem. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteI still am not answered by our devoted pakistani Anon. If India is such as aggressor why then it was Pakistan that attacked India in the three wars that were fought - plus Kargil and the conatant ISI sponsored terrorism in India?Why always talk about India taking an inch and yet Pakistan apparently deserves the whole country within India?India and the entire subcontinent were peaceful people and a great civilisation which is why"Islam " saw an opportunity and invaded and ruined the nation for ever. Like I said before, my family were having breakfast looking at the famous Howrah bridge when Pakistani radio broadcast in bangladesh said the PAF just bombed the bridge to ruins!It's idealists like you who believe in tall tales that keep the corrupt regime of Pakistan going year after year.If there were more people like you in the USSR the whole Soviet block would never have collapsed.I guess if it was people ike you who built the Berlin wall you would justify it;Pakistani obsession with India is identical to the Arab world's obsession with Israel.I can tell you that Israel is restrained by the US otherwise the Islamic bomb and bomb factories would be cleaned up any day, any time and India wouldn't even have to move a muscle to do anything.Be patriotic by all means but do not justify falsehood by blaming others for your own errors.With 75% people illiterate living in stone age conditions it is a joke to talk about valour, pride and honour.With all the stuff crammed up the rear no wonder the crap is huge and the stink everywhere.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@5.58AM: Two years ago an AL JAZEERA documentary on rural poverty in Pakistan showed how the wealthy Zamindars in Punjab were distributing opium to the farm labourers, since apparently these Zamindars were unable to make cash disbursements as daily wages. Dunno if the situation has gotten better or worse.
ReplyDeleteWell Prasun I can't imagine it getting any better.Pakistani blame gameand national obsession can be perfectly illustrated by this example in my own home:my wife's uncle and family lived like parasites, did no work and always assumed everything my father in law earned is theirs.In fact this uncle produced 8 kids, 34 grand kids and 8 or 9 great grand kids and counting all living off welfare and on land given to them by his unfair parents who themselves lived off my father in law due to being alcoholics.Yet not only this guy claims everything we have is and should be his familiy's he is constantly sabotaging farm equipment and stealing cattle to justify his claim.Family row - yes - but escalate it into a bigger picture and there you have it!
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@9.15AM: Shit indeed happens!!! You have my very best wishes for all your future endeavours.
ReplyDeleteWhich country has the highest number of suicides commited by its farmers?
ReplyDeleteWhich country has more people below the UN poverty line then the whole of the sun-saharan African Content?
...and you talk of some farmer giving drugs to his labourer as standard. very logical indeed.
US freezes all the aid to pakistan (times of india), but i can't see these news in bbc/cnn or any pak media have published on this, does US has taken this v careless on pak,
ReplyDeleteDoes Shurya's(missile) way is cleared due to this success test .
I have read through the comments and i see how Prasun's beat has changed from post #2 to the end. Prasun read this article: it will explain to you how we Paks do business:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/world/asia/pakistanis-tied-to-2007-attack-on-americans.html
pay attention to this para:
"American officials familiar with Pakistan say that the attack fit a pattern. The Pakistanis often seemed to retaliate for losses they had suffered in an accidental attack by United States forces with a deliberate assault on American troops, most probably to maintain morale among their own troops or to make a point to the Americans that they could not be pushed around, said a former American military officer who served in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. "
Like i have been trying to get you to see...money may make paks/afghans happy for a while but they will never forget and always get their own back, regardless of who the opponent is.
Pak is not constrained by ur mindset. It is the reason why they punch above their weight and will continue to do so....its in the blood! Forget any indian influence in CIS or ME, pak stands in the way. Even russia understands this and made sure that no indian bases exist in CIS....because that country would then become a target for you know who :-)
Outside of your immediate borders you guys have no influnce...Mayanmar, Bangla, Sri lanka and now Nepal....which way have they been going? are indians even liked, respected there....?
An artical by Bruce Riedel:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=9127&Cat=13
It seems to indicate that the nuke production is completely in Paks control....he should know as he is the advisor to obama...or is Prasun intelligence better?
or is logic very rare indeed?
Pitripakchha is over. The global focal contradictions have consolidated to their heights of sharpness. Our brave enemies wont budge even an inch. They will keep on fighting till their complete end. This is the truly desired spirit of the war and the worriers. So let it begin anytime by whosoever dares it.
ReplyDeleteIt is no open secret that Turkey and Malaysia, with full U.S. knowledge and finance from Brunei supplied the Bosnians with arms.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a report, HK-33s made in Thailand were sent to Bosnia, along with Red Arrow ATGMs, paid courtesy of Brunei and supposedly sent to the Malaysian and Turkish contingents serving in Bosnia.
On another subject, Prasun, have you read Ahmad Rashid's books?
I think Prasun truth has started to hurt for some - may be better we changed topic and moved on.According to our Pak friend India is such a pariah among everyone that ISI can't keep its hands off!OK Pakistan is the creme a la creme - country full of scholars, brilliant engineers, world class doctors, possesses weapons that can make India and the rest of the world vanish like in I dream of Jeannie, every Pakistani is full of honour, valour, glory what not...yeah let's accept all that PROVIDED you keep all that to yourself and DON'T BOTHER sticking your nose into India and send some of your honourable citizens to sow hatred and terrorism.
ReplyDeleteI can cite a perfect analogy to describe US-Pak relations. It is like having an itchy anus due to worms coming out for lunch or whatever. Too embarrassing to scratch in public and yet too uncomfortable to put up with.So no doubt sooner or later worm tabs will have to be taken - watch out though for the contaminated crap that will follow the treatment :)
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@2.45PM: It is a country’s geography that determines its history and Pakistan is no exception. While both India and Pakistan recognised each other’s sovereign existence within hours of being born in August 1947, the only country which protested against Pakistan’s creation at the UN was none other than Afghanistan, then ruled by a monarchy. The logical reality based on historical precedence was, is and will be that the only existential threat to Pakistan emanates not from the east, but from the west. The classical invasion route to the Indo Gangetic Plain has always been through the Wakhan Corridor for all the invasions mounted by the Greeks, Huns, Kushans, Turks, Afghans and the Mughals. And so was the case in the 20th century and so petrified has Pakistan been about the emergence of a strong and united Afghanistan that it has—to date—never even dared to negotiate the existence of a permanent international boundary between the two countries. Far from it, Pakistan instead made it state policy to keep Afghanistan divided and in disarray at all costs, since the existential threat from a united Afghanistan remains till this day (afterall what’s to prevent a strong Afghanistan from demanding the annexation of NWFP and FATA, thereby further dismembering an already trunciated Pakistan?). So for those who continue raising the bogey of a hegemonistic India training her war machines westwards, or vying for influence in Afghanistan/Central Asia at the expense of Pakistan, another one month-long period of fasting and penitence is urgently called for before the onset of the next Ramzan, in the hope that they can at last grasp the reality and see what they have not been able to thus far, despite their eyes being wide open.
ReplyDeleteAnd if indeed one believes that power is taken, not given, then the most blatant and transparent example of this was evident late last week when the Indian PM met the Iranian President in New York on the sidelines of the annual UNGA jamboorie. This meeting, in full view of the whole world, was a clear signal sent to the US that if the US does not get its act together and act decisively now, then India and Iran will have to step in and dictate the end-game in Afghanistan in the interests of regional stability. In other words, the Indian PM was telling Obama that its time he proved that he indeed deserved the Nobel Peace Prize that he has already coveted. It’s time to reap the whirlwind, as the saying goes.
To Anon@3.20PM: Bruce Riedel never visited Sichuan or Kunming, I did and saw and what Shahine International Airlines was up to.
ReplyDeleteTo Faris: The Baktar Shikans I’m talking about were meant for the Mujahideen fighting in Bosnia during the civil war. The Malaysian and Turkish contingents went to Bosnia in under UN auspices and were therefore involved with only peacekeeping, and not engaging in civil war. Have not only read Ahmed Rashid’s books, but also met him a couple of times.
To Anon@6.32PM: Pray maintain civility and don't get provoked. Wisdom always dawns when cooler heads prevail.
ReplyDeleteanon above, please go ahead, on behalf of Prasun
ReplyDeleteMr Ra
ReplyDeletePrasun Sir deleted my TWO " Spiciest"
posts So i wanted to get Permission
before RE WRITING THEM
Do you still not see it Prasun?
ReplyDeleteOn one hand we have Bruce Reidel who is President Obama's security advisor, he does not get to see what has been a critical component of their security policy wrt nuclear proliferation but you do, simply by visiting a chinese base where Shaheed airline flies to. And this too in china, who would be extremely hurt by being involved with nuclear proliferation and who are known to be extremely secretive about all things involved with securtiy and national policy....ummm.
Its a question of credibility.
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteI was just pointing out that it is no secret that Malaysia was involved in the smuggling of arms to the Bosnians. Mahathir in his recent book also revealed this.
I have seen photos of Bosnians armed with the Norinco Red Arrow in Raids magazine, but did they actually received any Pakistani Bakhtar Shikans?
This report mentions arms for the Bosnians being smuggled along with legit supplies meant for the Malaysian and Turk contingents -
http://www.srpska-mreza.com/Bosnia/dodgedEmbargo.html
New York Times article -
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/24/news/24iht-malay_0.html
http://articles.latimes.com/1996-05-12/news/mn-3437_1_arms-smuggling
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1996_cr/h960611a.htm
Do you expect any firm contracts to be signed this LIMA? Also, has the RMN ordered any sea mines to be used from the 2 Scorpenes?
Hi! Comments on 7:19 in the name of Mr. Ra are not from me, rather some duplicate. Lol...
ReplyDeleteBTW, I do not present myself on behalf of Mr. Prasun... Thanx
"Indian PM was telling Obama that its time he proved that he indeed deserved the Nobel Peace Prize"
ReplyDeleteSo is India happy with US plans to build bases in Afghanistan?
Lot of people have written abt India not wanting another cold war b/w US and China in the hindu kush.
How could India be happy with the US initiating military operations in its neighbourhood?
What options does India have with Iran for an endgame in Afghanistan?
Could you elaborate on Indian strategy on Central asia?
india is begging iran to give it another chance. But iran has already got a deal with PAk. Iran knows india cannot withstand USA pressure. It is the only way india can get into afghanistan.
ReplyDelete@Prasun sir,sorry for this off topic question.
ReplyDeleteThere was plan to raise 4 mountain infantry divisions in the NE.2 has already been raised.Recently the other 2 have been put on hold by MoD.So my question was,do you know any possible time by when these 2 remaining divison may be raised??
PLEASE try to reply,I really need to know.
Thanks.
@Prasun sir,I have some questions to ask.
ReplyDelete1.I heard that P 17 Shivalik class frigates have not any heavy torpedo launch systems onboard like Delhi or Talwar.Is that true??Won't it affect Shivalik's anti submarine warfare capability??
2.Why are the Shivaliks still using those 220 km range Klubs missiles when longer range and more advanced Brahmos is available??
3.Can these Shivalik class frigates be armed with Brahmos missiles if needed??
4.There was news that IN would refit Delhi class destroyers and Godavori & Bramhaputra class frigates with Brahmos missiles.Any update on that??
Please try to reply sir.
Thanks.
Prasun sir,
ReplyDeleteHave a look at this article...it explains many of the things you have been saying:
http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/us%20pakistan%20cooperation
If the situation in Afghanistan remains as it is and if no attempts to change them are made, then Taliban may take over the Kandhar and South Afghanistan within six months of the major withdrawal of the US Forces. If situations are favorable to them, then they may even capture the Kabul, with support of Pakistan.
ReplyDeleteThe most affected will be the bordering CIS nations and Iran.
As per our Constitution and theoretically India has its northernmost border with Afghanistan but practically and unfortunately this is not the case for the time being due to the temporary existence of the POK. So practically India can or can not participate in Afghanistan with the dint of being its bordering Nation. It all depends upon the variable situations.
So rephrasing it, I can say that with the Talibani capture of Kabul, the most affected will be the bordering CIS nations, Iran and India. This situation automatically implies that both Russia and US will be affected and involved because they are friends of the bordering CIS states.
As such the importance of the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan will again get magnified and manifested as it is the only agency which has the guts and opportunities to directly cross the swords with Taliban albeit with properly organized outside help and they had earlier done it successfully. So although we will be returning back to the Square One again, but under the progressed calendar and changed circumstances. The qualitative difference this time is that Pakistan is completely isolated except for some cash from Arab and a veto from China.
This Afghani civil war kind of thing can be expected to continue till the Pakhtuns abandon the Taliban in some short or long run.
The above depicted scenario can be plausible only if and after US withdraws from Afghan without getting a full victory against Taliban.
However If the US really decides to attack in Pakistan against the Pak attached terrorists, then it has to be done in a massive and rapid manner and without losing the time. This so because as this time gets elongated, more and more resistance may get build up in Pakistan against the US. It may even lead to a situation where US may need some help or rescue from India and to make the matters complicated, India will have to do the needful. Lol…
To Anon@7.34PM: If you’re that taken in by Bruce Reidel’s observations, then kindly watch the two-part BBC series titled THE SECRET WAR ON TERROR that pretty much sums up the prevailing international mood vis-à-vis Pakistan.
ReplyDeleteTo FARIS: NORINCO’s Red Arrow and Baktar Shikan are one and the same, the only difference being that the Baktar Shikan is a Red Arrow licence-assembled from kits supplied by NORINCO. Tun Mahathir in his recent book did reveal all this, but the mechanics of the financing operation related to the procurement of such weapons stocks has not yet been revealed. And that’s because Mahathir at that time was banking on recovering the money by receiving post-war reconstruction contracts from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Subsequently, these contracts never materialized, although Iran tried to compensate in some manner by awarding some highway construction contracts. Abd the reason why in the early 1990s it was decided to procure T-72-based MBTs for the Malaysian Army was also due to the Bosnian factor—Malaysia at that time had expected the T-72 production facilities in the former Yugoslavia (that are now located in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) to supply such MBTs to the Malaysian Army, along with ammo rounds from the Bosnian company PRETIS (which subsequently tied up with SME Ordnance). But this prospective MBT contract too could not be awarded to the Croats and Bosnians due to various reasons, and thus the PT-91Ms ultimately came from Poland, and PRETIS has for the past three years been supplying 125mm training rounds through SME Ordnance.
To Anon@7.58PM: Back in October 2001 itself India had said that she expected multinational coalition forces to stay deployed within Afghanistan for the next 18 years at least. And when one has deployed forces there, there will automatically be bases set=up as well. Why should there be another Cold War between China and the US over this issue, if Chinese businesses benefit from a stable Afghanistan? Anyone who has dealt with a Chinaman will tell you that the Chinese are adept at practicing values-neutral mercantilism without any kind of ideological hangovers. The India-Iran combine regarding Afghanistan aims to primarily bring politico-economic stability through the initiation of several types of grassroots-based projects aimed at increasing civilian employment levels and enhancing their literacy standards. While this will enable Afghanistan to stand up on its own feet, on the other it will also severely reduce the number of opium/poppy farms that are now the mainstay of Afghanistan’s rural economy. Furthermore, any Iranian involvement which is positive for Afghanistan will automatically enable Iran to turn the tables against the Pakistan-Saudi Sunni combine, which consequently will lead to a Shia Iran gaining strategic influence not only within Afghanistan, but also way beyond Afghanistan’s borders into Central Asia. But, as I explained earlier, the stronger and more self-reliant Afghanistan becomes, the greater the existential threat it is likely to pose to Pakistan, as seen through the eyes of Pakistan’s Sunni decision-makers who are fed, clothed and financed by their Sunni lenders throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council.
To Anurag: The raising of another two mountain divisions has not been put on hold. What has been put on hold is the implementation of various packages related to their equipment and related logistics infrastructure, not due to financial constraints, but more due to environmental concerns, which will be resolved in the days to come. Both the Project 17 FFGs and Project 1135.6 FFGs have the same kind of lightweight torpedo launchers/systems. Heavy torpedo launchers are meant for the DDGs. A 70km difference between the engagement envelopes of the Klub-N and BrahMos is insignificant in operational terms, and the Klub-Ns remain the deadliest ASCMs in South and Southeast Asia today, for as long as they have over-the-horizon targetting capability with the help of airborne platforms like the Ka-28 and Ka-31. The Prohect 16 Godavrai-class FFGs can and will be fitted with BrahMos, as will the three Project 15 Delhi-class FFGs during their service life extension programmes (SLEP).
ReplyDeleteTo PatelS: Many thanks.
To Mr.RA The logic or illogic behind Rawalpindi’s strategic defiance of the US is this: Central to Rawalpindi’s calculus is the bet that the US does not have too many options left in Afghanistan and that, with sufficient pressure, Washington will be compelled to accommodate the Pakistan Army’s interests across the Durand Line. Many in Pakistan’s strategic community seem quite convinced that Washington needs Rawalpindi more than the other way round. When the US threatened to cut off military aid earlier this year, the Pakistan army ostentatiously declared that it could do without it. Recent statements by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the US might undertake unilateral military action against the Haqqani network have therefore elicited not fear but scorn from Rawalpindi. An insight into Pakistan’s new thinking came when PM Yousuf Raza Gilani and Gen Kayani met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul last April. There, Gilani and Kayani had warned Karzai not to offer military bases to the US after it pulls out most of its troops by 2014. They told Karzai that the US was on the decline and that Kabul would be better off looking towards Pakistan and China to find political accommodation with the Taliban and develop the Afghan economy. Therefore, Rawalpindi’s current defiance of Washington can only be understood in terms of a rapid deepening of the China-Pakistan strategic partnership and a power shift away from the US towards China at the global and regional levels. India now faces a transformed alliance on its northwestern border. Rising China’s massive economic and military resources, the Pakistan Army’s control over a vital geopolitical real estate, and the resurgence of the Taliban and other extremist forces will present India with unprecedented challenges, which can only be overcome if a multinational alliance or a coalition of the willing is now created with the likes of the US, Japan, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, ASEAN and Australia. And recent hectic international parleys in New York and Delhi strongly seem to suggest that this indeed is happening.
ReplyDeleteFOR the Pakistani-American attorney Rafia Zakaria, the 9/11 weekend “has been a time of competing tragedies, where the epitaphs of those killed on that September morning a decade ago must rival the body count of those slain to avenge them”. Writing in The Dawn a couple of days after the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Rafia Zakaria described what had happened in the United States since September 11, 2001, as just one half of the “conjoined tragedy of 9/11”. The tragedy of the other half—Pakistan--is seldom recognised and, even when acknowledged, seen as a “payback” for its own actions. Scant consideration is given to the fact that the cost is being borne primarily by the people of this blighted country who had little say in the decisions that have led the world and the Pakistani nation to this point. This was evident in the reactions to the advertisement placed by Pakistan on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in The Wall Street Journal in a bid to reach out to the American people. The response reflected the credibility crisis facing Pakistan, with most critics thinking it was audacious for Islamabad to even suggest that no country has done as much as it has to weed out terrorism. The advertisement detailed the cost paid by Pakistan for the war on terror in terms of human life and the economy. It said: “Since 2001, a nation of 180 million has been fighting for the future of the world's 7 billion. Can any other country do so? Only Pakistan.” It added that the Pakistani nation was making sacrifices that statistics could not reflect. According to the official estimate, 21,672 Pakistani civilians have lost their lives or have been seriously injured since September 11, 2001, in 3,486 bomb blasts, including 283 suicide attacks. Besides, 2,795 soldiers of the Pakistan Army have been killed and 8,671 wounded. Add to this the internal displacement of 3.5 million people and the economic loss of $68 billion. These cut no ice with anyone because it is not as if the world is unaware of what the past 10 years have done to Pakistan at the macro-level. What is etched more sharply in collective memory is that Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was living in the heart of the country in a garrison area, the majority of the terrorist attacks the world over have some links to Pakistan and, most importantly, the security establishment in Rawalpindi still regards some of the terrorists as “strategic assets”. Though Pakistan aligned with the US-led action in Afghanistan post-9/11, the Janus-faced attitude of the security establishment towards terrorists has rendered whatever support Islamabad gave to the war on terror an exercise in futility. In fact, some would say it is akin to a death wish because the neither-here-nor-there attitude has exasperated the world and turned some of the terrorist groups into sworn enemies of the Pakistani state, thereby making terror attacks on a daily basis the “new normal” here. “It has been a pretty thankless situation for people in Pak. Lost the most and got contempt in return.” This is how one member of Pakistan's tweeting community put it.
ReplyDeleteFrom the standpoint of the average Pakistani, his angst is only natural, reeling as his country is under a lethal combination of multiple crises, be it terrorism, growing unemployment, sectarianism and religious intolerance. As he sees it, Pakistan was a very different country 10 years ago, and now survival has become a daily struggle. The economy is in the doldrums--it grew at the rate of 2.4 per cent in the last fiscal that closed in June--and as if there is not enough man-made misery in this country, nature has also been playing havoc almost regularly. There was the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, then the floods of 2010 which inundated a third of the country, and again this year Sindh is facing a crisis situation owing to flooding. According to the latest available government data, the cost of war to Pakistan in the first half of the last fiscal was around Rs.1,500 billion, up 31 per cent since 2001 when the figure was around Rs.163 billion. The investment-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio went down from 22.5 per cent in 2006-07 to 13.4 per cent in 2010-11, severely impacting job creation. Summing up the state of Pakistan's economy, the Economic Survey of 2010-11 said: “The events that transpired after 9/11 worsened the security environment. This has affected Pakistan's exports, prevented the inflows of foreign investment, affected the pace of privatisation programme, slowed the overall economic activity, reduced import demand, reduced tax collection, [caused] expenditure overrun on additional security spending, and domestic tourism industry suffered.” This was not always so. Initially, Pakistan's decision to align with the US-led coalition effort in Afghanistan helped it “break out of the economic isolation” with the lifting of sanctions imposed on it and on India after the two countries tested nuclear weapons in 1998. Loans were rescheduled and donors softened, but gross mismanagement of the economy over the year sent Pakistan back to the International Monetary Fund, which is pressing for structural reforms that are being resisted by the political class for fear of a backlash from a populace already under test on various fronts day in and day out. In the absence of a democratic culture, violence--and the threat of it--has become a regular arbiter. This has been further made easy by the proliferation of small arms in the country, a direct fallout of the covert US arming of the mujahideens whom the Central Intelligence Agency helped ABPARA (the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, headquarters) create to fight the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is essentially a turf war between different political parties, the near perennial bloodletting in Karachi is attributed to the weaponisation of Pakistan's commercial capital, which can be traced back to the US transit of arms to the mujahideens from the port city to the porous Durand Line. But what is most damaging is the growing religious fundamentalism and resultant intolerance towards not just other religions but also the “numerically weaker” sects of Islam in Pakistan such as the Shias, who are regular victims of target killings. In fact, now Sufi shrines are also increasingly becoming a target of bombings in a country which has had a strong tradition of Sufism. Even the Barelvis among the Sunnis have been feeling the heat with the “petro-dollar inspired rise of the Wahabi and Deobandi schools”. According to Arif Jamal – author of Shadow War: The Untold Story of Jihad in Kashmir--this has resulted in the Barelvis forming the avowedly violent Sunni Tehreek to assert themselves. Attacking the other and declaring the non-conformists apostates are an increasing occurrence, tearing the society further asunder along sectarian lines. What this growing religious fundamentalism has done is to eat into the already limited space for liberal discourse; more so after the two assassinations, earlier this year, of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and federal Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti. While liberal Pakistanis concede that fundamentalism pre-dates 9/11--in fact, to the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto era when he sought to use Islam as a unifying factor after the loss of East Pakistan--it has accelerated manifold since the attacks on the US, courtesy ill-informed discourse that projected the war on terror as somebody else's war and a systematic effort to capitalise on the anger felt towards the US for the situation within the country. The duality in the discourse was most evident in Pakistan's opposition to the American drone attacks, which Islamabad describes as a “core irritant” in bilateral relations with the US as they are “counterproductive”.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Farhat Taj, an Oslo-based researcher who comes from the tribal areas, maintains that the people of North Waziristan--pounded frequently by the CIA-operated Predators--see the US drone attacks as being carried out to liberate them “from the clutches of the terrorists into which, they say, their state has wilfully thrown them”. While her claim is hotly contested, this summer saw a senior commander of the Army say that while there was some collateral damage, most of those killed were terrorists. Ironically, though Pakistan is opposed to the US sending drones, Islamabad has repeatedly sought the technology without explaining how something that is counterproductive could become effective if conducted under the Pakistani flag. Also, WikiLeaks has shown both the Army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani being privately supportive of drones while taking a contrary position in public. Curiously enough, after keeping the rhetoric shrill for months, there has been silence on the issue in recent weeks though Predator drones regularly visit the tribal areas, lending credence to the general perception that the show of protest--including demonstrations--were orchestrated by the powers that be. People in the thick of it all claim that this “doublespeak” is dictated by necessity not just to pander to the rampant anti-Americanism for fear of a political backlash but also to maintain a studied distance at the governmental level from the US to counter the anti-state terrorists' narrative of Pakistan being a stooge of Washington. This is the kind of duplicity that has become the bane of the Pakistani nation. Brought up on a doctored curriculum where Pakistan has always been portrayed as an aggrieved party, many a Pakistani still does not see through the doublespeak on terrorism. This runs through every class of people in the country, beginning with the politicians. As consulting editor of The Friday Times, Raza Rumi, put it: “Politicians in Pakistan are still divided on fighting militants and militancy. They think it is someone else's war and a reaction to the US occupation.”
ReplyDeleteBut, then, on matters of security and strategic affairs relating to the US, Afghanistan and India, the political class has ceded turf to the security establishment and even the events of May 2011--which exposed the military and the ISI--have made little difference to the power equation. Those who had hoped that the triple embarrassments of May – the presence of bin Laden in Abbottabad, the siege of a naval airbase and the killing of a journalist allegedly by the intelligence agencies--would serve as a wake-up call have been sorely disappointed and let down by the political class. According to the analyst Harris Khalique, the change that the liberals and democrats seek will not and cannot come overnight in a country where the so-called national discourse has been dictated by the security establishment. For that to happen, democratic culture has to be internalised and the current political process--with all its warts--must go on uninterrupted. That may well be the case, but the question that remains is what it will take to force a course correction by the security establishment and induce a zero tolerance towards terrorism. How much more blood has to flow and how many more minds have to be poisoned before the powers that be decide enough is enough. They missed the 9/11 wake-up call and every single alarm bell that has been pealing since.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20111007282001600.htm
To Mr.RA: Do read this excellent analysis: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2487650.ece?homepage=true
ReplyDeleteAlright, thanx. so long comment above.
ReplyDeleteWhat has happened to Ismail Khan , Fahim and Dostum? Do they still run
ReplyDeleteHerat, Mazar and the Panshir valley with little inteference from Kabul? Does Karzai have their full loyalty or are they just partners of conveniance?
You mentioned a figure of USD4.2 billion being taken from Perwaja Steel to finance arms to Bosnia. Isn't this figure way too high as most of the arms sent was for low tech stuff like small arms, RPG-7s, mines, etc, and wasn't Brunei the source of much of the financing? Malaysia usefulness was due to the fact that it could issue end user certs and arms could be smuggled into containers of supplies, sent to MALBATT.
Prasun - ''and this too can be taken care of by the US by telling the Saudis in no uncertain terms that if there is any Arab opposition to US military operations inside Pakistan, then the winds of change emanating from the Arab Spring will surely be made to reach Saudi airspace in the very near future and could poossibly cause regime change of the types witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.I don't think the Saudis would like this prospect to become a reality and will therefore likely fall in line.''
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. was caught totally unprepared by the Arab Spring, which has reduced its influence in the region. The last thing the U.S. would want is Saudi citizens having any thoughs of democracy and human rights as this would complicate things for Washington. As long as Saudi continues to supply oil and not make too big a fuss critisising unconditional U.S. support to Israel, Washington is more than happy for the King and the many Princes to remain in power and provide them with a security umbrella against the Iranian ''heretics'' across the Gulf. For the Americans, keeping the Kings and Princes's of Saudi and the other Sunni Gulf States in power in of the outmost importance, even more important than Afghanistan.
Burhanuddin Rabbani was a normal power and chair monger like any other politician within such circumstances and his philosophy was based upon the pillars of minority liberalism, Afghan nationalism, softer Islam and somewhat democracy which was more than all other Afghan leaders.
ReplyDeleteHis political status in Afghan was equal or next to Karzai. His acceptability was also the widest possible.
He took two out of the way steps, one going to India and second to Iran. This most probably led to his elimination otherwise his peace talks were already a failure so far.
Just see, among all the contenders, ISI has the maximum capability, money, means and motives.
Mr. Ra,
ReplyDeleteBurhanuddin Rabbani was the leader of Jamiat Islami and was anything but a proponent of a ''softer Islam''. Way before 9/11 him and Massoud had a falling out due to differences which included what sort of government to form in event of a victory. His muj, when they entered Kabul, were notorious for enforcing the wearing of the veil, which was strange, as Rabanni was a Tajik and the wearing of veils is more of a Pashtun custom.
All the warlords were something like that only. But I said "softer islam" and not the "softest islam".
ReplyDeleteSo Rabbani was softer than Taliban and most others except for Masood, Dostam etc.
Actually these all are relative terms, because to many outsiders, whole Afghan itself is/was utterly degenerated. However no strategy can be effectively formulated on such blanket approach.
What can we do if we come to know that 200 years back the shia Hazara were the majority in Afghan. But by now they had been depleted a lot by incessant repressions by the Pakhtoons with almost permanent scars.
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteOne one hand you are preaching the shia-sunni divide and on the other that you are saying iran will have great influence in Afghanistan and CIS. This does not compute!
Iran has never had much influence in both these places. Most of the people in CIS are hanifi...same as afghanis, paks and turks and they are more close to turkey then anyone else. Don't believe me look at maps of the old islamic empires in the region and you will see where their influence ended. You should see the number of CIS students studying islam in turkey, syria and pak....all hanifi school of thought.
Iranians blogs still discuss what india did to them on the nuke issue and the IPI pipeline, all under uncle sams pressure. Iranians know pak want to see them strong (AQK article shows this) but not pro India. In all the war iran aided pak.
Dear Sir
ReplyDeleteWhen will DERBY missiles be integrated with LCA mk 1
There are a couple of fake Mr. Ra's here!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteF,
ReplyDeleteUSA and Prasun both engineered the Arab spring. Actually, to be honest it was Prasun. He visited Tunis and Cario 10 yrs ago in February and new that arab spring was coming.
To FARIS: Ismail Khan, Fahim Khan and Rashid Dostum are still very much there in Afghanistan as partners of convenience. The figure of US$4.2 billion is indeed high if we are talking only about weapons procurements for the Bosnian civil war. Brunei was a contributor but wasn’t the single largest financial contributor. If that were the case, then Dr A Q Khan’s 13-page confession would have mentioned Brunei. Also, the $4.2 billion figure was by no means Bosnia-centric, as Sudan was another recipient of weapon supplies as well. However, I don’t buy the argument about Bosnia-bound weapons being smuggled along with the legit consignments for MALBATT-1, for this would mean willful violation of the UN arms embargo, which I don’t expect Malaysia to be a part of. The weapons were more likely smuggled through Turkish channels and then distributed by Iranian and Syrian Mujahideen teams/cells deploted inside Bosnia.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@4.25PM: I’m not into preaching anything, unlike the Mullahs and Pirs hailing from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Nor am I talking about the CIS. I’ve mentioned the CARs, which are not part of the CIS. Within Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, India and Persia are known to have had the earliest cultural and civilisational influences, followed by the Greeks, Turks, Afghans and Mughals. Even in pre-independent India it was Persian which was the official writing script and medium of communications related to govt correspondence, property deeds, etc. To understand all this you have to go back way beyond the advent of Islam and discover the pre-Islamic civilisational legacies. Those students now undergoing ‘Islamic’ studies in Turkey, Syria and Pakistan are precisely the ones that are viewed as trouble mongers/miscreants from East Turkistan or Uzbekistan and are despised by the CARs. As for Iranian blogs, the lesser said the better, since they don’t mention or fail to see facts before their eyes, such as the volume of India-produced TV serials/soap operas/movies that are popular with the Iranian broadcast TV channels, or the number of Iranians that are sent every year (since the late 1970s) to Indian military training establishments. Every Iranian diplomat I’ve met since 2000 has complaint about Pakistan duplicity and double-crossing when it came to cooperation in nuclear matters, and Dr A Q Khan’s 13-page confession bears testimony to this. India did nothing out of the ordinary at the UN regarding the Iranian nuclear programme, for it is up to the Iranians to own up and come clean about what’s going on in their own backyard. And as regards the IPI pipeline, well, let’s wait and see when exactly the gas from Iran reaches Baluchistan or Islamabad. Let’s wait and see who provides the project financing and insurance coverage. Until then it will be premature to jump to any conclusions about the duplicity of either India or Pakistan.
To Anon@4.49PM: The Derby BVRAAM was integrated with the Tejas Mk1 LCA the very day the EL/M-2032 MMR was integrated with the aircraft’s weapons delivery/navigation-and-attack system.
To Mr.RA@6.05PM: Which means I'm in contention along with Dr MMS for winning next year's Nobel Peace Prize???
ReplyDeletePakistan HAS NEITHER any MONEY FOR Constructing the IRAN PAKISTAN GAS PIPELINE NOR
ReplyDeleteANY MONEY To PAY For THE GAS
They are ALWAYS Looking FOR FREEBIES
They are FREE LOADERS
MUFT MUFT MUFT !!!
Pakistan KO HAR CHEEZ MUFT MEIN CHAHIYE
The Russian Iskander-M cruises at hypersonic speed of 2100–2600 m/s (Mach 6–7) at a height of 50 km. The Iskander-M weighs 4615 kg, carries a warhead of 710–800 kg, has a range of 400–480 km, and achieves a CEP (Circular error probable) of 5–7 meters.
ReplyDeleteDuring flight it can maneuver at different altitudes and trajectories and can pull up to 20 to 30 G to evade anti-ballistic missiles. For example, in one of the trajectory modes it can dive at the target at 90 degrees at the rate of 700–800 m/s performing anti-ABM maneuvers.
If Pakistan has the Chinese version of this missile i think it would be a great threat to India as Russians claim it with terminal maneuvering it can avoid all kind of missile defenses
A camel can pass through a pinhole, a rich man can reach to heaven, but the IPI pipeline gas from Iran can not reach Baluchistan or Islamabad.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 28, 2011 6:08 PM
Prasun K. Sengupta said...
To Mr.RA@6.05PM: Which means I'm in contention along with Dr MMS for winning next year's Nobel Peace Prize???
Great...
Mr. Ra,
ReplyDeleteUnlike Rabanni, Dostum and Ismail Khan were liberal. Under Ismail Khan, women in Herat were encouraged to work, attend university, etc,. If Rabanni had got his way, as the leader of Afghanistan, that would not have happened.
And all the warlords were ''not something like that'', there was/is no typical warlord, except for the fact they all want to maintain their hold on power and make money - Hetmatyar for instance [Pakistan's favourite] was the direct opposite of people like Dostum and Ismail Khan.
while comparing india's shourya missile with Russian Iskander-M cruise missile, which one due you think is a better option?
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteTajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kirgiz and Kazak are what i mean by CIS...maybe i should have written CARs.
Just to clarify:
The language of the Mughal Empire, and therefore of the Mughal Court was Persian and Chagatai initially. Later Urdu was also used.
To: Sri F 8:37
ReplyDeleteIn Afghan before the advent of Taliban the veil was a variable generally from North to South ranging to the degree from 0 to X, wherein X depended upon whether the central rulers were Kings, Doud, Khalks, Parchams, Mujahid, Taliban or Karzai. So from the veils we can get some indications only but can not make any thumb rules.
In many sense you may be correct that “Warlords were not something like that”, especially because almost every warlord including Hikmatyar thought themselves to be something special. This specialization arose because of the long feudal and warring background of Afghanistan.
As the north was in near influence of communism so it developed little progressive traits, wherein south covered by Baluch to Pakhtunwa had little chances of getting the rays of light.
I also agree that Hikmatyar was a friend of Pakistan and enemy of Ismail Khan and Dostam.
@Prasun sir,as per Indo US civil nuclear agreement India will have to declare 8 of its 20 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors as 'military reactor' and they will be outside IAEA safeguards.As per the agreement these 8 PHWRs can't use imported fuel and can't be connected to national power grid.That means they will have to be fuelled by indigenously mined and processed U 235.So my question was that if our military will use these PHWRs in low burn up mode to produce weapongrade Pu or not??What else they can be used now for??
ReplyDeleteHope you can help.PLEASE try to reply.
Thanks.
To Anon@9.07PM: The Shaurya is a better option due to its longer reach.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon@10.35PM: Many thanks.
To Anurag: Not the military, but the DAE. The eight CANDU-type PHWRs (minus the CANDU-type Cirus, which will be decommissioned) will be used for producing the stipulated 3 metric tonnes of weapons-grade fissile materials (i.e. plutonium), which will become the strategic stockpile reqd for the n-warheads. India has already conveyed to the P-5 that when the Fissile materials Cutoff Treaty comes into force, India will be a signatory and will declare that its strategic reserves of weapons-grade plutonium will not exceed 3 metric tonnes. As for the 11 700mW CANDU-type PHWRs that are planned for construction, it has not yet been decided whether or not they will be placed under full-scope IAEA safeguards, but my guess is they will.
To FARIS: Saw the photo of the RMAF Hawk Mk108 launching the Paveway LGB. The target designation was done by a Su-30MKM equipped with THALES-built Damocles LDP. Also saw the Hawk Mk208s equipped with rangeless ACMI pods supplied by Italy’s DRS Technologies for a 10-year lease period.
Thanks buddy,that's a great news.But don't you think that they should produce atleast 5-6 ton of weapon grade Pu instead of 3 to make atleast 1000-1200 simple 30 kilo ton fission devices assuming 5 kg of Pu for each warhead????
ReplyDeleteAnd what about the upcoming Kalpakkam Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor??When will it be operational??Will it come under IAEA safeguards??And lastly,can the PFBR be used for production of weapon grade Pu??
PLEASE try to share your opinion,I really need to know.
Thanks in advance.
To Anurag: 3 metric tonnes should more than suffice for the minimum credible nuclear deterrent, as boosted fission warheads are also being produced. As for the PFBR I don't know when it will become operational but it will be under IAEA safeguards. Only the FBTR isn't. It will be uneconomical to produce weapons-grade plutonium from the PFBR. It will be better if the FBRs make use of internationally sourced uranium along with domestically produced thorium and reactor-grade plutonium. For such reactors, indigenously developed fuel reprocessing technologies and techniques have already been developed.
ReplyDeleteDoes the 123 in any manner obstructs our Thorium development program or not?
ReplyDeleteTo Mr.RA 13: No, it doesn't. From a fuel-supply standpoint, all that the 123 Agreement stipulates is that the international supplies of uranium be reprocessed by an IAEA-safeguarded international entity, meaning either an India-based multinational company in which the DAE is also a stakeholder, or a similar entity based abroad. It is similar to what the Russians would be doing for the Bushehr nuclear powerplant and for the Kudamgoolam n-plant.
ReplyDeleteThanks sir,for sharing all that informations,am really greatful to you.
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteThe Hawk 100s are fitted with a FLIR and rangefinder, so in theory can't they perform their own lasing for the Paveway? I think in this case lasing was done by PASKAU not the MKMs. Do any other air arms use the Paveway from their Hawks?
@Prasun sir,
ReplyDeleteBoth the Leopard A4 and Arjun MkI have got near identical size and shape yet at full combt load,the Leo A4 weighs 54 ton while Arjun MkI weighs 59 ton.So why the 5 ton difference when both have similar size?
Hope you can help to clear my doubt.
Thanks.
To FARIS: The laser rangefinders on
ReplyDeletethe Hawk Mk108s are used only for target ranging, not for target designation/illumination. An since on that particular day the Su-30MKM too was airborne but was dropping gravity bombs, one can logically conclude that the only reason those Su-30MKM was carrying the Damocles LDP was for target designation/illumination.
To Anurag: Both MBTs you mentioned weigh far more if they're equipped during combat with combat dozers or mine ploughs. But the Leopard 2A4 would still weigh less than the Arjun Mk1 due to its superior production engineering features.
Hi Prasun, I got your link from another blog, I wanted to ask you, have you seen this great site www.historycommons.org
ReplyDeleteIt is containing the timeline projects on many geo political events, some example
Full 911 timeline http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline
A Q Khan nuke network and US assistance
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&the_isi:_a_more_detailed_look=complete_911_timeline_a__q__khan_s_nuclear_network
ISI's links to 911
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&the_isi:_a_more_detailed_look=complete_911_timeline_pakistani_isi_links_to_9_11
These are facts and readers are allowed to draw the conclusions, plz go through it, You are a blogger with a sizable following, i was hoping, that if u can write about these and other India related security topics, it will be very good and informative for the desi crowd who is interested, Thanks
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteAny chance of FullBacks/BlackJacks for India..? Blackjacks will be a very valuable asset for IN ..
Incredible and Informative Post..Thanks For sharing. I am seriously impressed right now.. Gate Factory
ReplyDeleteIf you actually think that NATO and UN are actually the good guys and here to protect you from the Jehadi's, then you are wrong.
ReplyDeleteLook at the murder of Gadaffi. Was he a bad guy ?
No, he was not, yet his country was attacked by UN and NATO to establish a central banking system of the Global elites.
Pakistan is not the real enemy, the real enemy uses every one as puppets so they keep fighting against each other while they profit from war.
Who divided Bharat into India and Pakistan in the first place so we can keep fighting forever?
The British East India company which was owned by German Jew Rothschild, who have been playing a very nasty game for a very long time.
The Source of evil is ancient and requires a deeper look than just looking at physical weapons of a minor enemy.
Its time we look at the source of all evil to crush it completely, once and for all.
Augadha