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Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for support
Pakistan tests nuclear capable cruise missile
English.news.cn 2011-04-29 13:28:19
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...9_52399124.jpg
The missile can deliver all types of warheads
ISLAMABAD, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday successfully conducted flight test of indigenously developed air launched cruise missile, which "can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with great pin point accuracy," the army said.
The "Hatf-VIII Ra'ad Cruise Missile" has the range of 350 kilometers, an army statement said.
The missile has been developed exclusively for launch from aerial platforms, the statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.
"The missile test was conducted as part of the continuous process of improving the technical parameters of the weapon system," it said.
The statement said the missile system has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand off capability on land and at sea.
"Cruise technology is extremely complex and has been developed by only a few countries in the world. The state of the art Ra'ad Cruise Missile with Stealth Capabilities is a Low Altitude, Terrain Hugging Missile with high maneuverability, and can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with great pin point accuracy," it said.
The successful launch has been appreciated by the president, the prime minister of Pakistan, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee who congratulated the scientists and engineers on their outstanding achievement.
Defense analysts said that Ra'ad is an air launched cruise missile which can be fired from all the aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force. The cruise missile can be used in an anti-shipping role via aircraft against the ground/static targets.
Ra'ad in Arabic means "Thunder" which will provide Pakistan a great strategic stand off capability of land and sea. The missile has low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in creating the missile.
Analysts said the biggest benefit of having this air launched cruise missile is stand off capability it has given to Pakistan.
Pakistan Air Force can target ground radars, and other specific military targets well beyond the visual range of the enemy. Pakistan has H-2 (60KM), H-3 (120KM) stand off weapons in its inventory and Ra'ad cruise missile will only add more range to its inventory giving it a three tier stand off capability at all times, day and night, analysts said.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
I can barely imagine what top brass in India must be thinking right now.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
I can....
"...Oh..... shit..... Get Gaurishankar on the phone and tell him to get cracking on those missiles we ordered last week!"
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
As Ties With US Sour, Islamabad Turns to Beijing
Submitted by Aurangzeb on April 29, 2011 – 4:45 am2 Comments
http://www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com/...80-398x300.jpg
ISLAMABAD: As ties between Washington and Islamabad reach one of their lowest points in over a decade, Pakistan’s top diplomat is on a trip to Beijing from Thursday (today) to shore up cooperation and support from one of the country’s oldest allies.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is visiting China for discussions with the Chinese leadership on bilateral, regional and international issues on April 28 and 29, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
“The foreign secretary will hold consultations with Chinese Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun,” said Tehmina Janjua in a statement issued in Islamabad on Wednesday. The visit is in the context of the established Pakistan-China strategic dialogue mechanism between the two foreign ministries.
But official sources confirmed that the foreign secretary’s visit to China was prompted by the recent rise in tensions between Pakistan and the United States due to a series of events, including the Raymond Davis affair and US a drone strike that killed dozens of civilians in Pakistan’s tribal districts.
“Under these circumstances, the foreign secretary’s visit to China has assumed greater significance,” said one foreign office official who wished to remain anonymous. “We have excellent relations with China but the time has come to take the ties to the next level where we should have less reliance on the Americans.”
Bashir’s visit to Beijing comes days after he dashed to Washington in an effort to overcome differences that have the potential to unravel ties between Pakistan and the United States and consequently impeding progress in Afghanistan.
Sources say Salman Bashir is strong advocate of seeking realignments, and has presented a detailed analysis to the government regarding a reduction in dependence on the US by reaching out to the Chinese.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2011.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/art...ow/8191538.cms
Pakistan troops along LoC put on high alert
May 8, 2011, 01.13am IST TNN
[ Josy Joseph ]
NEW DELHI: An embattled Pakistan Army has put its troops along the Line of Control (LoC) on a high state of alert as it scrambles to emerge from the embarrassment of having been caught unawares by the US troops, who raided the cantonment town of Abbottabad to take out Osama bin Laden.
According to authoritative sources, all units of Pakistani Army along the entire 740-kilometer LoC and the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line in Siachen were on Friday put on a "higher state of alert". Accordingly, "active deployment" has been beefed up along forward posts, said a senior official of Indian Army.
The officer said Indian Army has been careful not to respond to the high state of alert by Pakistan and "would not respond to it." Traditionally, the two sides are used to tit-for-tat responses to military actions.
Pakistan Army's move came a day after its corps commanders met with Army chief General Pervez Kayani to warn India against any misadventure. The statement was meant to be retaliation for remarks of Indian Army and Air Force chiefs that India has the capability to carry out an operation like the one executed by the US Seals in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Army top brass said in a statement on Thursday, "The forum, taking serious note of the assertions made by Indian military leadership about conducting similar operations, made it very clear that any misadventure of this kind will be responded to very strongly. There should be no doubt about it."
According to Indian military sources, ever since the last Monday raid by US troops to kill Bin Laden, there has been panic, embarrassment and disbelief in the Pakistan military over the way US helicopters travelled through their airspace, carried out the Special Forces Operation in Abbottabad, and went away with bin Laden's body All the way through, the Pakistani air defence did not pick up any signals of the ‘intrusion'. Worse, the first Pakistani fighters were scrambled almost a full hour after the American helicopters entered the Pakistan aerospace, shows Indian assessment.
Indian security establishment has been getting a stream of inputs showing the state of confusion and disbelief in the military. One senior officer pointed out that Pakistan Army's decision to put its units on high alert is reflective of the frustration of the strategic vulnerability exposed by the US operation. Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta, the nerve centre of Pakistan's nuclear programme, isn't very far from Abbottabad, meaning even strategic assets of Pakistan suffer from similar vulnerability, sources point out.
As more clarity emerge about the US operations, Indian military sources are now beginning to suspect that Americans may have deployed electronic counter-measures to jam Pakistan's radars from picking up the movement of the helicopters to Abbottabad and back, thus mocking normalcy. There are contradictory reports emerging from within Pakistan about what really happened to the radar network. While its foreign secretary hinted at the possibility of radars being jammed, the air force maintains that its radars were inactive on the particular day.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://www.pakistantimes.net/pt/detail.php?newsId=21342
President Zardari to pay official visit to Russia from May 11
'Pakistan Times' Diplomatic Desk
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation on 11-14 May 2011 at the invitation of President Medvedev.
During the visit, President Zardari will have indepth discussions with the Russian leadership on a range of bilateral issues and review important global issues of mutual interest.
The two sides will also emphasize the importance they attach to cooperating closely on issues of stability, peace and security in the common region and to continue to enhance bilateral contacts, consultations, cooperation and coordination between the two countries in this regard.
President Zardari will address the Russian business community at the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and also visit St. Petersburg, which is not only the second largest city but also the financial and industrial hub of Russia.
Pakistan enjoys cordial, cooperative relations with Russia. Both countries value their relationship which has witnessed a notable intensification of high level contacts in recent years.
The visit of President Zardari will be a leap forward in Pakistan-Russia relations. It will promote greater understanding between the two countries and help broaden and strengthen bilateral political, economic, security and cultural ties.
Discusses visit to Russia
Meanwhile, another report says that President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday chaired a meeting in connection with his forthcoming visit to Russia.
Those, who attended the meeting, included among others Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain, Secretary General Salman Farooqui, Secretary to President Malik Asif Hayat and secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Food and Agriculture, Industries and Production, Science and Technology, Chairman Wapda and other senior officials. Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar was also present.
Wide ranging matters were discussed including bilateral relations with Russia and cooperation in areas like agriculture, energy, trade, science and technology and industry.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
I have a feeling that if any manipulation is done, it will be by FSB.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://www.dailypioneer.com/337415/A...le-in-POK.html
Army chief briefs PM on China’s role in POK
May 09, 2011 6:31:41 PM
Rahul Datta/Mohit Kandhari | New Delhi/Jammu
Alarmed at the increasing Pakistan-China nexus, which has seen growing presence of Chinese security forces in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Army Chief General VK
Singh has taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In a detailed presentation, the Army chief has apprised the Prime Minister of the ground situation and its implications for Indian security. Gen Singh visited Leh a few days ago to take stock of the situation.
Disclosing this here, sources said the 750-km-long LoC is a disputed boundary between India and Pakistan. China, over the past few years, has increased its presence in POK, thereby effectively forming a military nexus with Pakistan and coming close to the LoC and posing a possible threat to Indian security interests.
Given this background, the Army chief visited Leh early last week to take first hand account of the ground situation and review operational preparedness before meeting the Prime Minister.
Sources said Gen Singh urged the political leadership to speed up the process of modernisation of the armed forces, besides improving infrastructure — including roads and airstrips — in the strategically important region of Jammu & Kashmir.
In fact, the first caution was sounded over the increasing Chinese footprint close to the LoC by Northern Command chief Lt General KT Parnaik in a seminar in Jammu last month. Expressing concern over the emerging scenario, he had said, “China is actually present and stationed on the LoC and it facilitates Pakistan armed forces to complement China’s military operations. Its footprints are too close to India and this presence of China in PoK has to be taken seriously.”
The senior Army officer had also made mention of the fact that China had gained a substantial foothold in Gilgit and Baltistan by infrastructure development and its considerably increasing presence, lends strength to China-Pak nexus which is of great security concern to India.
‘China has also strengthened its presence by building sea links and the increased Chinese presence around India is jeopardising the strategic interests of the country,’ Parnaik said while speaking in a seminar on ‘Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir Internal Dynamics and Externalities’ at University of Jammu.
The Army Commander said China had made inroads around India thus posing substantial challenges not only along the China-Indian border but also along the Line of Control (LoC).
He said ‘a great game is being played by Chinese expansionism and by mushrooming terror networks,’ adding that it was imperative to take control of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and find a viable solution to internal problems of the State without interference from Pakistan.
The Northern Command chief said ‘unless overt and covert interference of Pakistan is neutralised, no political or economic solution will be implemented.’ He also said Pakistan having ceded trans-Karakoram part of Gilgit and Baltistan to China in 1963, Karakoram highway was built to link Pakistan with China.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/st.../1/137527.html
India angry over US not sharing intelligence on ISI-run terror camps in Pakistan
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury | New Delhi, May 9, 2011 | Updated 07:52 IST
For India, it is the second humiliating snub after the David Headley episode.
India's intelligence establishment is upset that despite growing counterterror and intelligence cooperation with the US in the post 9/11 years, its 'partner' in the war against terror continues to keep it in the dark on crucial details relating Washington's strategic ally in the region - Pakistan.
It has now come to light that the US did not share with New Delhi details and specifics of ISI-run anti-India terror camps on Pakistani soil.
This specific information had been disclosed to US intelligence agencies by Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Revelations made by Guantanamo Bay captives, disclosed by Wikileaks, have proved that US was conscious of the location and size of ISI and Pakistan Armyrun anti-India terror camps.
The documents show that US officials were aware that terrorists in India were guided by Pakistani officials and one Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) inmate at Guantanamo Bay may have been an ISI agent.
Nabbed Afghan fighter Chaman Gul, also known as Mast Gul, fought in Kashmir.
"A former Major in the Pakistani Army, Mast Gul is a notorious terrorist. He fought against the Indian government in Kashmir..," a leaked note says.
The Guantanamo Bay files have several other explicit references to ISI support for terror attacks on India. Abdul Azia, LeT operative of Algerian origin and an al-Qaeda courier nabbed by the US in 2002 stated that Pak intelligence personnel allowed terror operatives to travel to India. The targets were chosen by the Pakistan Army.
Badr Awad Bakri al-Sumayri, a LeT member of Saudi Arabian origin, the terrorist is recorded as being recruited in his home country to travel to Pakistan for training in an ISIrun camp in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Mohammed Anwar, a Pakistani citizen, is believed to be LeT member who is also an ISI agent.
However, sources here said that such information was "never shared" with India despite concerns over the threat to India posed by such camps being repeatedly expressed by officials in various meetings with their American counterparts.
A former intelligence official, who has been part of many such discourses till last year, pointed out while relations between the intelligence agencies have improved in the recent years and a hotline has been established, Washington has never shared actionable and operational intelligence from the Guantanamo revelations.
"While discussions have been substantive in the post-Headley period and day to day sharing of information has been improving, the sharing of information has been more generic," the official said.
Said former deputy national security adviser Satish Chandra, "This is yet another classic case of US protecting its sources like in the David Headley case. It is further proof that US wants to save and preserve Pakistan. But they are failing to realise that they are creating a monster that will hurt them. It is time that US calls the bluff on Pakistan." According to official sources, while "generic" threat perception in the region was exchanged by the US officials, specific details, particularly those emerging from interrogations at the Guantanamo Bay prison, were never revealed.
It may be recalled that CIA chief Leon Panetta had an unscheduled stopover in India last October to share the US threat perception to the Commonwealth Games. "India is looking forward to actionable intelligence inputs," a senior source had said at that time.
The Indian establishment has been repeatedly flagging concerns over terror camps run by groups like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad during the course of meetings between the intelligence and security agencies of the two countries.
"Evidence of the role of ISI and the Pakistan Army in running these camps were also shared with the US interlocutors," a source pointed out. This was corroborated by a serving senior government official who is part of the counter-terror cooperation.
However, sources emphasised that while US shared certain generic information about terror camps, specific details that US agencies gathered in Pakistan and which could have helped India in combating terror groups, were missing from the bilateral deliberations.
"Inputs have only been shared over specific and current threats. But this does not include Guantanamo," a senior official said.
It is understood that the Guantanamo files have also disclosed al-Qaeda's interest in India, including a plot to target an Indian airline.
This obviously raises question marks over the sincerity of US co-operation, despite a slew of mechanisms in place for exchange of information.
The last Joint Working Group on counterterror was held here in March. The Homeland Security Dialogue is also scheduled to be held in Delhi later this month. Recently, the US also hosted several police officials both from the centre and the states at Chicago.
But there have been apprehensions in the Indian security establishment that even the Homeland Security Dialogue may not lead to entire sharing of information by the US on Pakbased anti-India terror.
Security experts even envisage a situation where India could end up sharing more inputs on security and terror-related matters under the Homeland Security Dialogue without reciprocity from the US agencies. This will limit India's ability to prevent any future terror attack.
Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal felt given the nature of current cooperation, the US should have been more forthcoming. "The role of ISI is well known to the US and given the nature of Indo-US ties, one would have reasonably expected US to be more forthcoming... hopefully after the Osama episode, US may begin to realise that it is in its core interests to deal with Pakistani content on terrorism," Sibal said.
While the US may claim that the two nations are working through "a huge range" of issues to implement enhanced counter terrorism cooperation in the wake of 26/11, the memories from Headley episode are far from fading.
It may be recalled that ten days before Obama landed in India, Home secretary G. K. Pillai had pointed out that India was "disappointed" that US never shared Headley's name with India, something which could have led to his arrest during any of his nine visits to India from 2006 to 2009.
"The issue here is that the name (of Headley) was not shared with us by the US, either before 26/11 or after 26/11 when Headley subsequently visited India in March 2009.
"We are disappointed that Headley's name was not provided to us. If that had been done, India could have nabbed Headley," Pillai had then said. Former Indian Envoy to Pakistan G. Parthasarathy, recalling his own meetings with his US counterpart in Islamabad, said Washington did not acknowledge symbiotic ties between al-Qaeda and other terror groups like LeT & JeM that have carried out most strikes against India.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/09/stor...0964031400.htm
ISI facilitated attacks on India: Guantanamo detentus
The Pakistan spy agency helped militants cross the border to attack targets chosen by the Army
Monday, May 09, 2011
WASHINGTON: The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) facilitated militants to cross the border to carry out strikes on Indian targets chosen by the Pakistan Army, several detainees at the Guantanamo Bay facility told U.S. interrogators, according to a fresh set of American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
The interrogation reports quoted a detainee as saying that the ISI “allowed” militants to travel to India where they conducted bombings, kidnappings and killing of Kashmiri people.
The revelations add to Pakistan's embarrassment after al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was found living in a million-dollar mansion in the garrison city of Abbottabad.
The U.S. was long aware of the presence of anti-India terror training camps in Pakistan with several inmates telling investigators how the ISI allowed militants to carry out attacks in India.
The disclosures are part of 779 interrogation reports from the facility of detainees from all over the world and show how a number of them were linked to the anti-Indian Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and had received terror training in Pakistan.
The reports quote detainees from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Pakistan as telling interrogators about their recruitment and subsequent travelling to Pakistan for terror training before their actual deployment for launching attacks against India and Afghanistan.
An Algerian detainee Abdul Azia admitted he was a member of the LeT for which he noted that “their mission [was] to kill Indians in India,” says a detailed report of his interrogation, released by the whistleblower website.
“Detainee is assessed to have been recruited in Saudi Arabia and received training from the LeT in Pakistan. The detainee is further assessed to have participated in a combat in Kashmir, and then travelled to Afghanistan where he was injured,” says a note about Azia.
Records of a Pakistani prisoner named Mohammad Anwer showed that he travelled to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he attended a LeT training camp for 21 days in 1998 and later served in Afghanistan.
“Detainee has been identified through sensitive reporting as a Pakistani ISI Directorate agent,” the document says.
One of the reports quotes Chaman Gul, an Afghan militant, as telling investigators about Mast Gul, a former Major of the Pakistani Army, who was “a notorious terrorist who fought in Kashmir and planned terror attacks against a number of targets in Kabul.”
The detainee claimed that Mast Gul controlled all guerilla activities in Kashmir from his home base in Muzaffarabad. Chaman said militants were deployed for three to four months and then asked to return.
He said that as member of Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, he was part of a plan to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. Ambassador.
One detainee Yacoub claimed that he had got a security job in the Afghan government, and another said he was an informant for the British intelligence service.
India as platform
In another such assessment report, a senior al-Qaeda operative was said to be planning to use Indians for terror attacks because of the low-level of scrutiny Indians are subjected to in the western nations.
“Detainee admitted that he had considered using India as a platform to send operatives to the U.S. or the U.K. because of the large Muslim population there and the low level of scrutiny given to travellers of Indian nationality,” the document on Abu al-Libbi says. — PTI
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-n...t-alert-at-LoC
‘Pak Army on highest alert at LoC’
Published: May 09, 2011
NEW DELHI (Agencies) – The Pakistan Army has put its troops along the Line of Control (LoC) on a high state of alert as it scrambles to emerge from the fallout of the unilateral American action in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaeda chief Obama bin Laden, claims an Indian newspaper.
Quoting its sources, it said all units of the Pakistan Army along the entire 740-kilometre stretch of the LoC and the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line in Siachen were Friday put on the “higher state of alert”.
“Active deployment” has been beefed up along forward posts, said a senior official of the Indian Army.
The officer said the Indian Army has been careful not to respond to the high state of alert by Pakistan and “would not respond to it.” Traditionally, the two sides are used to tit-for-tat responses to military actions.
The response by the Pakistan Army seem to be a retaliation for remarks made by Indian Army and Air Force chiefs that India has the capability to carry out an operation like the one executed by the US Seals in Pakistan. The Pakistan Army top brass said in a statement on Thursday, “The corps commanders, taking serious note of the assertions made by Indian military leadership about conducting similar operations, made it very clear that any misadventure of this kind will be responded to very strongly. Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta, the nerve centre of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, isn’t very far from Abbottabad, meaning even strategic assets of Pakistan suffer from similar vulnerability, the Indian report said.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8501266/Pakistan-Prime-Minister-to-warn-US-over-Osama-bin-Laden-raid.html
Pakistan Prime Minister to warn US over Osama bin Laden raid
Pakistan's prime minister will on Monday warn the United States it will defend its air space if American forces mount another raid on terrorists suspected of hiding inside the country.
By Dean Nelson, Javed Siddiq and Rob Crilly in Islamabad 8:18PM BST 08 May 2011
Yusuf Raza Gilani will seek to restore some dignity in an address to the nation after the humiliation caused when American forces killed Osama bin Laden at a compound close to Pakistan's main military academy in Abbottabad last week without alerting Pakistan.
A senior government source close to the prime minister said while Mr Gilani will take an aggressive stand to shore up the government's position.
The source said: "The Prime Minister will say that the United States should not have bypassed Pakistan. We have made a huge contribution in fighting terrorism. We've arrested close to 100 al-Qaeda people, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
"We'll take appropriate action if any further violation takes place. We will defend our air space by any means we have."
He will say that Washington's decision to launch the raid without consulting Islamabad had plunged military and political relations between the frosty allies to a new low.
Sources in Mr Gilani's office said the country's air defences on its Western border will now be upgraded to confront any future US raids from bases in Afghanistan.
The country's Air Chief will establish a committee of inquiry into the air warning failures which allowed American helicopters to fly undetected into the heart of the country's military establishment in Abbottabad.
Mr Gilani is also expected to announce his own inquiry and to consult opposition leaders about the future of Pakistan's relationship with the United States.
The prime minister is under intense pressure from opponents, including his own former foreign minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi who has called on him and President Zardari to resign over the issue.
Mr Gilani's warning will raise the threat of military confrontation between the two after new information discovered at bin Laden's compound was said to disclose the whereabouts of bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri inside Pakistan, potentially leading to another raid.
President Obama's spokesman last week said he continued to reserve America's right to strike at terrorist targets in Pakistan.
The by US Navy Seals had taken place just weeks after Pakistan Army chief General Kiyani had met his US counterpart and agreed to increase military and intelligence co-operation, according to Pakistani government sources. The relationship had already deteriorated after CIA operative Raymond Davis shot dead two motorcycle gunmen in Lahore in January.
"The Army is very much hurt. There was an understanding to continue our co-operation in the war on terrorism and then in the following weeks they did this. It shows how much they trust us. The Americans think they can do whatever they want, but the Pakistan people are full of hate for them," the government source said.
The CIA chief Leon Panetta last week said the US had decided not to inform Pakistan of the imminent raid because it feared its plans would be leaked and thwarted.
In a move that will heighten American anxiety over Pakistan's reaction, local media named the CIA's Islamabad station chief, raising suspicions that intelligence officers had leaked it in revenge for the bin Laden operation.
Sources in Pakistan said the name was incorrect, however.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles
http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=178413
Pakistan seeks Saudi support against drones
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sought Saudi support to build diplomatic pressure on US to stop drone attacks inside Pakistani territories reiterating that these strikes were counter productive in international drive against terrorism.
“Yes, we are seeking support from not only Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also the entire international community to convince US that drone attacks were impeding rather helping the war against terrorism,” said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar answering a question after media briefing on her last visit to the Kingdom. She referred to Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s recent statement in this regard wherein Pakistan has sought diplomatic support from world capitals to convince US to stop predators’ hitting civilians while targeting militants.
She claimed that her visit had restored the mutual trust and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were on the same page in dealing with the issue of Afghanistan and international counter terror drive.
Backing her claim of restoring traditionally cordial ties with the Saudis, the Minister of State said that KSA has understood Pakistan’s challenges with energy crisis on top of them and has offered to finance hydropower projects chiefly Diamer-Bhasha Dam. “No only the government of KSA would support Hydropower development in Pakistan but it would also encourage other development and private funds to join hands in consortia to finance cheapest power generation here,” she said in her off the cuff opening remarks.
The Minister described her visit to Saudi Arabia as a breakthrough for Pakistan’s external trade development. “We anticipate earliest possible conclusion of Pak-GCC Free Trade Agreement with the active support of Saudi Arabia. And this is the message we want to give out to the world that we need trade not aid,” she observed.
“We have paid the highest price in the war on terror in terms of lives, economic losses, and many other irreparable damages to the country as well as society. Deserving compensation from across the glob we seek assistance in terms of trade, investment, and access to markets and not aid,” she maintained.
Apart from trade Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also agreed to cooperate in the field of Agriculture. Specific projects in sectors namely diary forming, corporate forming, mechanization, and food processing would be launched, the Minister said.
To a question about sale of lands to Saudis, she said, “we don’t have to go for sale purchase deals with any foreign party. There is a huge market of processed food in Saudi Arabia and we can go for joint ventures to install food processing plants in Pakistan,” the minister observed.
To a question on Indian missions in Afghanistan allegedly working against Pakistan, she said, “we don’t want Afghan lands used by any country for misadventures in Pakistan.”
Replying questions regarding Pakistani’s languishing in Saudi jails she said, Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide consular access to all those that require in any case. “We have agreed in principle to institutionalize consular access mechanism as millions of Pakistanis are living and working in Saudi Arabia. In terms of manpower Pakistan has contributed a lot to the development of Saudi Arabia,” she added.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...error-targets/
Pakistan PM Warns of 'Full Force' Response to Future U.S. Raids
Published May 09, 2011
| FoxNews.com
Pakistan's prime minister warned the United States Monday that his country could respond to any future U.S. raids on its soil with "full force," in the latest escalation of rhetoric in the wake of Usama bin Laden's death.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, like other officials in Islamabad, said the killing of bin Laden in northern Pakistan was a positive step. But, reflecting concerns that the unilateral strike violated his country's sovereignty, Gilani sent a clear message to the United States. He warned any "overt or covert" attack would be met with a "matching response" in the future.
"Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate with full force. No one should underestimate the resolve and capability of our nation and armed forces to defend our sacred homeland," Gilani said.
Pakistani officials are taking a firm stance on the raid, as the United States analyzes the trove of evidence collected from the bin Laden compound. That evidence -- described as the largest intelligence find ever from a senior terror leader -- could lead the United States to other terrorists on Pakistani soil, once again forcing President Obama to decide whether to go around the Pakistanis to capture or kill a high-value terror target.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has said the president reserves the right to enter Pakistani territory to act against terror suspects if Pakistan will not, and reiterated that message when asked about Gilani's speech. He said Monday that while the U.S. takes Pakistanis' concerns seriously, the U.S. does "not apologize" for the raid.
"It's simply beyond doubt in his mind that he had the right and the imperative to do this," Carney said Monday.
With analysts combing through the bin Laden files for clues on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri or Taliban chief Mullah Omar, some are calling on Obama to strike again while Al Qaeda and its allies are staggering.
"We have no right to keep our troops on the defense dying, when we know where some of the highest-ranking people in the Taliban are," Bing West, former assistant defense secretary, told Fox News on Monday.
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said that if the U.S. gets bin Laden's deputy -- presumed to be al-Zawahiri -- in its sights, "the same calculus" that was used on bin Laden should apply.
But the thought already has Pakistani leaders fuming.
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., told ABC's "This Week" that the Pakistani government wants to continue "joint operations," but is concerned about the nature of the raid last weekend.
"Nobody said that we didn't want Usama bin Laden taken out. What we are offended by is the violation of our sovereignty," he said. "Now, we've heard the American explanation. But at the same time, try and put yourself in the position of a Pakistani leader who has to go to votes from the same people who will turn around and say, 'You know what? You can't protect this country from American helicopters coming in.'"
U.S. officials have made clear that they did not loop in the Pakistanis on the raid out of concern that somebody would tip off bin Laden.
Asked about the Pakistanis' concerns, Carney said repeatedly Monday that the U.S. continues to view its relationship with the country as "important."
Obama, in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," confirmed that he did not inform Pakistani officials of the raid in advance, though he praised Pakistan's cooperation considering "we've been able to kill more terrorists on Pakistani soil than just about any place else."
However, Obama also questioned whether anybody inside the Pakistani government might have known about bin Laden's location all along.
"We were surprised that he could maintain a compound like that for that long without there being a tip-off," Obama said. "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was. We don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that's something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate."
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://ftpapp.app.com.pk/en_/index.p...38772&Itemid=1
Pakistan-China relations based on depth and vitality
Associated Press of Pakistan
May 9, 2011
ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari Monday termed Pakistan’s relationship with China based on “depth and vitality” that increases with each passing day and said it was rooted in history and based on mutual trust and respect. The President who joined an event marking the celebration of 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries here at the Chinese embassy said Pakistan was proud to have China as a friend and vowed that it would always stand by China. “We will always stand by China as a true and trusted friend and partner,” he said and paid tributes to the wisdom of the architects of Pakistan-China friendship.
He said “the celebrations this evening demonstrate the sentiments of friendship in the hearts and minds of our people.”
The President said the people of the two countries were joined in bonds of friendship and trust.
“Ours is a relationship that is not matched by any other relationship between two sovereign countries,” he said.
“It is a relationship, the depth and vitality of which increases with each passing day,” the President added.
He said Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai were the true architects of this friendship and paid tributes to those who succeeded these great leaders and pursued their vision.
“I also salute all those men and women, both in Pakistan and in China, who over the last six decades, have worked with devotion and commitment to further deepen and broaden our friendship.”
He said strengthening Pakistan-China relations have been a central focus of the government of the Pakistan Peoples Party and noted that over the past three years, the architecture of Pakistan-China partnership has been built on a firm foundation.
“We take great pride in the achievements of China,” he said and added “these achievements attest to the genius, skills and talent of the Chinese people and of the wisdom of their leadership.”
He said the leadership and people of two countries were united in their determination to take our friendship and partnership to new heights.
He expressed his delight for participation in the celebrations marking the Pakistan-China Friendship Year and welcomed the Chinese cultural troupe that specially came from Xinjiang (ZHIN-JIANG) to participate in the celebrations today.
He in particular thanked Ambassador Liu Jian and the Chinese friends, for organizing a special cultural evening.
President Zardari ended his brief remarks with the slogan of “Long Live Pak-China Friendship”.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
Pakistan PM Warns of 'Full Force' Response to Future U.S. Raids
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...ojectedfut.jpg
My .02 - I seem to remember, right after 9/11, a very high ranking member of Bush's cabinet (Rumsfeld maybe?) telling them they would cooperate, or would be living in the stone age for the next several hundred years.
Pakistan's prime minister warned the United States Monday that his country could respond to any future U.S. raids on its soil with "full force," in the latest escalation of rhetoric in the wake of Usama bin Laden's death.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, like other officials in Islamabad, said the killing of bin Laden in northern Pakistan was a positive step. But, reflecting concerns that the unilateral strike violated his country's sovereignty, Gilani sent a clear message to the United States. He warned any "overt or covert" attack would be met with a "matching response" in the future.
"Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate with full force. No one should underestimate the resolve and capability of our nation and armed forces to defend our sacred homeland," Gilani said.
Pakistani officials are taking a firm stance on the raid, as the United States analyzes the trove of evidence collected from the bin Laden compound. That evidence -- described as the largest intelligence find ever from a senior terror leader -- could lead the United States to other terrorists on Pakistani soil, once again forcing President Obama to decide whether to go around the Pakistanis to capture or kill a high-value terror target.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has said the president reserves the right to enter Pakistani territory to act against terror suspects if Pakistan will not, and reiterated that message when asked about Gilani's speech. He said Monday that while the U.S. takes Pakistanis' concerns seriously, the U.S. does "not apologize" for the raid.
"It's simply beyond doubt in his mind that he had the right and the imperative to do this," Carney said Monday.
With analysts combing through the bin Laden files for clues on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri or Taliban chief Mullah Omar, some are calling on Obama to strike again while Al Qaeda and its allies are staggering.
"We have no right to keep our troops on the defense dying, when we know where some of the highest-ranking people in the Taliban are," Bing West, former assistant defense secretary, told Fox News on Monday.
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said that if the U.S. gets bin Laden's deputy -- presumed to be al-Zawahiri -- in its sights, "the same calculus" that was used on bin Laden should apply.
But the thought already has Pakistani leaders fuming.
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., told ABC's "This Week" that the Pakistani government wants to continue "joint operations," but is concerned about the nature of the raid last weekend.
"Nobody said that we didn't want Usama bin Laden taken out. What we are offended by is the violation of our sovereignty," he said. "Now, we've heard the American explanation. But at the same time, try and put yourself in the position of a Pakistani leader who has to go to votes from the same people who will turn around and say, 'You know what? You can't protect this country from American helicopters coming in.'"
U.S. officials have made clear that they did not loop in the Pakistanis on the raid out of concern that somebody would tip off bin Laden.
Asked about the Pakistanis' concerns, Carney said repeatedly Monday that the U.S. continues to view its relationship with the country as "important."
Obama, in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," confirmed that he did not inform Pakistani officials of the raid in advance, though he praised Pakistan's cooperation considering "we've been able to kill more terrorists on Pakistani soil than just about any place else."
However, Obama also questioned whether anybody inside the Pakistani government might have known about bin Laden's location all along.
"We were surprised that he could maintain a compound like that for that long without there being a tip-off," Obama said. "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was. We don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that's something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate."
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
Companion Post:
Pakistani PM Disses US And Says China Is Its New "All Weather Friend"
Robert W. Johnson | May 10, 2011, 11:54 AM | 716 | http://static4.businessinsider.com/a...ment_12x12.gif 11
http://wnnpakistan.co.uk/wp-content/...nniversary.jpg
In his 30-minute speech to parliament following the U.S. raid on Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan Prime Minister made one thing very clear: China is is Pakistan's new best friend.
According to the Globe and Mail, Gilani will remain receptive to U.S. relations and the $4 billion aid package his country receives every year, but he is looking to China as a long-term stabilizing presence.
China does not offer Pakistan much assistance, but it does provide nuclear cooperation, and what it demands in return, like access to mining and ports, has yet to cause the type of uproar following the May 2 raid.
During his speech, Gilani said:
We are delighted that our all-weather friend, the People’s Republic of China, has made tremendous strides in economic and technological development that are a source of inspiration and strength for the people of Pakistan.
The "all-weather" reference refers to the wavering attention the U.S. devotes to the region. Such as during the Soviet occupation in the 1980's and then not again until the War on Terror on the last decade. Some in Pakistan believe that with the death of Bin Laden, and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Pakistan in 2014, U.S. attention will again drift elsewhere.
Whether such statements are any more than political posturing, meant to antagonize U.S. officials, remains to be seen.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-...ry?id=13570573
Osama Bin Laden Raid: Pakistan Hints China Wants a Peek at Secret Helicopter
By MATTHEW COLE, JIM SCIUTTO (@jimsciuttoABC), LEE FERRAN and BRIAN ROSS (@brianross)
May 10, 2011
Photographs taken after a Navy SEAL team raided Osama bin Laden?s compound in Pakistan show the wreckage of one helicopter that clipped a rotor on a compound wall, was abandoned and destroyed. (European PressPhoto Agency) Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggest the Chinese are as well. The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also "very interested" in seeing the remains. Another official said, "We might let them [the Chinese] take a look."
A U.S. official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be "shocked" if the Chinese hadn't already been given access to the damaged aircraft. The chopper, which aviation experts believe to be a highly classified modified version of a Blackhawk helicopter, clipped a wall during the operation that took down the al Qaeda leader, the White House said. The U.S. Navy SEALs that rode in on the bird attempted to destroy it after abandoning it on the ground, but a significant portion of the tail section survived the explosion. In the days after the raid, the tail section and other pieces of debris -- including a mysterious cloth-like covering that the local children found entertaining to play with -- were photographed being hauled away from the crash site by tractor. Aviation experts said the unusual configuration of the rear rotor, the curious hub-cap like housing around it and the general shape of the bird are all clues the helicopter was highly modified to not only be quiet, but to have as small a radar signature as possible.
European PressPhoto Agency Photographs taken after a Navy SEAL team raided Osama bin Laden?s compound in Pakistan show the wreckage of one helicopter that clipped a rotor on a compound wall, was abandoned and destroyed. The helicopter's remains have apparently become another chip in a tense, high-stakes game of diplomacy between the U.S. and Pakistan following the U.S.'s unilateral military raid of bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, more than a week ago. The potential technological advancements gleaned from the bird could be a "much appreciated gift" to the Chinese, according to former White House counterterrorism advisor and ABC News consultant Richard Clarke. "Because Pakistan gets access to Chinese missile technology and other advanced systems, Islamabad is always looking for ways to give China something in return," Clarke said. The Chinese and Pakistani governments are known to have a close relationship.
Last month Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif concluded a trip to Beijing, afterwards telling Pakistan's local press that China was Pakistan's "best friend." Dan Goure, a former Department of Defense official and vice president of the Lexington Institute, said last week the stealth chopper likely provided the SEALs an invaluable advantage in the moments before the shooting started. "This is a first," he said. "You wouldn't know that it was coming right at you. And that's what's important, because these are coming in fast and low, and if they aren't sounding like they're coming right at you, you might not even react until it's too late... That was clearly part of the success." Neighbors of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, told ABC News they didn't hear the helicopters the night of the raid until they were overhead. Officials at the U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment for this report, and a senior Pentagon official told ABC News last week the Department would "absolutely not" discuss anything relating to the downed chopper.
Several Chinese government officials in the U.S. and in China were not available for comment. U.S. officials have not officially disclosed any details on the helicopter, but President Obama said it was a "$60 million helicopter," according to a report by The Washington Post. While the price tag on normal Blackhawks varies depending the type, none cost more than $20 million according to the latest Department of Defense procurement report. China's Murky History With U.S. Stealth Technology If the Chinese are allowed to see the wreckage, it may not be the first time the Chinese military was given an opportunity to benefit technologically from America's misfortune.
In 1999 an American stealth F-117 Nighthawk bomber was shot down in Serbia, the wreckage of which was reportedly passed along to the Chinese. More than a decade later, in January of this year, China's first stealth fighter, the J-20, took a test flight that caught international attention and sparked a debate over whether China had developed the stealth-capabilities based on what they learned from the downed Nighthawk. Balkan military officials told The Associated Press the Chinese likely based their designs on the American plane, but Chinese officials denied the allegation in their state-run newspaper, The Global Times Regardless of its origins, the J-20 could serve as the first major challenge to American air superiority in decades. In an analysis published last week, the conservative think tank The Jamestown Foundation concluded the J-20 was capable of rivaling America's best air-to-air fighter, the F-22, in everything from speed to stealth and lethality.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.business-standard.com/ind...isis/134672/on
US, Pakistan lock horns in deepening crisis
AFP/ PTI / Washington May 10, 2011, 17:30 IST
The US and Pakistan locked horns Monday over the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in what looks increasingly like the two countries' worst crisis since they became war-on-terror allies.
One expert found it hard to see how the two would emerge from the crisis, another said the two at least recognised the danger to their relationship and a third urged a last-ditch bid to right what he saw as lopsided ties.
Analyst Lisa Curtis said Washington had first thought it would be able to press Islamabad to cooperate more in counter-terrorism after the May 2 raid that killed the world's most wanted terrorist on Pakistani territory.
"Instead, Pakistan is digging its heels in and trying to make themselves look like the aggrieved party," said Curtis, a former CIA analyst and State Department advisor on south Asia now with the Heritage Foundation think tank.
Islamabad yesterday warned it would retaliate against any future strikes on its territory, even as Washington refused to apologise for killing the al-Qaeda leader on Pakistani soil.
Rather than trying to "assuage" US officials over questions of complicity with bin Laden living in their midst, Curtis told AFP, Pakistani officials are "upping the ante" and resorting to "brinksmanship".
The approach, she said, will only cause US lawmakers who control the purse string to increase demands to withhold billions of dollars in annual economic and military aid to Pakistan until Islamabad provides more cooperation.
"I think US-Pakistan relations are at an all-time low, maybe at the lowest point they've ever been in history. And it's difficult to see a way forward at this point," Curtis said.
Both sides have much at stake in the relationship, which may or may not brake a worsening slide, according to analysts.
The Obama administration needs the Pakistani port of Karachi and its roads to supply US forces in landlocked Afghanistan. It also needs to keep US intelligence operatives on the ground in Pakistan.
Last but not least, it wants to remain engaged with Pakistan to make sure its nuclear weapons "stay out of the hands of terrorists", Curtis said.
Pakistan, meanwhile, needs US aid while it also relies on US influence with the International Monetary Fund to boost its flagging economy, Curtis said.
"I think they both need each other," Curtis said.
Analyst Michael O'Hanlon observed "some efforts to keep things cordial" on both sides as the two grapple with what he said is "probably" the worst crisis in ties since they became allies after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The good news is "both sides are treating it as a serious issue and both sides recognise that there's some danger to where the relationship is," the Brookings Institution analyst told AFP.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-n...-into-Pakistan
Iran warns US against extending war into Pakistan
Submitted 24 mins ago
TEHRAN (Online) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned US President Barack Obama against extending the war in Afghanistan to neighbouring Pakistan.
‘I warn Obama to take a lesson from former President George W.Bush’s fate and to stop expanding the war’, he said. ‘The best option for him is to withdraw his forces from our region’, Ahmadinejad added. The Iranian President made the comments at a news conference in Istanbul on the sidelines of the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries. ‘If he (Obama) makes a wrong decision, he will suffer an even worse fate than that of Bush’, Ahmadinejad said. He went on to say that the US invaded the region after the 9/11 attacks under the pretext of the campaign against terrorism, but there has never been an independent investigation into the events.
He also underlined the need to reform the UN structure, noting that the nations of the world have come to the conclusion that the UN must be reformed since the major powers currently control it.
The five-day UN summit with 48 leaders of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) began in Istanbul on Monday to discuss a new 10-year aid plan to help lift nations out of poverty.
At the UN conference, the Iranian President presented Iran’s six-point plan for reforming the ‘unjust’ world system.
The UN holds a Least Developed Countries conference every decade. France hosted the first two LDC conferences in 1981 and 1990. The third was held in Brussels in 2001.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://tribune.com.pk/story/166320/z...with-medvedev/
Zardari reaches Moscow on official visit
By AFP
Published: May 11, 2011
MOSCOW: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrived on Wednesday for talks with Russian leaders in Moscow, his first foreign visit since the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces.
On Thursday Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will host Zardari for talks at the Kremlin where officials from the two countries are also expected to sign agreements on cooperation in agriculture, aviation and energy, a spokesman for the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow told AFP.
“Economics will be the focus of the visit,” said the spokesman, Raja Abdul Qayyum.
Zardari arrived on Wednesday afternoon but has no official events scheduled until Thursday.
Russia and Pakistan called for the development of regional economic projects and the revival of cooperation that dated back to the Soviet era at a rare summit last year.
Medvedev hosted Zardari at his Black Sea residence in Sochi as part of the four-way summit which also included Afghanistan and Tajikistan last August when the four states agreed to pursue joint economic projects to help bring stability to the volatile region.
Citing a source close to the management of state conglomerate Russian Technologies, Vedomosti business daily said on Thursday that the highlight of the Zardari visit would be a preliminary agreement to give Pakistan a $540 million loan to rebuild the Soviet-built Pakistan Steel plant.
A delegation from Prominvest, a Russian Technologies subsidiary, has visited the plant and reached preliminary agreements, the source told the newspaper. Russian Technologies could not confirm the report. The three-day visit to Russia is Zardari’s first foreign visit after the Al Qaeda leader, the world’s most wanted man, was killed in the raid by US forces on a compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/china...bin-laden.html
China-Pakistan alliance strengthened post bin Laden
AFP
BEIJING: Tensions between the US and Pakistan over the killing of Osama bin Laden and a speedier US withdrawal from Afghanistan are likely to reinforce China and Pakistan’s already strong ties, analysts say.
When Chinese leaders welcome Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to Beijing this week, they will likely praise Sino-Pakistani “friendship” over the past 60 years – a stark contrast to recent Western criticism of Islamabad.
Analysts say Gilani’s visit starting Tuesday will help Islamabad deflect mounting pressure from Washington and elsewhere, as Pakistan stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its long-time ally and neighbor.
“China is the only country that has taken a sympathetic stand for Pakistan after the bin Laden operation,” Talat Masood, a political analyst and retired Pakistani general, told AFP.
“This visit is important in the sense that it could counter (US) pressure on Pakistan. It shows Pakistan wants to say we also have some cards to play.” China has shown unswerving support for Pakistan since US special forces killed bin Laden at a compound near the country’s top military academy on May 2, sparking speculation that Islamabad may have known about his whereabouts.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu pointed out a few days after the al Qaeda chief’s killing that Pakistan was nevertheless “at the forefront of the international counter-terrorism effort”.
Beijing’s goodwill has not gone unnoticed.
“At this crucial juncture of history, I cannot say anybody is standing with Pakistan except for China,” Pakistan’s popular opposition leader Nawaz Sharif told reporters.
Many in Pakistan, outraged by the unilateral US raid, are increasingly convinced that their nation’s strategic alliance with the United States since 2001 has been less than positive and has only made the country less stable.
It could therefore be tempting for the nuclear-armed Islamic republic to move away from the United States and get closer to faithful ally Beijing, analysts say.
“If US and Indian pressure continues, Pakistan can say ‘China is behind us. Don’t think we are isolated, we have a potential superpower with us’,” Masood said.
China is the main arms supplier to Pakistan, which sees Beijing as an important counter-balance to India – which has recently tightened its ties with the United States.
Beijing has also agreed to build several nuclear reactors in Pakistan.
Kerry Dumbaugh, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, said Pakistan’s pro-China stance on issues such as Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its own territory, is also a key factor in Beijing’s support for Islamabad.
“Pakistan serves as an advocate or a conduit for China in the Islamic world,” Dumbaugh said.
According to other experts, China is convinced that Pakistan will increase its influence in Afghanistan by 2015, taking advantage of the planned withdrawal of US troops.
China also needs Islamabad’s cooperation in stemming potential terrorist threats in its mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan.
Ultimately, China wants calm to reign, particularly in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, through which it plans to transport oil from the Middle East in a pipeline linking Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea.
But experts warn that friendship between China and Pakistan has its limits.
“China is important for Pakistan and will remain so, but when it comes to hi-tech you have to go to the US and the West, also because of their clout in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,” political analyst Hasan Askari said.
Andrew Small, an expert on China-Pakistan relations at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, agreed.
The Chinese “get what they want out of the relationship already – having Pakistan to provide balance in the region to try to keep India tied down in South Asia rather than becoming a broader Asian or global power,” Small said.
“They’re not going to want to be in a position where they end up with Pakistan on their plate to deal with.”
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/...ccelerate.html
May 14, 2011
Japan's Disaster May Accelerate Realignment in the East
By Fay Voshell
The coastline of Japan is not the only shift that will have been caused by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11.
As significant as the material damage, which appears to be almost incalculable, and as worthy of attention as the economic damage, also titanic, is a potential shift in the international alliances and strategies in the Far East, particularly among China, Japan and the US and its allies.
The grim truth is that Japan, already beleaguered by a stagnant economy, a pitiless demographic decline, and a fate-filled geographic location, now has been hit with devastation the equivalent of total war, including the continuing threat of nuclear disaster. One look at the satellite photographs reveals devastation that makes Sherman's march on Georgia and the Nazi blitz of London seem restrained.
Japan has been critically wounded, and it will not be long before her ancient enemy China, and possibly China's ally North Korea, along with other opportunistic nations, move in to take advantage of her present weakness, as enemies always do.
For Japan's situation is not like a nation such as France, which is ensconced amid European allies with empathetic governments and favorable economic alliances fostered by the European Union. On the contrary, there has not been any particular inclination by China and North Korea to hammer out mutually agreeable agreements with Japan such as are characteristic of the Western democracies, regardless of their unique national distinctions and rivalries. China and North Korea are not democracies but authoritarian communist governments who see economic strategies in terms of command, not mutually satisfying cooperation.
Japan is flanked on the East by the vast and geographically quixotic Pacific, which can arbitrarily wreak devastation at a moment's notice. To the West, she is bordered by nations with long memories and persistent antipathies. Just as bad, even friendly allies such as the United States and Australia, unless they act swiftly, will be forced to revise their long term Far East and Southeast Asian strategies in light of Japan's new weakness coupled with the increasing strength of China's military coupled with China's already strong economic presence within Japan itself. This is to say nothing of North Korea's steadfast and intractable hatred of her ancient nemesis.
It is sometimes hard for Americans, who are always among the most magnanimous, forgiving and generous of nations, to grasp how ingrained and intractable are hostilities among the Far East nations. It is equally difficult to comprehend how those hostilities continue to play out among ancient rivals. That is because we in America do not have the long, long history of conflict and carnage which has characterized the chief antagonists of Far East. Japan, China and Korea have been entangled in wars and occupations from time immemorial; wars which are not forgotten and in many cases not forgiven because of the immense brutality doled out by Japanese occupying forces.
Japan may generally have escaped the both the odium and the klieg lights which have kept the Nazi atrocities under continual scrutiny, but her behavior as conqueror and occupier of China and Korea was as horrific as the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe and their Barbarossa campaign against Russia. Japanese cruelties such as the "Rape of Nanking," the brutal occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945 , and the Japanese atrocious medical and biological warfare experiments in the infamous Unit 731 and elsewhere are still living memories for the Chinese and Koreans. Despite the attempts of Japan to apologize for past transgressions and despite the fact that both China and Korea also have been guilty of atrocities, neither country would be sorry to see vengeance heaped on their former tormentors. Nor would either of the nations hesitate to take advantage of Japan's present and probably lingering weaknesses. There are old scores to be settled with Japan.
The reaction of China and its quixotic and undependable ally North Korea will probably not yet take the form of overt military action because of the presence of the United States military and America's strong alliance with Japan. However, both will move to strengthen their already growing hegemony in the Far East and beyond, seeing the catastrophe as an opportunity to take portions from Japan's economic pie by moving in to replace Japanese influence, already diminished by its two decades long economic malaise. The accompanying result could be a diminution of US influence in the Southeast Asian region.
While the leaders of North Korea will doubtless continue to hold their cards close to their chests, erupting occasionally with a missile launch and threats of ratcheting up the development of an atomic bomb, what might China do next in view of ancient antipathies she now sees as having the possibility of being rectified? What goals will she seek to achieve in view of Japan's and America's weakened positions in the Asian theatre?
The most likely possibility is that China will attempt to achieve some long term goals more rapidly than previously thought possible.
One accelerated goal will almost certainly be to achieve the quiet and "peaceable" reintegration of Taiwan into the Chinese mainland, absorbing it in much the same way Hong Kong was quietly absorbed in 1997. We may look for one of the many conditions of reunification to include the return of the imperial treasures presently in the Taiwan National Museum, where they were safeguarded from the destruction which befell many historical artifacts in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. One of the memories still very much alive in the minds of China's present day rulers is the fact that when Chiang Kai Shek and his wife retreated to Taiwan, they took with them much of their nation's exquisite and irreplaceable art; art which represented the very soul of China and the essence of its rich artistic heritage. They Mainland China now wants the art back.
The watching world may also expect increasingly strengthened ties between Australia and China with diminishing ties to US and its ally, Japan. That is because regardless of Australia and New Zealand's cultural ties with the Anglo-sphere, they also are isolated and vulnerable islands whose relative proximity to China necessitates realignments not necessarily in favor of its present allies. China's increasing hegemony over the seas surrounding Australia, waters once firmly dominated by Western powers, may be cause for a new pragmatism on the part of bothAustralia and New Zealand.
In fact, Japan's accelerated weaknesses may tempt China to increase its already considerable presence in countries such as Burma, where it seeks easy access to the Indian Ocean; and in Vietnam, which has endured a thousand year-long Chinese cultural hegemony, has sought to retain its influence in the South China Sea, despite the hot breath of the Red Dragon down its long neck. Just recently, Vietnam protested February's Chinese military maneuvers near the disputed Spratly Islands, whose surrounding waters are rich in minerals the Chinese economy demands. The maneuvers will doubtless continue and multiply now that Japan is down and out.
There will also be increased pressure on China's growing rival India. Like Burma, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and other southeastern nations, India will feel the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami, as minus Japanese strength and the preoccupation of the US with the Middle East, China will seek to strengthen her control over the South Sea, thus diminishing through military threat India's ancient trade routes, routes which are critical to her continuing economic success. India's and the West's hegemony over the South Seas is threatened as China will seek to derail both India's and the USalliances and dominance of the South Sea.
How must the US and her allies react to the Japan's weakness and China's attempts to take advantage of that weakness?
First, the US must, together with its allies in Europe, despite our and their economic troubles, launch a Marshall Plan to help Japan regroup and get back on her feet. Distractions in the Middle East must not prevent concerted attention being devoted to helping Japan. Next, Japan must increase her own military strength in order to balance increasing Chinese belligerence in that region. Further, the US and her allies must immediately form and strengthen a coalition of Eastern nations who will, even if it is only for immediate pragmatic concerns about their survival, be a firewall against increasing Chinese influence and domination of the region's economies and seas.
Next, America must increase its ties with India, whose empathetic government and growth as an economic power are capable of being a counter balance to China's antidemocratic authoritarianism, drive for dominance of the Southeast, and increasing belligerence on the world stage.
Also among the necessary domestic strategies for counterbalancing Japan's current weakness: beefing up rather than cutting the US military, rapidly decreasing debt obligations to China by dealing with runaway government spending, reassessing the US stance concerning trade imbalances, and rectifying the US/Chinese currency difficulties.
If the US and her allies act now, Japan's current weakness will be shored up and the effects of the devastation brought on by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown will be significantly mitigated if not entirely rectified, while Japan's ancient enemy China and her odious ally North Korea are at least contained and prevented from accelerating China's goals in Southeast Asia and beyond.
The US must see its role as more than helping out a stricken ally. It's imperative to develop and implement strategies which will contain the inevitable increase in belligerence from China and North Korea.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsD...-/Default.aspx
Gunmen kill Saudi diplomat in Pakistan's karachi
KARACHI, May 16 (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a car belonging to the Saudi Arabian consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday killing a Saudi diplomat, police and the Saudi ambassador said.
The attack came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the Saudi consulate in the city, Pakistan's commercial hub. No one as hurt in that attack.
"We condemn this attack. No one who carries out this kind of attack can be a Muslim," the ambassador, Abdul Aziz al-Ghadeer, told Reuters. He did not give details on the rank of the diplomat who was killed.
Al Qaeda is violently opposed to the Saudi government and has vowed revenge for the killing of its leader, Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, by U.S. special forces in Pakistan on May 2.
"Four people riding on two motorcycles opened fire at the car from two sides," said a police official.
"The Saudi national killed was himself driving the car and was probably going to the consulate from his house," he said.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
According to the news I heard this morning the "diplomat" was the driver and not the actual diplomat
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...069784,00.html
Report: NATO incursion into Pakistan wounds two troops
05.17.11, 09:22
A NATO helicopter incursion into Pakistan's North Waziristan wounded two troops on Tuesday, local intelligence officials said, further ratcheting up tensions between Islamabad and the West.
"It happened early morning," a Pakistani intelligence official in the region, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. "The helicopter hit a Pakistani check post on the border in the Datta Khel area."
(Reuters)
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74G0PS20110517
Pakistan military protests after NATO incursion wounds soldiers
By Emma Graham-Harrison and Haji Mujtaba
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan/KABUL | Tue May 17, 2011 8:58am EDT
(Reuters) - NATO helicopters from Afghanistan intruded into northwest Pakistan Tuesday, wounding two soldiers, officials said, prompting a protest from the military already seething over the secret U.S. operation to kill Osama bin Laden.
The Pakistani Army said it had lodged a "strong protest" and sought a flag meeting with NATO commanders over the incursion in Pakistan's North Waziristan near the Afghan border which has been repeatedly targeted by U.S. drone aircraft as a hub of al Qaeda linked militants.
A Western military official in Kabul, however, said two NATO helicopters supporting a base in eastern Afghanistan had returned fire after being attacked from Pakistan, but declined to say whether they had crossed into Pakistani airspace.
A senior Pakistani security official said NATO has lodged its own complaint with Pakistan, accusing its forces of "unprovoked firing." Western military officials in Kabul had no immediate comment about the possible complaint.
The incident is certain to weigh on relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been pushed almost to the breaking point after the May 2 raid on Abbottabad that killed bin Laden, with Pakistan's parliament condemning the operation as a violation of the nation's sovereignty.
It also came hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani landed in Beijing for a visit that underlines Islamabad's close and productive ties with another major power.
A Western military official, who asked to remain anonymous, said NATO helicopters had fired at targets inside Pakistan, but only after they were attacked from across the border.
Pakistan's frontier has been described as a global hub for militants, and Tuesday, police said they had killed five suspected al Qaeda militants who had tried to carry out a suicide bombing at a paramilitary checkpoint in the southwestern city of Quetta.
The would-be bombers included three women and were believed to be foreigners, police said.
Quetta is believed to be a base for the Afghan Taliban leadership and if the attack had been carried out, it would have been the second targeting Pakistan's military since bin Laden was killed and the Pakistan Taliban vowed to avenge his death.
BREACH OF AIRSPACE?
A local government official said two NATO helicopters crossed into North Waziristan and remained for about 10 minutes in the area, known to be a hub for al Qaeda-linked fighters including the Haqqani network that is leading the insurgency in eastern Afghanistan.
The helicopters retreated after Pakistani border forces opened fire in the Datta Khel area about 40 km (24 miles) west of the main town of Miranshah, a security official said.
"A shell struck a mountain nearby and two of our soldiers were wounded by the rubble," the official said.
The Western military official said the helicopters came under fire first.
"Our initial reports indicate that two ISAF helicopters were in the area in support of FOB (forward operating base) Tillman, as the FOB had been receiving intermittent direct and indirect fire from across the Pakistani border," he said.
"Upon arrival the helicopter received fire from across the border but did not immediately return fire. Upon receiving fire from across the border a second time, the helicopter returned fire," he added.
The official said the NATO-led coalition had received reports two Pakistani troops had been wounded. He declined further comment, including on whether the helicopters had entered Pakistan airspace.
Pakistan has in the past reacted angrily to incursions by NATO aircraft, even though its air space is routinely breached by unmanned drone aircraft.
A previous incursion on September 30, 2010, killed two Pakistani troops and wounded four more when NATO helicopters crossed the border while pursing insurgents. Pakistan retaliated by shutting down the supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
TENSE US TIES
In Pakistan this week, Senator John Kerry who is close to U.S. President Barack Obama, tried to smooth relations in the wake of the bin Laden raid, but also warned that Washington would not tolerate any of Pakistan's alleged double-dealings with militant groups.
Bin Laden's discovery in the comfortable garrison town of Abbottabad, only 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, has deeply embarrassed the military and spy agency, reviving suspicion that Pakistan knew where he was and has been playing a double game.
Pakistan has rejected that as absurd, but the United States has stepped up drone attacks against suspected militants since bin Laden's killing despite Islamabad's objections.
Several Pakistani helicopters took off from Waziristan's main town of Miranshah toward the site of Tuesday's reported incursion, a Pakistani officials said.
"After the May 2 incident, there is a high alert on the border," a security official said. "Forces have been ordered to respond quickly if there is any attempt of intrusion."
Separately, a Pakistani helicopter gunship destroyed a wireless communication installation established by militants in mountains near Miranshah town in an strike Tuesday, an intelligence official in the region said.
North Waziristan is the base of the Haqqani network blamed for the insurgency in eastern Afghanistan. U.S.-led drone aircraft have targeted the area over the past year and Washington has repeatedly urged the Pakistan military to launch a ground operation.
Many militants, including foreign fighters loyal to al Qaeda, are based in Datta Khel. It is a stronghold of fighters loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur and has been a frequent target of U.S. drone strikes.
Monday, unmanned U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles in Datta Khel killing 12 militants, Pakistani officials said.
An intelligence official said that one of the dead militants, an Arab, was the son of an al Qaeda operative identified as Abu Kashif. There was no way to verify the death toll. Militants often dispute official accounts of drone attacks.
(Writing by Chris Allbritton; Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Kamran Haider in Islamabad and Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74H14020110518
Over 70 militants attack Pakistani security post, 17 dead
By Izaz Mohmand
PESHAWAR, Pakistan | Wed May 18, 2011 8:02am EDT
(Reuters) - More than 70 militants armed with rockets and mortars attacked a security post on the outskirts of Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, the latest in an upsurge of violence since Osama bin Laden was killed in the country this month.
Two members of the security forces and at least 15 insurgents were killed in a four-hour gunbattle that erupted following two successive attacks on the security post set up to defend Peshawar, the gateway to the troubled northwest region.
"They were well-armed. They had heavy weapons, rockets, mortars everything. The fighting lasted for about four and a half hours," Ejaz Khan, a city police officer, said.
The attack took place near Khyber, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, which is regarded as a global hub of militants, including al Qaeda and the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban movements.
Two members of the security forces were killed and five wounded, Khan said. At least 15 insurgents were killed.
Security forces repulsed the first attack by the militants which was carried out just before midnight, officials said.
"Then they carried out a big attack early in the morning. We also called in reinforcements to counter the attack and we did it," a Peshawar security official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have stepped up attacks in Pakistan after the killing of bin Laden in A military town by U.S. special forces on May 2.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, have vowed to avenge bin Laden's death and said their suicide bombers killed 80 people last week at a paramilitary academy in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
In a suspected sectarian attack on Wednesday, two men on a motorbike fired on a vehicle and killed four Shi'ite Muslims and wounded four others on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta.
Pro-Taliban Sunni militants groups, many of whom are linked to al Qaeda, are trying to foment conflict among Pakistan's religious sects in an attempt to destabilize the government just as it faces pressure from the United States and the West to crack down on militant groups, analysts say.
Pakistan has come under renewed pressure to prove it is serious about tackling militancy since bin Laden was discovered after apparently spending at least five years in the South Asian nation about a two hour drive from the headquarters of the country's intelligence service.
(Reporting by Faris Ali and Zeeshan Haider; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Michael Georgy and Sanjeev Miglani)
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
China, Pakistan joined in bonds of brotherhood
17:02, May 18, 2011 http://english.people.com.cn/img/200...es/icon_41.gif http://english.people.com.cn/img/200...es/icon_42.gif http://english.people.com.cn/img/200...es/icon_43.gif
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to China on May 17 is an important event of the "2011 China-Pakistan Friendship Year" and will certainly open a new chapter in China-Pakistan relations under the new international environment and historical conditions. History has proven that as neighboring countries with different ideologies, the relationship between China and Pakistan is rock-solid and timeless, and the most important reason is the solid foundation that holds together China-Pakistan relations.
First, the China-Pakistan relationship is based on mutual respect regarding core interests. China has always firmly supported Pakistan's efforts to defend its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has also sincerely and selflessly helped Pakistan to achieve economic and social development.
Due to special causes in various aspects, such as historical and tribal influences, the "three forces" headed by the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" has existed for a long time in the tribal areas at the Pakistani-Afghan border. However, China has always respected Pakistan's sovereignty when combating the "three forces" jointly with Pakistan and understands Pakistan's enormous sacrifices and significant contributions in the forefront of the international fight against terrorism.
Pakistan has also always supported China's sovereignty and territorial integrity in major issues related to the Taiwan region, Tibet Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Second, China and Pakistan have been working together to meet various challenges for many years. China provided great political and economic assistance to Pakistan during the Cold War and helped it build an independent economic system. Pakistan served as a bridge for the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations and helped break the diplomatic isolation China once suffered.
China has provided aid to Pakistan with no strings attached. Furthermore, it has played an active role in helping Pakistan build roads, ports, energy facilities and other major infrastructure projects in hopes that the country can stand on its own feet someday. Shortly after the Wenchuan earthquake, Pakistan sent all its tents in reserve to China. The friendship between the two countries began during adversity and has demonstrated incomparable sincerity.
Third, the China-Pakistan friendship has been deeply ingrained in the peoples of both sides through frequent exchanges at all levels over the past 60 years. The Chinese people, be they top officials or ordinary citizens, can feel the friendliness of the local people when they visit Pakistan and vice versa. The Pakistani people believe that a good neighbor is a blessing, and the Chinese people also believe that a neighbor that is near is better than a brother far off. The two countries are good neighbors and good friends. Their friendship has become a firm belief and an example of the peaceful coexistence of the Chinese and Islamic civilizations.
Currently, China and Pakistan regard each other as a diplomatic cornerstone and a major supporter. The 60-year development of China-Pakistan relations shows that such brotherly and neighborly all-around relations are characterized by long-term stability, highly strategic importance and sustainability. China-Pakistan relations can advance in three major aspects in the future. The first is enormous economic and trade cooperation potential.
China has become Pakistan's third largest trade partner, which does not match the scale of the two countries' combined population of 1.5 billion. China will further expand its direct investments in Pakistan, participate in Pakistan's major infrastructure and engineering projects and strive to make land transport links between the two countries more smooth in order to enable the people in the two countries to share the outcomes of economic development.
The second is the bright prospects of regional cooperation between China and Pakistan. Pakistan is a major country in South Asia and has significant influence in the Islamic world. China will cooperate with Pakistan to promote regional cooperation and jointly preserve regional stability and security in the post-anti-terrorism era.
The third is the broad space for international cooperation between Pakistan and China. China and Pakistan have common interests and a broad consensus in major international issues such as U.N. reforms, climate change as well as food and energy security. The two countries will cooperate to cope with the challenges of economic globalization and advance the world's harmonious and sustainable development.
As all-around partners and good brothers sharing weal and woe, China and Pakistan have jointly undergone a tough and glorious journey. Looking into the future, China and Pakistan will stand together regardless of any change in regional and international situations and work together to shape a bright future for the China-Pakistan friendship.
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China "warns in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan is an ATTACK ON CHINA"
China 'asks USA to respect Pak sovereignty'
19 May 2011
Press Trust of India
ISLAMABAD, 19 MAY: In the wake of the US raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden, China has “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China”, a media report claimed today.
The warning was formally conveyed by the Chinese foreign minister at last week's China-US strategic dialogue and economic talks in Washington, The News daily quoted diplomatic sources as saying. China also advised the USA to “respect Pakistan's sovereignty and solidarity”, the report said.
Chinese Premier Mr Wen Jiabao informed his Pakistani counterpart Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani about the matters taken up with the US during their formal talks at the Great Hall of the People yesterday. The report said China “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China”. The two premiers held a 45-minute one-on-one meeting before beginning talks with their delegations.
The Chinese leadership was “extremely forthcoming in assuring its unprecedented support to Pakistan for its national cause and security” and discussed all subjects of mutual interest with Mr Gilani, the report said. Mr Gilani described Pakistan-China relations and friendship as “unique”. Talking to Pakistani journalists accompanying him, he said that China had acknowledged his country's contribution and sacrifices in the war against terrorism and supported its cause at the international level. “China supported Pakistan's cause on its own accord,” Mr Gilani said with reference to the Sino-US strategic dialogue where the Chinese told the US that Pakistan should be helped and its national honour respected. Mr Gilani said China had asked the US to improve its relations with Pakistan, keeping in view the present scenario.
Pakistan reiterated its position on the one-China policy and said it fully supported China on the issues of Taiwan and Tibet, he said. He said both sides will continue their consultations on UN reforms. It was also agreed that both countries will formulate a long-term joint energy mechanism for electricity generation in Pakistan through various means, including nuclear energy.
Mr Wen announced that the Chinese leadership will send a special envoy to Islamabad to express solidarity with Pakistan at this “crucial period in its history”. The envoy, a senior minister, will take part in celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The USA has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terrorist sanctuaries and to probe whether military and intelligence officials were aware that bin Laden had been hiding in the garrison city of Abbottabad, which is home to thousands of soldiers.
Pakistan has turned to China, its “all weather friend”, for support in the face of reports that US lawmakers are pressing for cuts in aid. China has agreed to provide Pakistan 50 new JF-17 Thunder multi-role jets under a co-production agreement, The News reported. It is likely that these planes will be supplied by June next year.
The two countries are also discussing the supply of Chinese J-20 stealth jets and Xiaolong/FC-1 multi-purpose light fighter aircraft to Pakistan. They are discussing the mode of payment and the number of planes to be provided to Pakistan, the report said. China will also launch a satellite for Pakistan on 14 August.
The satellite will supply “multifarious data” to Pakistan, the report said. Mr Gilani said both sides had agreed to increase defence cooperation and China had assured Pakistan of help in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces.
He said Pakistan's trade with China had registered a significant increase in the last two years and efforts were being made to raise it to US$ 15 billion a year.
Mr Gilani said Pakistan has the capability and capacity to defend its frontiers and the armed forces are fully vigilant, and no incident like the US raid against bin Laden will happen in future. He said Pakistan will continue its efforts to stop US drone attacks, which have proved to be counter-productive.
To a question, Mr Gilani said Pakistan's political and military leadership will decide about a military operation in North Waziristan agency. No pressure will be accepted in this regard and Pakistan alone will decide on this issue, he said. Mr Gilani said Pakistan desired good relations with all its neighbours, including India, Afghanistan and Iran.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
That's some pretty strong language. In fact, that language really isn't that different from what President Kennedy said during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
We're headed to a firestorm.... the Middle East, as predicted will be the ignition point for a nuclear world war led by China against the USA. Russia will simply jump in as necessary.
Folks, this is not good coming out of China. They are feeling their oats and even the FPS thing we saw is an indication that the world is trying to make US the bad guys.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
Step Aside US: Pakistan's New "Best Friend" China, To Provide Karachi With 50 New JF-17 Fighter Jets On Expedited Basis
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2011 14:07 -0400
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4p1heG-Mtmo/Sl...#37;5B5%5D.jpg
There was a time when a young Mujahideen commander named Osama bin Laden was a core ally of the US in the fight against Soviet communism and central planning. Well, that particular affair did not end too well for either Osama, nor for the USSR (although one may argue that "communism and central planning" are experiencing a second renaissance courtesy of capitalist central banking). Along the same lines, Pakistan which as recently as 3 weeks ago was considered a core US ally, has very promptly fallen out of favor following the death of that other abovementioned former ally.
Yet Pakistan is not wasting time. Two days after Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani took a direct stab at deteriorating US-Paki relations by saying that China is now his country's "best friend", China has retorted in kind by announcing it will provide another 50 JF-17 fighter jets to Pakistan on an "expedited" basis.
The WSJ reports that "the agreement to accelerate supply of the jointly developed jets, the first 50 of which are being assembled in Pakistan, came as Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani held talks in Beijing during a visit that he has used to portray China as an alternative source of military and civilian aid. "We're getting the 50 jets, on top of the ones we already have. Something has been agreed in Beijing, so they'll be expedited" he said." In other words: step aside US, here comes China.
As for those billions in USD aid which somehow never ended up being used to buy US Treasurys (Pakistan is nowhere in the listing of US Treasury holders) , it is now clear into whose pocket they are going (at $15 million a pop, those are big pockets). Lastly, this is more than just posturing by China: the country is clearly indicating its latest and greatest sphere of influence. As a reminder, "It was reported in 2008 that Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe had placed orders for the aircraft and nine other countries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Algeria were showing interest." More from the WSJ:China is Pakistan's biggest arms supplier and its third-biggest trading partner.
The JF-17 is a potent symbol of the two countries' friendship, and a key part of Pakistan's plans to upgrade its aging fleet of American-supplied F-16s and French-made Mirages and to try to match the air power of neighboring India—its arch rival.
The U.S. has repeatedly delayed delivery of F-16s to Pakistan, and has insisted that they not be used against India, with which Washington is now cultivating a strategic partnership to counterbalance Beijing's clout in Asia.
China and Pakistan began developing the relatively cheap multipurpose fighter in 1999 and Pakistan, which has said it wants 250 of them altogether, inducted its first squadron of JF-17s last year, and a second earlier this year.
The air-force spokesman said he did not know whether the second batch of 50 jets would be assembled in Pakistan or delivered whole from China.
He also declined to discuss whether they would be the basic so-calledBlock I models, like the first batch, or an upgraded Block II version, which military aviation experts say could include radar-evading stealth technology—potentially giving Pakistan that capability for the first time.
Questions also remain over the new jets' engines. The first batch were all fitted with Russian ones, but Russian officials have expressed reservations about supplying more of those engines as Pakistan and China have been marketing the JF-17 in many of Russia's traditional markets.
Meanwhile back in the US, the politicos are stunned that after being shunned by the US, Pakistan dares to allign itself with America's natural opposite.Pakistan's efforts to showcase its close ties with China are causing consternation in the U.S.
During a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho expressed frustration at Mr. Gilani's statement that China was Pakistan's "best friend" despite billions of dollars of U.S. aid over the last decade.
"It just—it just doesn't make sense...Because, frankly, I'm—I'm getting tired of it, and I think Americans are getting tired of it as far as shoveling money in there [to] people who just flat don't like us," he said, according to a transcript.
At a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Congressman Michael McCaul (R) of Texas raised particular concern about whether U.S. military aid had been diverted into the JF-17 program.
Yes. It has.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
20 May 2011 Last updated at 04:39 ET
Pakistan Taliban bomb US consulate convoy in Peshawar
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Orla Guerin in Islamabad: "The attack is not any kind of surprise"
The Pakistani Taliban have bombed a US consulate convoy in Peshawar, killing one Pakistani and wounding 10 others.
It is unclear if the dead person was a bomber or a passer-by. Two Americans in one vehicle were slightly injured.
The US embassy said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber on a motorbike. Earlier, Pakistani police had said it was a roadside bomb.
It is the first attack on US interests since US forces killed Osama Bin Laden in the town of Abbottabad on 2 May.
The US embassy said two armoured vehicles were driving in convoy when the bomb went off. It said that no high-level officials were travelling in the cars at the time.
"One vehicle was damaged. There is no death among our personnel and there are no serious injuries," a US embassy spokesman said.
The Pakistani Taliban said the bombing was to avenge Bin Laden's death.
"The diplomatic staff of all Nato countries are our targets," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said. "We will continue such attacks. Pakistan is our first target, and America is our second."
There have been a number of militant attacks in Pakistan since Bin Laden was killed. The deadliest was last Friday when a twin suicide bombing killed more than 80 people, most of them paramilitary recruits, in the country's north-west.
US consulate staff in Peshawar have been targeted in the past. In August 2008, one of the diplomats at the consulate survived an attack on her armoured vehicle.
The US closed its missions around Pakistan immediately after Bin Laden was killed, but reopened them within days.
Pakistan stops NATO supplies after 16 people killed in blast
English.news.cn 2011-05-21 16:33:01
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201...887032_11n.jpg A man looks at the debris of burnt NATO oil tankers after a bomb blast in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on May 21, 2011. (Xinhua Photo/Saeed Ahmad)
ISLAMABAD, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani authorities Saturday suspended supplies to the foreign troops in neighboring Afghanistan hours after a blast at an NATO oil tanker killed 16 persons, officials said.
An official said that suspected militants attacked and torched NATO oil tankers in two separate incidents late Friday night at Landikotal, a main town in Khyber region and the borer point of Torkham.
When locals gathered around the tanker at Landikotal to acquire the leaked oil, the tanker blew up due to gas pressure, killing 16 persons there.
Pakistan suspended supplies to nearly 160,000 U.S.-led NATO troops after the incident, officials in the region said.
Witnesses said that hundreds of NATO supplies trucks were stranded on the main Pakistan-Afghan highway after the blockade.
Officials said that some 70 percent supplies for the NATO troops are transported through Pakistan.
Militants, fighting Pakistani forces, regularly target NATO supply trucks, also forcing the U.S. to sign alternate supply routes with Russia.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?opti...39880&Itemid=1
President phones Ahmadinejad, discusses bilateral ties
ISLAMABAD, May 21 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari telephoned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday evening and discussed with him bilateral relations, economic cooperation and situation in the region.The two leaders agreed on stepping up economic cooperation and increasing connectivity, said a press release of the President House issued here.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?opti...39917&Itemid=1
Saudi Arabia is an all weather friend: Dr. Firdous
JEDDAH, May 21 (APP)- Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Saturday that Pak-Saudi relations are beyond mundane consideration and have their roots in history, religion and culture.
She said this while addressing a gathering of Pakistani community in the Embassy of Pakistan, Riyadh. She said that it was a matter of great satisfaction that a large number of Pakistani investors, professionals and labourers working here constituted a source of strength for economies of both the countries.
She said that Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia are representatives of their country and their remittances are great support to their families and the economy of Pakistan.
She said that Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan in difficult times for which we are obliged to the Saudi leadership and its people.
She said that she was grateful to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Saudi leadership for providing congenial atmosphere and working condition for the Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Firdous said that Pakistan was confronting challenges of extremism and terrorism and has rendered great sacrifices in this regard. She said that world should recognize the sacrifices given by Pakistan in fight against extremism and terrorism.
The Minister said that democracy in Pakistan was gaining strength and the country’s leadership was in strong hands. The Minister said that discontinuity of economic policies and derailing of democracy in the past had slowed down economic progress of the country.
She assured the overseas Pakistanis that the economic and energy problems confronting Pakistan would soon be overcome. The Minister said that a bill regarding right of vote to the overseas Pakistanis will soon be passed in the National Assembly.
She urged the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia to abide by the laws of the land and work hard for the betterment of the economies of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires Ayaz Muhammad Khan in his speech said that the visit by Minister for Information and Broadcasting has further strengthened Pak-Saudi relations.
He said that despite its limited resources, the Embassy was endeavouring to provide all possible services and facilities to the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia. He assured the community of further improving services for them.
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74L0U320110522
Obama: would raid Pakistan again if militant found
LONDON | Sun May 22, 2011 7:07am EDT
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama would approve a new incursion into Pakistan if the United States found another leading militant there, he said in a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday.
U.S. Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001, in a raid on his fortified compound in Pakistan on May 2, ending a manhunt for the world's most-wanted militant.
Asked if Obama would do the same again if the United States discovered another "high-value target" in Pakistan or another country, such as a senior al Qaeda member or Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he said he would "take the shot."
"We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies' people, we can't allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action," Obama told the BBC.
"I had made no secret. I had said this when I was running for the presidency, that if I had a clear shot at bin Laden, that we'd take it."
A spokesman for Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Farhatullah Babar, said in response to Obama's remarks: "We need to move away from unilateral actions and should focus on cooperation in countering terrorism." He declined to comment further.
Obama's comments echoed those of U.S. Senator John Kerry, a Democrat close to his administration and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Asked this month if the United States would conduct a similar raid in Pakistan to kill Omar if they knew his whereabouts, he said Washington would consider all its options.
U.S. officials have long maintained Omar fled to Pakistan after the Taliban government was overthrown in late 2001 by U.S.-backed Afghan forces and is still in hiding there. Islamabad has denied reports he is in Pakistan.
Obama arrives in Britain on Tuesday for a three-day state visit -- the first state visit by a U.S. president since 2003.
He will hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron and address the parliament to hail the two countries' special relationship and stress the importance of transatlantic ties.
(Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova; additional reporting by Kamran Haider in Islamabad)
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Re: Pakistan now has Nuclear capable Cruise Missiles as it turns to the Axis for supp
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=5012
Pakistan Snubs US, Now Turns to China for Naval Base
The ever-shrinking field of American allies
Pakistan has asked China to build a naval base at its south-western port of Gwadar and expects the Chinese navy to maintain a regular presence there, a plan likely to alarm both India and the US.
“We have asked our Chinese brothers to please build a naval base at Gwadar,” Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, Pakistan’s defence minister, told the Financial Times, confirming that the request was conveyed to China during a visit last week by Yusuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s prime minister. Hitherto, China has shied away from moves that might alienate the US and Beijing’s neighbours, such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia. “China’s rise is a beneficial force for peace and we have no hegemonic ambitions,” said a Chinese official familiar with Beijing’s security policy.
“This will definitely be a ‘game changer’ in China’s defence and security relationships,” said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a south Asia security expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “The construction of a naval base in Gwadar would provide its own ships and possibly submarines with ‘permanent’ basing rights, along with the possibility of regular patrols and exercises in the Arabian Sea to protect the growing number of Chinese-flagged oil tankers traversing the region to meet its increasing energy demands from the Gulf region.”