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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Hard Reality Versus Popular Perceptions Of Reality

Conventional narratives would have us believe that the US has, historically, been opposed to India acquiring nuclear WMDs for strategic deterrence, that the had from 1947 till 1999 had wholeheartedly supported Pakistan, etc etc. Now, for perhaps the first time, such myths have been dispelled through the contents of the autobiography of former Indian career diplomat Maharaj Krishna Rasgotra. 
The autobiography candidly explains the naivety of India’s foreign policy perceptions, as well as the duplicitous role of the United Kingdom, which along with France and Portugal were the principal advisers of the US when it came to formulating and shaping US foreign policy for East, South and Central Asia.  
Rasgotra also for the very first time reveals that contrary to popular perception, the US since the late 1950s began to look up to India as the only stabilising factor in both South and Southeast Asia, and by April 1961, even went to the extent of offering India all possible help for developing nuclear WMDs for strategic deterrence. Consider the following:
Rasgotra’s revelations had earlier been backed-up by disclosures from the US, following the declassification of several documents dealing with US-India covert cooperation in several areas, including nuclear WMD R & D activities. Prior to May 1974, the US never objected to obtaining any type of hardware that would end up in unsafeguarded nuclear R & D facilities of India’s Department of Atomic Energy.
Rasgotra has also explained how the US had forewarned India in March 1965 about Pakistan’s forthcoming OP Grand Slam.
And India never shied away from returning the favour. For instance, when the Indian Army had proposed the public showcasing of its war booties (including the then state-of-the-art M-48 Patton tanks) after the 1965 war, the US requested India not to go ahead with this plan, since this would have terribly embarrassed it.
And contrary to popular perceptions of that time, the overwhelming public opinion in the US in mid-1971 was in favour of India militarily liberating East Pakistan and heralding the birth of Bangladesh without any further delay.

272 comments:

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Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BHOUTIK: Yup, it is part of the Samyukta EW system & it is of Russian origin. If I'm not mistaken I had uploaded its photo in the DEFEXPO-2012 show report thread.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To S SENTHIL KUMAR: Looks like a double coup: sections of the military revolting (mutiny) against their military superiors & also trying to depose the civilian political leadership.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/turkey-military-blocks-bridges-istanbul-160715195444742.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/04/20124472814687973.html

So what's next? Coup in Pakistan?

To BLACKURRANT: Personally, I give a damn about such coups. Far more important matters to focus on. Just yesterday at a banking seminar in London that I was attending, it was revealed that there's US$10 trillion that's now accumulating in financial institutions worldwide that waiting to be invested & are now accumulating negative interest. And the US & Europe are looking at only 3 countries--India, The Philippines & Vietnam--to be the next engines of breakneck-speed economic growth where this TEN FUCKING TRILLION DOLLARS are waiting to be pumped in!!!

The Western OEMs are also desperate to get out of China & relocate their industrial facilities to the 3 countries mentioned above. But--and you will find this laughable--China is making it almost impossible for these Western manufacturers to disassemble their industrial facilities by claiming exorbitant amounts of financial compensation or penalties, like imposing an India-type retroactive tax regime. The need of the hour for India therefore is to set up 4 SEZs ASAP--two on the eastern seaboard & 2 in the western seaboard--and enact the necessary Parliamentary legislation on industrial insurance rates & procedures. If this can be done over the next 6 to 8 months, then there's no looking back for India.

Anonymous said...

why Western OEMs want to move out of china it has complete over its economy?

Regards
Ron

birbal said...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

....Just yesterday at a banking seminar in London that I was attending, it was revealed that there's US$10 trillion that's now accumulating in financial institutions worldwide that waiting to be invested....."

Prasunda aapuni kat-kat nethake( my language).....MAN you are Everywhere..;):)
Well i guess the Lonely Wolf is where it SMELLS blood....in this case a TEN FUCKING TRILLION DOLLARS, that's a HELL lot of b$$$...GOOD for you, so Good for us..:)

birbal said...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BLACKURRANT: ..... The need of the hour for India therefore is to set up 4 SEZs ASAP--two on the eastern seaboard & 2 in the western seaboard--and enact the necessary Parliamentary legislation on industrial insurance rates & procedures. If this can be done over the next 6 to 8 months, then there's no looking back for India.
"

Prasunda, I guess you are Enjoying the FAIR.... On a serious note, it's TREASURE-HUNT Time, do you see PM Modi SEEING this HUGGEEE Treasure in FRONT of his eyes that is Waiting to be UNCOVERED...??

Millard Keyes said...

Realistically pessimistic that I am based on India's past performance they'd arrive at the platform just a minute after the train leaves so it wouldn't surprise me at all that of that $3tfds as you mentioned only 5% ends up in India and the "pilipinos and pilipinas with their pamilies"along with the Viets get 97% share. When the rest of the country asks why did the government not seize such opportunity? The answer would be the dhoti clad babus were all getting their undies on before venturing out in the public arena. Years ago some party guys murdered a bloke under the nose of a constable in Kolkata - Dum Dum in fact, and when people asked "hey how could this happen in front of you couldn't you stop it?" The still shaking Constable said he could not grab any of them as he had a stick in his hand. True story but reflects the psyche of an entire RTD country.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PIERRE ZORIN: Actually, there's no other choice left now, except to read the writing on the wall & start using the God-given common-sense. It is just like figuring out that the 'azaadi' being shouted by South Kashmiris is not about securing territorial independence from India as many would have us believe, but they want to break free from economic disenfranchisement. That's how 'azaadi' is being defined there right now. Of course it all could have been achieved more than a decade ago, but the 10 years of UPA-1/UPA-2 rule created all kinds of economic paralysis due to which there was jobless GDP growth, marginal generation of new jobs, utter neglect of the need for infrastructure development & road/rail connectivity etc etc. So, when there isn't any other outlet available, localised, leaderless uprisings like the ones in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt & now South Kashmir begin to sprout.

So, instead of preaching about what to or not to eat & what to or not to wear & what to or not to shout as slogans, the focus ought to shift to what remains to be done & what's reqd to be done ASAP on a war-footing. For instance, those who keep preaching about animal rights & are up against culling of stray dogs & cats in India must note that in developed countries & knowledge-based societies, there's simply no room for stray animals wandering around as unproductive creatures. Instead, they're all rounded & are trained to become productive assets, like helping out physically challenged persons. In other words, nothing is regarded as wasteful & everything is mobilised for value-added usage. That's the kind of realisation which has yet to make inroads into India.

Anonymous said...

how and why Musharraf made 1999 Pakistani bloodless coup? what are major reasons for it?

Ron

Anonymous said...

have u seen this news i thought 15 out of total hijackers were from saudi and now US is saying saudi govt is not involved? is it doctored document or original document?
what it is ur take on this ?

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/us-releases-28-pages-of-911-report-finds-no-saudi-arabia-involvement-2917438/

Ron

Millard Keyes said...

So true. Once again too many Bandalbaazes try and use their media for make believe than truth. All those reasons creating mayhem and unrest in J&K are the same reasons Western world has been saying are responsible for IS and al Qaeda recruitment. Seen in a proper context Freedom is really a fundamental principle and in that context more people should be fundamentalists. Economic participation, social inclusion, adequate infrastructures, connectivity with the rest of the nation all these are vital. What the Indian leaders have been doing is like keeping a pet without feeding it adequately, not giving it something to do. A bored dog starts digging we all know. Isn't it a joke though for people to say "no culling of stray animals "and yet they don't find them homes either. It is more cruel to allow stray animals getting hit by cars, dying of starvation than either finding them homes or humanely putting down. Such is the state of an aspiring super power that on the one hand CMs come out banning skimpy clad cheer leaders but their secretaries find innovative ways to get a hard on!

Rajesh said...

Turkey is in little turmoil. However soon it may attack Europe as leader of the muslamic caliphate. What do you see or think.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ARPIT KANODIA: Not gossip, but 100% true. Here's confirmation:

http://images.dawn.com/news/1175823/pakistan-reacts-to-qandeel-balochs-shocking-murder

http://images.dawn.com/news/1175827/qandeel-baloch-is-dead-because-we-hate-women-who-dont-conform

She was snuffed out. But that was to be expected, since her country's Council of Islamic Ideology had earlier decreed that it is justifiable for Muslim men to get physical with females, be they wives, sisters or mothers. And this is the filth that's being exported to India, especially in J & K via social media. That's why Burhan Wani's 'educated' father can state with pride that his son was blessed & followed the path shown by Allah. What such retards need to be told is that if Allah showed the way to such terrorists, then it was also Allah's handiwork which saw that Burhan Wani got killed by J & K's law-enforcement forces. After all, if one throws everything at Allah's doorstep, then why exclude the killings of terrorists from Allah's portfolio of responsibilities & accountability? Wasn't it then Allah who aided & guided J & K security forces to perform their duties by neutralising terrorists? Will the Jihadi retards & religious deviants ever be able to prove that Allah had nothing to do with the neutralisation of terrorists inside J & K?

Meanwhile, meet Zakir Naik's British counterpart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubXq7dv-toI

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

http://www.mensxp.com/special-features/today/31469-this-indian-army-major-s-open-letter-to-burhan-wani-is-a-warning-for-every-terrorist-trying-to-tear-kashmir-apart.html

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ex-afghan-spy-chief-puts-incriminating-papers-showing-lethal-isi-terrorist-nexus/1/715534.html

Gessler said...

Hello Prasun ji! Posting here after a long time...I have been watching the Turkish coup attempt and it appears Erdogan has indeed placed the blame on one Fethullah Gulen, an old-timer living on a self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, US.

I had a thought that maybe the US was someone involved in the plan to oust Erdogan? A Minister from the Turkish cabinet, Suleyman Soylu has just made a statement on Haberturk TV that US is behind the coup attempt.

What is your take on this poorly planned & executed, half-assed excuse for a coup?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GESSLER: One thing that stands proven for sure is that the Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Turkish Army & civilian intelligence agencies of Turkey were totally inept for being unable to detect any sign of this impending mutiny/coup. For, if the coup plotter & provocateur was US-based, then surely the Turkish authorities had all the time & resources available to monitor his electronic communications with the mutineers inside Turkey. I'm pretty sure this US-based person wasn't communicating with his Turkish counterparts using homer pigeons. So, a very serious indictment of Turkey's army, whose professional standards now stand questioned.

To Anon@2.42AM: The US has been taking action since 2004 & the action got intensified after 2009 when US drone strikes increased inside Pakistan. And thanks to this drone strikes throughout FATA, today you have 1.9 million unforgiving Pakistani Pashtuns who have been displaced from FATA, while another 350,000 who have fled Pakistan into Afghanistan so that they can carry on with their guerrilla wars against Pakistan in future. All this alone has turned all these Pakistani citizens into irreconcilable hostiles who will perpetrate acts of terrorism inside Pakistan for the next 15 years. So yes, the US has caused enormous long-term damage to Pakistan & the PA & PAF by launching OP Zarb-e-Arb & conducting lethal air-strikes & artillery fire-assaults against its own people has ensured that this operation eventually becomes known as ZARB-E-BAKWAAS.

NSA can't get paper documents sent through secure fax or courier posts, since they engage in only electronic eavesdropping. The paper documentation can only be obtained through HUMINT, not from SIGINT or ELINT. So now, Afghanistan has all it needs to approach the UNSC & file for sanctions against Pakistan.

Gopu said...

1) So after this coup in Turkey, we can safely assume that democracy and an "Islamic" nation are incompatible terms. Even countries like Malaysia/Indonesia were considered to be "kafir" by the last mumbo-jumbo Arab I met.
2) Regarding your views on fundamentalism vs distortion, which I generally view as correct, how exactly can one reconcile with Islam's fundamentals? After all, the great prophet of Allah and his closest soon-to-be Caliphs followers were believers in the way of the sword and carved their empire out of part-fanatic, part-slave armies. In fact, it seems that some of the progressive, modern Islamic scholars seem to be engaging in distorting the religion by promoting the religion's values that resonate the most in the 21st Century and shying away from Islam's more questionable roots. Therefore, its no wonder that any self-righteous bloke can declare jihad against whatever pleases his damn fancy! As far as I know, there is no description, as in the Mahabharata, as to when violence is necessary and when to restrain from violence.

Gopu said...

3) You've talked extensively about the air aspect of the impending air-land campaign against Pakistan, but could you clarify the details of the 'land' part of the campaign? Specifically, can you reassure your readers that the IA will successfully complete all of its objectives within a two-week time period? What happens if the land campaign isn't a blitzkrieg, and gets bogged down beyond 14 days? I recall you said something on air-mobile troops that would be used to flank their positions, but then you also said that the Mi-17V-5 has no front-line use due to a lack of MANPADS protection.
4) Like I figured out earlier, Rafales wont be operationally involved by the time the coalition action starts (unless the French are pitching in physical resources). IAF Rafales will be China-centric once the IAF assumes operational squadron status since, like you said yourself, the PAF wont really have much of an air force after the coalition action takes place. This means all this two-front war stuff was complete mumbo-jumbo, like I had previously thought.
5) You had previously stated the IA shouldnt invest in SPH and that MGS was the need of the hour since the mobility of a SPH is limited to flat terrain, which I completely agree with. However, the IA has something different in mind and decided to go for them instead as an urgent priority buy. Any explanation for this? My only thoughts is that the IA plans to open up an entire assault on both the J&K and Sindh/Punjab fronts. This will prevent the PA from concentrating on defending one point and will spread their defenses thin.

Anonymous said...

have u seen this news i thought 15 out of total hijackers were from saudi and now US is saying saudi govt is not involved? is it doctored document or original document?
what it is ur take on this ?

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/us-releases-28-pages-of-911-report-finds-no-saudi-arabia-involvement-2917438/

Ron

DAshu said...

Afghanistan will go to UNSC where PRC which will VETO it come what may, innt ?

Prav said...

The conclusions of the banking seminar you mentioned has now made it to the main stream media ... You seem to be everywhere @Prasun

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/can-india-attract-10-13-trillion-invested-in-bonds-sitting-on-negative-yields/articleshow/53247569.cms

Rajesh said...

Erdogan was trying to be friendly with Russia. Was this the reason for the coup???

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

RE: http://www.livefistdefence.com/2016/07/indias-rustom-male-uas-lifts-off-this-month.html

Since when did the 36MT turbofan become a turboprop??? NPO SATURN, the Russian OEM, identifies the 36MT as a turbofan here: http://www.npo-saturn.ru/index_b2.php?sat=69&slang=1

Or has the owner of LIVEFIST blog managed to transform the turbofan into a turboprop through his in-house aeronautical engineering expertise without the knowledge of the Russian OEM?

And even more intriguingly, NPO SATURN does not list out the performance specs for the FGFAS's turbofan & instead shows only a silhouette of the turbofan here: http://www.npo-saturn.ru/index_b2.php?sat=54

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PRAV: VMT, but (LoLz!) not everywhere. Only there where my presence is reqd for productive purposes. But here is an example of folks who seem to be everywhere for the wrong reasons & purposes, masquerading as model citizens:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/subhash-kapoor-arrested-extradited-idol-smuggling-stolen-2918744/

That explains the extent to which some of these folks can go for trading away India's heritage.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAJESH: Watch this:

What's behind Turkey's failed coup?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_yN41SN_FI

Anonymous said...

How did Stalin change the Soviet economy and changed the lives of the Soviet people?


Ron

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun,
Have u seen any DRDO personnel attending uk airshow?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@9.37PM: Nope. No one from DRDO was present. Only an IAF Air Marshal was. DRDO doesn't go to those expos where there's a lot to learn & understand. It only goes to those expos which are junkets & where there's no hope of attracting any interest from anyone on DRDO-developed products, which in any case are not technological innovations, but are just re-engineered clones of products already developed before elsewhere.

To S SENTHIL KUMAR: There will never again be a military coup in Pakistan due to the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which calls for the US to stop all economic aid to Pakistan in case thyere's a military coup. Since beggars cannot be choosers, no one from the PA will dare to launch a military coup in future.

To RON: Stalin converted a sick USSR into a national security state that was unsustainable. All national security states have a finite life, examples being Nazi Germany & Imperial Japan. The USSR was the same & that's why while it could develop advanced weapons, it was never able to develop even reliables radios or microwave ovens. Only those countries run as welfare states are sustainable.

To GOPU: 1) Islam is a religion, & not a political science or ideology. Therefore, no religion in the world can ever form the foundational basis for a nation-state. But in case of Pakistan, it is & therefore that country is doomed to fail & break-up. 2) A correction here is reqd: the Holy Prophety NEVER established a nation-state with defined territorial boundaries. It was only after his death that those chosen to succeed him (the Khalifa, or the follower) established a Khilafat-e-Rashideen (the first 4 Khalifas or Caliphs establishing the Caliphate) introduced politics into a religious philosophy & thus was born the concept of political islam. It is all beautifully explained & detailed in this recent documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3O9d7PsI48

3) This AirLand campaign is not about conquering large chunks of land as part of the concept of overwhelming use of force. This is limited war with limited objectives & that too with the help of a multinational coalition whose foreign members will focus on decapitating the PA & its nuclear WMD arsenals through an offensive air campaign & a small number of surgical ground operations by special operations forces. Over mountainous terrain in PoK, the PA has always suffered from a distinct & telling advantage: non-availability of adequate manpower that’s accustomed to high-altitude warfare. That’s why its NLI infantrymen were decisively beaten back by the IA in mid-1999 despite the NLi personnel being located on dominating posts along the LoC’s Drass, Batalik, Kaksar & Turtuk sectors. For the IA, on the other hand, there’s no dearth of high-altitude warriors hailing from the Dogra, Garhwal, Gorkha, J & K Light Infantry & Kumaon regiments. In other words, the IA can assemble the critical mass at any given time, whereas the PA can’t due to the availability of only a small amount of pedrsonnel hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan. 4) Of course the French Air Force will be a vital part of the multinational coalition. 5) The K-9 Vajra tracked SPHs will be meant for fire-assault support to those forward-deployed, mechanized/armoured combined arms battle groups located throughout northern Punjab & southern Jammu under the Pivot Corps that will spring into action the moment the PA tries to advance its armourde/mechanised forces from Mangla or Gujranwala towards the Shakargarh Bulge or Chicken’s Neck areas, just like it had tried in both 1965 & 1971. It is for this reason that the IA should a long time ago been allowed to acquire its own ATGM-armed Light Attack Helicopters, instead of the LCHs & AH-64Es going to the IAF. But this hasn’t yet happened because India’s political class has no time to read up about India’s past war experiences & therefore it is totally uneducated in such matters.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

More data on the 26/11 conspirators & plotters & sponsors:

The infiltration of the Pakistan Army by Islamists or the officers’ sympathies vis-à-vis Islamists are obviously not very well-documented. The only conspiracy associating Army officers and Islamists that has been publicly acknowledged was the one that targetted Benazir Bhutto in 1995. The "plan was radical, it included the murder of PM Benazir Bhutto, Army Chief Abdul Waheed Kakar and some Lt Generals, the goal was the establishment of a Pakistan-Afghan caliphate". One of the Islamists involved, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, was a key figure of the Pakistani Jihadi nebula, but on the Army side, the most highly placed officers implicated was Major General Zaheer ul-Islam Abbasi, who, as a Brigadier had been the Defence Attaché in New Delhi from 1986 till 1988. After the plot was discovered, Abbasi and his accomplices were arrested and condemned by a military court to 10 years of detention. But they were prematurely released after Musharraf took over in 1999. Qari himself spent only five months in jail in 1995 and probably retained some of his ISI contacts, as mentioned above. In her posthumously published book, Benazir Bhutto, maintained that he was involved in the attempt on her life in Karachi in October 2007. After she was killed the Musharraf regime had no other choice but to detain him. However, he was free again after three months in June 2008, not only because the ISI still "kept faith" in him, but because he was also protected by Punjabi politicians.

Radicalisation at the highest levels has been witnessed earlier too, in the failed 1995 “Operation Khilafa” coup attempt. Led by DG Infantry at the GHQ, Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, the plan involved taking over the GHQ at the time of the Corps Commander Conference, killing the high-ranking officers and then taking over the country to impose a Taliban-esque radical Sunni government. Convicted or dismissed alongwith Maj Gen Abbasi were Brig Mustansar Billah, Col Inayatullah Khan, Col Azad Minhas, Col Abdul Hamid, Col Muhammad Iqbal, Lt Col Shamsul Islam Tahir and Lt Col Liaquat Ali Raja amongst others. One of the most alarming factors is that the approver for the prosecution, who was the militant given the duty to provide raiders for the attack, was none other than Qari Saifullah Akhtar, an ex Harkatul Jihad Al Islami militant who is now linked to Al Qaeda and was named by Benazir Bhutto as being involved in the attacks on her life.

Cont'd below...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Other individual trajectories suggest that sympathies of soldiers for the Islamists—and more precisely for Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba—became widespread after 9/11. The story of Captain Khurram is a case in point. Unlike Hamid Gul or other former officers, he was not a personality who publicly defended the Islamist cause but a sort of double agent clandestinely providing his experience of soldiering to jihadist groups. Captain Khurram was assault commander of the Zarrar Company in the Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) when the 11 September 2001 attacks occurred. In an e-mail message to Syed Saleem Shahzad he recounts that as a consequence of the event, he was "struck by the Jihadi waves and joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Azaad Kashmir." His elder brother, Major Haroon, who had taken part in the Kargil operation in 1999, did likewise after taking early retirement. This decision may be partly explained by their family's Salafist loyalties and their Kashmiri origins, but the US offensive in the fall of 2001 in Afghanistan was the real catalyst for this turn to jihadism. Like in the case of Mohsin Hamid's "reluctant fundamentalist", the promotion of Islam as religion is here a less determining factor in the choice of a career in the jihad than defending a country, albeit a Muslim one. Another Major, Abdul Rahman, joined the two brothers. But they were disappointed in the LeT, according to Khurram, due to "the extreme hypocrisy, luxuries, and evils of these so called mujahideen leaders", a remark that the followers of the "fighting mullah" would not quarrel with. Khurram and Rahman thus joined the jihad in Afghanistan where Khurram would die "as a martyr" in 2007 in Helmand. After his brother's death, Major Haroon reactivated his contacts within the LeT better to serve the jihadist cause. He journeyed frequently to North Waziristan, using his military past to impress the LeT (whose admiration for Pakistani officers, it seems, is on a par with the contempt the latter have for that party), and to mix with his former comrades. During his travels, when night fell, he stayed in Army messes in the countryside.

Cont'd below...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Being an ex-Army officer he was allowed this facility. He always kept his Army revolver on him with lots of bullets in case he was obstructed at any checkpoint, but his imposing bearing and unmistakable military accent in both English and Urdu always prevented this from happening." By mixing with the military, Major Haroon was better able to spy on the Pakistan Army than anyone else. This is how he reached the conviction that some senior officers of the Pakistani military were about to give in to US pressure to the point of lastingly damaging national sovereignty. He thus concocted a plan "to make a horrible example of them to deter others from joining the United States". He set his sights on a retired officer, an easier though no less appropriate target: Retired Maj Gen Ameer Faisal Alvi had commanded SSG operations in Angoor Ada in October 2003, during an operation that targetted Osama Bin Laden himself. The operation did not achieve its goal but eight Al Qaeda cadres were killed (including Abdur Rehman Khadar, a Canada-born Egyptian, and Hassan Maksum, a Uighur considered by China to be a "top terrorist". Major Haroon murdered Alvi with his Army revolver on 19 November 2008, thus showing officers still serving—he hoped—that one day they would also retire and could very well suffer the same fate. Ilyas Kashmiri was behind this crime and paid Haroon 150,000 rupees to carry it out. Major Haroon then went back to his former LeT comrades, especially commander Abu Hamza, to suggest a plan that the ISI had conceived but was in the process of discarding: an attack on symbolic locations in Mumbai. Major Rahman was involved, as he had made David Coleman Headley to often visit Mumbai to take videographs and photographs of the targets in question. Hamza presented the plan to Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, who approved. What followed were the 26 November 2008 attacks, by which their masterminds intended to provoke a war between India and Pakistan, thereby shifting the priority for military operations away from the Pashtun areas—such as after the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. India did not go to war but mustered thousands of soldiers at the Pakistani border, forcing Islamabad to withdraw troops from the western front, giving the Islamist groups there new room to manoeuvre.

Musharraf especially learned lessons from operations carried out in the tribal areas. The Kazha Punga offensive had clearly demonstrated the need to strengthen the Special Service Group (SSG), the elite commando with which Musharraf himself had trained. Musharraf thus created the SSG Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) and required the head of the SSG to be a two-star general. In August 2003, Maj Gen Amir Faisal Alvi, whose tragic end was related above, was appointed to this post. A few months later, on 2 October 2003, he conducted the operation in Angoor Ada mentioned above. Alvi had been eager to improve his organization’s cooperation with Western security forces (particularly British SAS). But Alvi had to face opposition within the Army, which allegedly forced him into early retirement in 2005. He was murdered three years later by Major Haroon.

Cont'd below...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

In fact, civilians, ex-officers and Islamists form sometimes an explicit alliance. The Defence of Pakistan Council is a case in point, since the organization founded in November 2001 was relaunched ten years later in November 2011 in reaction to the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers by a NATO aircraft in Salala near the Durand Line. This Council, chaired by Maulana Samiul-Haq, the JUI (S) leader, included former ISI officials (such as the late Lt Gen Hamid Gul) and politicians (such as Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed), leaders of Islamic parties such as the JI and the JUP as well as jihadists (including leaders of the Jama'at-ud Dawa, the new name of the LeT). The presence of members of the Tabligh-i-Jama'at at the top of the military hierarchy has been another sign of infiltrations of the Army by Islamist ideas. But, again, civilians were partly responsible for their rise to power. In 1992, for instance, Nawaz Sharif, after becoming Prime Minister for the first time appointed "a born again" Tablighi as DG ISI, Lt Gen Javed Nasir—who had already been the first bearded General of the Pakistan Army. The same man became a security adviser of Sharif in 1997 when he returned to power. The religious inclination of Nasir was well in tune with Sharif's plans of amending the Pakistani Constitution in order to make the Shariah the highest law in the country—a change that would have transformed him into the Amir-ul Momineen, the leader of the faithful. Indeed, the bill—that was passed by a two thirds majority in the National Assembly in October 1998—"empowered the Prime Minister to enforce what he thought was right and to prohibit what he considered was wrong in Islam and Shariah, irrespective of what the Constitution or any judgement of the court said". But this amendment was never passed by the Senate—because of the opposition of the MQM among others—and this episode exposes the Islamic tendencies of some civilians as much as those of some military officers.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To all those dreaming of J & K's accession to Pakistan, this programme, aired last night by a Pakistani TV channel, should be an eye-opener:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4kkrnt_insight-pakistan-with-ammara-16th-july-2016_news

Significant highlights:

1) Since 1984, there has been no expansion or renovation of educational/academic facilities that were set up by the ruling Dogras in 1928!
2) Critical shortages of public health facilities & medications.
3) Decrepit condition of road transportation infrastructure.
4) Extremely high unemployment rates due to all the workers being sent back by Saudi Arabia.
5) Acute shortages of drinking water.
6) Constant complaints by locals of PoK about Pakistan stripping PoK of all natural resources.

If anyone from the PMO & the State Govt Secretariat in Srinagar is reading this, then they better make sure this programme is repeatedly beamed throughout J & K by DTH & Cable TV channels without any further delay over the next 3 days, starting NOW!

sbm said...

Are we going to see an additional slow down in deployment or cutbacks in squadrons and ships fitted with the LR/MRSAM? Seems counterproductive to me. Give the TOI track record anything could be true.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-wary-of-cost-of-joint-ventures-with-Israel/articleshow/53256697.cms

The Sanatani Bhartiya said...

Prasun, These presstitutes will never allow it!Just see what tinge they are giving to J& K. Isn't there some one who can really well and truly have them through and through.Such shitty characters. Telling all sorts of lies for money.Selling themselves literally like their name sakes.And just because they get no free junkets from Modi!Don't you think that these creatures require to be given some really official attention by someone in the government.I have lost all sense of respect for the press in this country sorry to say.They are worse than anything i have seen!

Senthil Kumar said...

Dear Prasun,

After Failed coup, Turkey Sultan Erdodgan is taking law in his hands. European Union started to Warn Him.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-eu-mogherini-idUSKCN0ZY0EZ
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/18/world/middleeast/turkey-coup-erdogan.html?_r=0

Actually military planned to kill him with F16.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-plot-insight-idUSKCN0ZX0Q9

Thanks
S.Senthil Kumar


Anonymous said...

Hi,

Rheinmetall Air Defence - High Energy Laser (HEL) Combat Simulation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tslMWdubDCs

Regards

HPatel said...

why is it that when one google searches the images in PoK(aka azad kashmir), its looks really nice there?

I actually met few people from PoK on Saurday when i went to FIA2016. I can tell you they are extremely proud people, with little or no respect for indian of any type, even their kids, who like the english are violent (the work indian is used to demean). When you ask them where they are from, they always say Pakistan. Not like some of our punjabi's who say punjab. We can write what we like on these boards, but to make a difference we have to talk to these guys at individual level.

Anonymous said...



Mushraff tried to increase the size of SSG to div but he didnt succeed. SSG refused to lower its criteria. It infact increased it from lessons learnt. Thus is it now, over 12yrs since that order from Mushraff that SSG is still not div sized. Instead what you have is tier 2 SF, LCB (US ranger level.), that have become the main SOF and the FC SOF, that works closely with SSG. This is why today apart from NWA, the of the ops are mainly carried out by the FC. The other SF in PA is the BAT. These are not SSG (there are some ex-SSG) but are absolute killers. These are the adrenaline junkies, guys who enjoy constant action. These are the real shadow force, the only other SF force that SSG respects.

SSG1

Anonymous said...

what is your take on trump and Clinton obviously Bernie is best among all those but what if 1) trump got elected what repercussions would world face on climate deal,different sectors and middle east and esp Pak and Ind?
2) Clinton got elected what repercussions would face world on climate deal,different sectors and middle east and esp Pak and Ind?

Ron

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SBM: What the RM has done is to red=flag the high acquisition costs, & not the non-recurring R & D expenditure, as the report clearly illustrates. Reasons for the former’s high quantum are several & obvious: switching over to APAR from mechanically scanning radars is quite expensive UNLESS a family of APARs is developed for naval & land applications & for civil & military applications—all of which I had explained in the narrative on the previous thread. Coubtries all over the world have adopted this ‘family tree’ R & D approach, whereas in India no such approach has been adopted. Secondly, there’s the platform acquisition cost, which itself is 150% over budgeted levels due to non-adherance to production schedules & this is because of the Naval Design Bureau’s inability to freeze warship designs prior to hull construction, Ukraine defaulting on the contract to supply transmission shafts for P-15A DDGs due to which a repeat order had to be placed with Russia, & delayed arrival of steel from Russia because the contract had not been awarded by India on time. If the RM wants to bring down weapons R & D costs & platform acquisition costs, then all these shortcomings will have to be tackled in parallel. There are no short-cuts. Quantitatively, the requirements won’t be decreased, instead their procurements will be staggered due to the high costs at the moment.

To THE INDIAN: On the political front, it is clear the PDP-BJP alliance is a dysfunctional one due to their sheer lack of administrative experience & skill. At the Centre too, a clear-cut policy guideline is missing in terms of disposal of the bodies of slain terrorists, be they local or foreign. I still don’t understand why these creatures should be buried within J & K, or be buried at all! It appears as if those in the State & at the Centre who are entrusted with the task of engaging in psychological warfare aren’t up to the task at all! And that too when there’s no dearth of data & imagery on the pathetic state of existence in PoK. Here’s one more example aired last night. Start watching from 23.06:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4kkyj8_92-special-17th-july-2016_news

Instead of airing such content through DTH & Cable TV networks, the jokers have resorted to widespread news blackouts at tgis critical stage! Even local newspapers should have been instructed to accord publicity to such news now emanating from PoK. Instead, such an offensive counter-propaganda campaign seems to have been sacrificed in favour of a defensive & senseless campaign of information-denial.

Then there’s the issue of the ‘desi’ presstitutes. They are repeatedly airing archival footage of unrest without even putting the tagline of ‘Archival Footage’. This then leads the audience to believe that these are all live footages. What then is the I & B Ministry doing to correct this gross misrepresentation? No one is revealing that tourists for the Amarnath Yatra have begun resuming their journeys, that tourism to northern J & K and Ladakh lies undisturbed & even foreigners are now flocking to those areas, that all airlines flying to Srinagar have drastically reduced their air fares & hotel room reservation rates have also been reduced by local businessmen. The only note of warning for tourists is to refrain from entering the centre of Srinagar. Everywhere else, there’s no sign of public disorder. The ‘desi’ presstitutes are also not reporting exactly how many districts are under curfew & so everyone is ASSUMING that the entire state of J & K is under total lock-down, which is patently untrue.

Ved said...

Dear Prasun,
We live in a world of ballistic missiles having ranges from 100 km to 15000 km and having CEP of less than 10 metres!!!

Don't you think particularly in Indian context and in full blown war ballistic missiles and cruise missiles with high accuracy will play a far more greater role than Sukhois and Rafales.

No collateral danger, minimum time and maximum effect.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To HPATEL: When you step into PoK, you have to differentiate between Kashmiris & Mirpuris. The latter are not Kashmiris, but are Punjabi settlers. Nawaz Sharif is one of them. So are those who were resettled in the UK when their lands were drowned due to the construction of Mangla Dam in the 1960s. But as those 2 programmes demonstrate, the Mirpuris too are now totally disenchanted since 2005. The programme anchors of the two programmes too were seeking opinions from grassroots-level folks--both Mirpuris & Kashmiris. It therefore seems their views are not in sync with those of yours, especially when it comes to denial of basic human rights & basic public utilities. Is there even a single railway station or airport in Muzzafarabad? Have you ever seen either one over there? Those 2 programmes forever now demolish the notion of PoK being 'Jannat/Paradise when compared to India's J & K State. After this, even if you ask the whole world who's right & who's wrong, they will unanimously declare that your first-hand views on PoK have a serious credibility problem.

CSC said...

http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2016/07/653-crude-bombs-seized-in-burdwan-over.html?m=1
WHT is happening in mamta didi ke raj, how could so much happen and knowing my home state this is the tip of a huge fucking iceberg...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To CSC: It's a simple demand-and-supply issue. JMB operatives cannot go anywhere else except to India since Bangladesh is hemmed in by India on 3 sides. Consequently, the JMB operatives have to go fishing inside India for making such IEDs since the raw materials & ingredients are easily available in Jharkhand & WB, as are the machining shops reqd for making the 'desi' tamanchas. But what matters most is pre-emption & in this the WB Police & State IB has so far performed quite well & therefore you have this IED hail before these IEDs could reach their intended destinations. One cannot expect any better results than this in a country where even for second-hand automobiles or apartments available for sale countrywide, the standard practice is to make 50% payment by bank-draft & the remaining 50% in cash (i.e. black money).

CSC said...

Seriously impressed by your knowledge of the ten trillion plus bonds looking for investment destinations now that China is not so lucrative anymore for investors to ignore the lack of an unbiased judicial system.

Please also do answer my query regarding Indias stock and variety of wvr and bvr missiles and which aircraft take which

Srinivasa Nanduri said...

Hi Prasun,

For NLUH, cant hal make double engined luh? Why is navy looking for bell 429 / panther MBE?

Regards,
Ramanujam Nanduri

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To CSC: VMT. Stockpiles of AAMs of all types are listed on SIPRI's country database, based on India's submissions made to UN Weapons Register. As for matching AAMs with aircraft-types, there are scores of photos uploaded since 2011 that clear show what's armed with what.

To SRINAVASA NANDURI: There's no need for a twin-engined LUH when the existing Dhruv ALH can be re-engineered to incorporate folding main rotor blades & folding tail while at the same time slightly stretching the fuselage so that more internal fuel tanks can be accommodated to increase flight endurance. Why this approach hasn't been adopted as yet remains a mystery to me. A simple re-engineering is all it takes, as has been done to the baseline Lynx and AW-139 fuselages. It is for HAL to come up with such re-engineered solutions.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

http://www.dawn.com/news/1271483

The Chinese were “unhappy with the overall management of the project, particularly the involvement of various ministries”, which were causing unnecessary delays.

China anticipated a smooth implementation of CPEC-linked projects, but the slow pace and patchy consensus on the project within Pakistan have annoyed Beijing. The Pakistani establishment has attempted to use CPEC and its friendship with China as a strategy for balancing regional power, mainly against India, with less focus on the economic advantages of the initiative. Another issue which Chinese experts often highlight is the lack of any scientific approach in Pakistan, with indirect references to the fact that the eastern route—much more feasible from economic, security and strategic perspectives—should be prioritised. According to their rationale, a scientific approach is needed to manage costs and long routes. However, a political government cannot sell this idea as it incurs a political cost.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Afghan imports of wheat-flour from Pakistan have fallen by 60% after operationalisation of the Chah Bahar FTIZ,

Nearly half of the social media responses to Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's killing have been from "unknown" locations. Analysis of Twitter, Facebook and other social media reactions for the week July 8-14 found that of a sample of 1.26 lakh responses, 54,285 or 45% were from unknown geographical locations. About 49,159 responses, or 40%, were from India while over 8%, or 10,110, were from Pakistan. "This is a worrying trend because it indicates that there is a proxy war in cyberspace that Pakistan is indulging in. People are tweeting or commenting in the social media space to spark off trouble and there is no accountability,'' sources in the information and broadcasting (I & B) ministry said. Officials said that those posting comments may have switched off their location so that they could not be traced. The report reveals that the rest of the responses came from countries like the US (3,246), UK (1,463), UAE (849), Australia (472), Canada (406), Saudi Arabia (402) and China (394). Officials tracking social media see this as a test case. Wani, 22, is largely known to have popularised the image of militancy in J & K. His extensive use of social media made him a figure admired by the youth, sources said. Soon after he was shot dead in an encounter, hashtags like #BurhanWani, #PakistanstandswithKashmir and #KashmirUnrest started trending.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-may-be-waging-proxy-war-in-cyberspace-too/articleshow/53273657.cms

BROWN DESI said...

I hope GOI is actually working on the Chabahar port rather than just making big talk. Iranian foreign minister once said in indianexpress idea dialog that India may be a patient country but Iran is not. The wheels are in motion it is now up to us Indians to act BIG than just think.

http://in.rbth.com/opinion/2016/07/18/why-putin-and-rouhani-are-travelling-to-baku_612753

Regards;
Brown Desi

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BROWN DESI: Kindly browse through this:

https://kashmirica.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/a-worth-reading-book-the-untold-story-of-the-people-of-azad-kashmir-by-christopher-snedden/

Millard Keyes said...

If you switch to Russia India report site is there any truth and fact behind all those "news " or is it someone eats stuff that doesn't agree with their digestive order and ends up dreaming up dreams due to indigestion?

joydeep ghosh said...

@Prasun da

some questions posted again

1. With verdict on SCS going against China, does it weaken its clam over Arunachal & Aksai Chin?

2. Read reports sometime back that said China withdrew from actual Sumdrong Chu but keeps vigil from surrounding mountain tops thus not allowing IA to venture into that area, how true?

3. why was nose cone of Brahmos A redesigned and what is this 36 on the warhead
http://defense-update.com/20160625_brahmos_fly_on_su30mki.html

4. the answer you gave to RON regarding attack on PoK seem to be very easy & preplanned, do you really think PA or its COAS havent figured it by now

5. tanks in eastern ladakh probably nyoma could this mean similar air land campaign in aksai chin ??
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-positions-tanks-in-eastern-ladakh-to-take-on-possible-chinese-threat-1432981?pfrom=home-lateststories

6. it makes me believe the supposed air land campaign that you say will come against Pak is actually abt trying to send msg to China with reagards to SCS, already heard China has closed part of SCS for naval exersize, your view

7. The coup seems to have given turkish prez more popwer to make the country more islamist quite opposite to the Atta Turk principals of secularism. i think IS may well spread into Turkey if it suffer more in syria or iraq (kurds are enemy for both turkey/IS)???

thanks

Joydeep Ghosh

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To JOYDEEP GHOSH: 1) Not at all. The 2 issues are not linked or connected or related. 2) Not true. That's no man's land & both sides are on opposing north-south hilltops watching each other. 4) I sure hope the PA does & takes the cue from me & withdraws from PoK! %0 Why be vague & have self-imposed censorship? The T-72CIA Ajeya MBT Brigade is in Chushul. Another new T-72CIA MBT Brigade is in Sikkim to guard the Siliguri Corridor. T-72M1s & BMP-2s were first sent to Leh & Chushul/Spanggur Gap way back in early 1987. Have the photos to prove it.

Anonymous said...

what is your take on trump and Clinton?i think Bernie is best among all but what if 1) trump got elected what repercussions would world face on climate deal,different sectors and middle east and esp Pak and Ind?
2) Clinton got elected what repercussions would face world on climate deal,different sectors and middle east and esp Pak and Ind?

Ron

IndoUK said...

Prasun, if u r still happen to be in UK, you might have the hard time facing the 33 c temp today?

RAT said...

Hi Prasun,

See the type of agenda going on in support of the Burhan the swine just got it from a co-worker today

http://www.thequint.com/india/2016/07/16/this-kashmiris-response-to-an-army-veteran-is-a-must-read

The Major did respond

http://www.thequint.com/india/2016/07/19/major-gaurav-aryas-response-to-kashmiri-youths-letters

I have some questions how can a 10 yr old be beaten 16 times for just looking at security person? sounds crap if any one is beaten by security twice the child will never look that way its logical
The letter was meant for terrorist why the heck is this person replying? Seems Hurriyat sadist at work
Said Swine took up arms after his brother was beaten unconscious in from of him now why the same force that he claims beats up a 10 yr old let the swine go unhurt surely must have been more than 10 yrs that time? Is it that the forces beating up only 10yr olds and swine's brother.

I would like your comments on it so that I can provide it to the co-worker and clear his brain and other like him. Thanks Again

HPatel said...


I don't understand why newspaper publication was/is banned in Kashmir. It does not send a good message to rest of the world. We have gone beyond what most dictators wouldn't do. Why not get the editors to write something different to calm the people? Banning the internet, mobile telephone service and newspapers does not send a good picture.

I don't really care what is in PoK. What development they have or not? My only concern is with Kashmir. There has to be a better way to manage the situation then using the same hammer every time. It does not and will not solve the problem, irrespective to how we dress it. No one outside india is buying it.

Arpit Kanodia said...

@HPatel Your only concern is Kashmir? And not J&K. Or Kashmir include Jammu and Ladakh?

I am asking as in UNSC Resolution 47, there is no word like IOK, IHK or Kashmir or Gilgit Baltistan or Azad Kashmir, simple state of J&K.

Clear this, you pointing out only Valley? Or whole state of J&K.

But BTW, Democracy nothing to do with cold hearted decision, that India must take now.

Arpit Kanodia said...

I am unable to understand why you want to sell your dressing sense outside India, its upto India to solve there problems. No one going to spoon feed us.

if you dont know let me remind some history.


"""""

Things did not go well from the very beginning of her high-profile role as the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, when at an off-the-record briefing in October 1993, she told the reporters that the US viewed “the whole of Kashmir as disputed territory, the status of which needs to be resolved.”

Until 1997, when she was appointed Ambassador to Tunisia, Raphel repeatedly said that she had not said anything that was not US policy, but most Indian foreign policy watchers never forgave her for it, particularly as it was followed up by other measures that the Ministry of External Affairs didn’t like, including a 1996 arms deal with Pakistan, outreach to Sikhs, and an effort to develop diplomatic ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan in part in order to build an oil pipeline to Pakistan—efforts that earned her the nickname ‘Lady Taliban’ in the Indian press.

One Georgetown University foreign policy scholar in Washington argues that India’s long-standing grudge against Raphel is misplaced. In Fair’s view, Indians were right to be angry about the US South Asian policy, but mistaken about where to put the blame. “Looking back, the policies towards Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan were wrong,” says C Christine Fair, an assistant professor in the Center for Peace and Security Studies (CPASS), within Georgetown University’s Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service.
""""""

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/open-essays/the-lady-india-loved-to-hate#page5

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Are we taking back China-occupied PoK (Trans-Karakoram Tract)?

I know the Chinese like their Po(r)K and all, but Porkistan doesnt have the legal right to sell Po(r)k. It's all in the UN Resolution.

Also tell us readers on how we get Aksai Chin back.

India shouldnt even recognize Tibet as part of PRC when PRC talks BS on South China Sea, Arunachal, etc. etc...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ARPIT KANODIA: Actually, Ms.Robin Raphael was a much misunderstood person at that time when she made those remarks about J & K being disputed territory. After all, she was just the messenger, not the policymaker of the US & she therefore was uttering what she had been instructed to say by her superiors in the Clinton Administration. And the reason was that at that time Clinton was passionately lobbying for the CTBT to be ratified with India's help & approval as a signatory. But India did not budge at that time & like what Jaswant Singh did later from 1998 onwards with Strobe Talbott, India in 1996 began holding a nuclear dialogue with the US (just to buy time), which in turn mollified the US & six months after Robin Raphael's first statement, she was back in Delhi saying that J & K was an integral part of India & any point of dispute about it with Pakistan was resolvable under the 1972 Simla Agreement. So, these US policy turnarounds in the past were tailored towards furthering US foreign policy objectives of that time. In addition, from 1991 till 1997, Russian foreign policy was virtually being dictated by the US, & US State Dept officials during this period were actually embedded within the Russian Foreign Ministry, which further emboldened the US to try to impose the CTBT on everyone else. Only by 1998 Russia's Yeltsin had had enough of all this & drove out the US State Dept advisers, by which time the CTBT was a dead-duck & Clinton couldn't care less since he was deeply engrossed in getting hard-ons from Monica Lewinsky. Had P V Narasimha Rao or anyone else had enjoyed a clear single-party majority in Parliament in 1996, the Shakti-2 tests would have been conducted anytime after June 1996. While the boosted-fission warheads were ready for testing by December 10, 1995, the thermonuclear warhead design was available only by June 1996. All this is now documented in the book HALF-LION, based on the personal diary notations of the late PVNR.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To HPATEL: Only you can define what is meant by 'no one outside India is buying it'. So far, no country other than Pakistan has even bothered to raise this issue in any international fora or make any adverse comment on the goings-on. Yes, there is indeed a problem, & that concerns a divided land & therefore the problem can be resolved only after the divided lands are reunited. In any counter-insurgency situation, the local folks of that area have no other option but to endure repeated security checks, friskings etc etc that are conducted in remote rural areas close to the LoC. The choice then is being alive & surviving versus yearning for a dignified existence. The world at large won't make any adverse comment against India because India possesses hundreds of tonnes of documentary evidence of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in the form of several tens of non-Kashmiri Pakistani infiltrators from Punjab & KPK now languishing in Indian prisons, several hundred thousands of assault rifles & sniper rifles, hand-grenades & lakhs of rounds of ammo, hundreds of RPG rounds and several tens of GPS receivers--all of which are routinely shown to almost all foreign diplomats & Defence Attaches based in Delhi. In fact, the GPS receivers are always sent to forensic labs of various European & North American countries for authenticating their pre-programmed navigation maps. Hence, all that Pakistan can do is claim that terrorism is an effect because of the cause, i.e. India's military/paramilitary presence in J & K that prevents the natives of (only) Kashmir from voicing their dissent. In return, the whole world except Pakistan replies back saying that armed insurrection of armed Jihad is not the way to fight for Azaadi of any kind. Even the Palestinians in West Bank have done away with violence, while those in the Gaza Strip who refuse to lay down their arms continue to be eliminated mercilessly & no one, not even Turkey now, sheds any tears for them. And lastly, at a time when Europe & North America are being increasingly being targetted by suicidal Jihadists, do you really reckon anyone there has a stomach for realisation of 'azaadi' through armed insurrection? In fact, all indications are that these countries will give India a huge pat on the back for inflicting proportional damage on such Jihadists, be it through firing pelletised rounds or eliminating armed Jihadi combatants through intelligence-based shoot-to-kill operations, as was the case with the likes of Burhan Wani. Hell, this is precisely what is being done even by the Pakis in FATA & Balochistan. Thus, Pakistan can never expect the world to believe that its self-righteous & duplicitous PoV superior to the PoV of others.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAT: The narrative of that Kashmiri indicates that while he was 10 years old, this incident he claims took place in the very early 1990s when all the cordon-and-search operations were done by BSF personnel (who also used to wear OG fatigues), not IA personnel. The RR was still in the process of being raised at that time, nor were CRPF personnel available in large numbers at that time. So, it is a given that the inhuman treatment he he was meted out (assuming it to be true) wasn't the handiwork of the IA.

Secondly, from 1993 onwards, the RR introduced a novel system of cordon-and-search of settled areas, under which elders of that locality were first assembled & the operations by the IA, CRPF, BSF & J & K Police were all conducted under the supervision of these elders & they were witnesses to this entire process. It was only after this that the hearts & minds were won & by 1996 all the Pakistan-trained Kashmiris were alienated & isolated. The hard-core Fidayeen Jihadis came from different countries like Algeria, Libya, Yemen, the breakaway region of Russian Chechnya, Sudan & Morocco. Very few Afghanis were eliminated. What it means is that the Afghan Taliban & even OBL were loathe to send their own cadres into J & K, & preferred instead to use the non-Saudi Arabs & Chechans as expendable cannon-fodder. Kashmiris on either side of the LoC never had the stomach for becoming matharon (long haul) insurgents. It is just not part of their DNA.

Now coming to the other rebuttals, here they are:

Claim-1: I will not take this back to history and talk about why there is insurgency to begin with. I’m sure you are well aware of it. If not then you’re being conveniently ignorant.
Reality: He's trying to give the same line of reasoning that Pakistan always advances, i.e. terrorism or insurgency are legitimate effects of the cause ('political dissatisfaction). That may well have been the case pre-9/11. Post-9.11, the goalposts have been moved & legally or morally, there's no ethically or morally justifiable cause for armed insurrection. But this is exactly what is being propagated as the Islam of the Mullahs & Maulanas, as opposed to what Allah's Islam proclaims.

Claim-2: If J & K is an ‘integral’ part of India then why do not the laws of democracy apply there?
Reality: They do apply. Just a simple check of the areas/districts that come under AFSPA's jurisdiction will prove it. What portions of Jammu, northern J & K & Ladakh come under AFSPA? How many Kashmiris know about this? If folks living in those portions of J & K where AFSPA doesn't apply can live & thrive with dignity, what exactly is the problem with those J & K residents in Central & South J & K who come under AFSPA's purview? Were they born to be more equal than others?

Claim-3: Apparently he became a militant because the army trashed his brother unconscious in front of him. That probably was the first nail.
Reality: This only shows how little this Wani fella knew about Allah's Islam & hence his low threshold of tolerance. As opposed to this, one can cite several tens of examples of Indian Muslims who were wronged by law enforcement agencies by being kept as undertrials for several years, but they NEVER retaliated with force-of-arms. Instead, they accepted the challenge, used the criminal justice system of India to legally win their cases & clean their reputations, & they therefore are truly deserving of financial compensation from the Govt of India. Such people have prevailed & emerged victorious because they chose the righteous path, as opposed to a self-righteous path adopted by the likes of Burhan Wani & his family elders.

Cont'd below...

Millard Keyes said...

"Clinton couldn't care less since he was deeply engrossed in getting hard-ons from Monica Lewinsky" - I beg your pardon Prasun. Need to correct this - he wasn't getting a hard on he was getting rid off it! Lewinsky was oralinsky even possibly screwinsky.

Anonymous said...

@Prasun da,

regarding the current tensions in J&K, i feel that it was very poor strategy by the Union Govt which let us down. They could not grasp that situation can go out of control on Wani's death, which amazes me . The first thing which came to my mind (a commoner) on hearing his elimination was that, S.Kashmir is going to erupt now. I have never been to J&K and only have information from reading about it. But even then i could read the writing on the wall, which our government and forces missed? Wani was a difficult target, not militarily, but because he was effectively using social media. It would have been more prudent that he was captured alive, if not, his death being disclosed after a few years like what US does, and he being buried as an unidentified terrorist. I dont know our government is this dumb.

Even when the things went out of hand, we let Wani to be poster boy, and allowed him to do more damage than when he was alive. A single most question comes to my mind is why our forces (not army) are not able to do crowd control in non-lethal ways. I am sure there would have been ample methods available to perform it, especially after 2010 stone pelting experience. This way, we let go the hard earned security gains in J&K by alienating a dumb population.

On the second part, the counter argument by a Mr. Kashmiri to Major Gaurav was a lame one. While human dignity violations are to be deplored, where ever that be, the guy is trying hard to use it as a (poor) mask for glorifying an act of terror. By that way, the family of a murder victim is right to wage a war against other innocent people?, just because he did not get justice!...crazy logic. I found major Gaurav's line to be sensible. No country in this world will silently allow cessation, India is no exception. So if your will is to fight to cause a separation by force, then be ready to outdo the forces of the target country or be killed. In war with IA, seriously you dont stand a chance, and it is just a matter of time before you are eliminated or caught alive (if lucky). So it is fair, the end was written the day he chose gun, so why sentiments now. Just because he was purportedly handsome?...does it mean a terrorist has to be ugly and into his late 30s or 40s. That you prefer to be killed by a handsome teenager, than by an ugly one, crazy logic!!!

The Mr. Kashmiri again glosses over the fact that none of the separatist's kin are there in the business and compares that our soldiers may also not have the kin in forces. But see the stupidity, are our soldiers asking all others except kin to risk their lives in a fight, while their kin are out there leading good life? No, they are professionally in that job, and doing it sincerely. It is a matter of sheer criminal negligence if a 5 year or an underage dies in police firing, and that onus of the crime rests with the guardians of the kid not the forces. Why you take an underage to harms way? Because the dead kid or woman sells better?...how criminal thought it is.

However, i feel that crowd management has to be done in humane ways as much as possible. No human rights violations are appreciable. Loss of every life is terrible, when the person is unarmed. We should adopt modern methods to give proportionate punishment to each crime. Sadly, i feel here we did badly.

apologies for a long post,

Sreenivas R.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SREENIVAS R: Long pists are always appreciated since they offer contextualisation. Let me now share with you what's been happening since since 2005. For starters, watch these videoclips that uncover part of the plot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwVY1kmjlNo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNHUmvQ70Co

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVldSsmrr4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S35X3EdIC98

Now, use the info from those ground-reports & link it to the absence of any local community spending that ought to be done by the Village Panchayats. You will have to recall that there has been a systematic campaign since 2008 to assassinate all elected Sarpanchs heading each Gram/village Panchayat. Once this happens, then the Block Development Officer is unable to distribute the developmental funds since the BDO has to work in conjunction with the Sarpanch whenever there's a state govt in power. The BDO can directly disburse funds only when President's rule is imposed, not otherwise. So, assassinated Sarpanches mean no developmental funds for public utilities, which results in economic disenfranchisement & rising unemployment. These issues are then blown out of proportions during weekly Friday sermons by the Muftis throughout the thousands of mosques that have sprung up in J & K since 2005. Consequently, anti-administration sentiments run high & in order to earn a living, the youth are willing to sell their souls & kill their family-members or relatives.

This is the kind of psychological warfare that has been going on since 2005 & its first ugly manifestation was seen in 2010. So, to blame the present-day Central & State govts for the current state-of-affairs will be unfair. One has to take a holistic view in order to obtain holistic solutions. What I have outlined is only the conspiratorial pattern that has been known since 2010. Question is, do we still stay defensive or we go on the offensive the smart way & make the enemy pay an unaffordable price.

Magicbullet said...

Dada...IAF was ready to strike ..tanks in eastern ladhak..why this messaging now and what's the big picture..do connect dots for us..

AniOne said...

Prasunda,

As you already mentioned in this thread the difference between hard reality & popular perception of reality, this is just published in War Is Boring website & makes it very clear the point you have mentioned before that US considered genocide in Bangladesh a blot on their record & were always at unease with the policies of Pakistan..............

https://warisboring.com/in-1971-the-u-s-navy-almost-fought-the-soviets-over-bangladesh-c65489bc72c0#.fin8ts396

SOUBHAGYA said...

Dear Prasun,

Recently 10 CRPF personnel lost their lives in fighting against Maoist. Does it validate their claim that CRPF personnel are chickens for them. They can kill the way they want. Does life come so cheap for CRPF??? I am depressed.

Rajesh said...

You are right. In absence of FOD resistance, the Russian engines can not extract the best advantages of high temperature gases at the inlet section.

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