Judge delays Google's Digital Library

A New York judge has put Google's vision of creating the world's biggest digital library on hold.

Judge Denny Chin postponed a fairness hearing set for next month that was meant to address a settlement between Google and authors and publishers.

The $125m agreement, worked out last year, has effectively been sent back to the drawing board by the judge.

The class action case would let Google distribute and sell digital versions of out of print, copyrighted books.

It has been criticised because some say it would give Google too much power to set book prices.

Judge Chin's decision comes after the American Association of Publishers and the Authors Guild asked the court to delay the final fairness hearing on the proposed agreement, which needs court approval to go ahead.

The $125m agreement, worked out last year, has effectively been sent back to the drawing board by the judge.

The class action case would let Google distribute and sell digital versions of out of print, copyrighted books.

It has been criticised because some say it would give Google too much power to set book prices.

Judge Chin's decision comes after the American Association of Publishers and the Authors Guild asked the court to delay the final fairness hearing on the proposed agreement, which needs court approval to go ahead.

Fair concerns'

The move follows objections filed by the Department of Justice last week. It said the deal should not go through in its current form.

In a 32-page filing, the DOJ said the settlement needed to be reworked so that it complied with US copyright and antitrust laws.

It was revealed earlier this week that publishers, authors and Google have been working to modify the agreement, which was completed last year.

"Under all the circumstances, it makes no sense to conduct a hearing on the fairness and reasonableness of the current settlement agreement, as it does not appear that the current settlement will be the operative one," Judge Chin wrote.

He noted that objectors to the settlement include "countries, states, non-profit organisations, and prominent authors and law professors".

"Clearly, fair concerns have been raised. It would appear that if a fair and reasonable settlement can be struck, the public would benefit," said Judge Chin.

'Status conference'

In 2001, book authors and the Authors Guild filed a class-action lawsuit, as did publishers, alleging that Google had violated copyright laws by scanning books from the libraries of major universities without always getting permission from the copyright owners of the books.

Google claimed at the time it was protected by the "fair use" principle because its book search engine showed only short snippets of text for the books it had scanned without permission.

Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo have filed objections to the settlement with the court, along with the French and German governments, privacy advocates and consumer watchdog groups.

"Clearly voices such as ours had an impact on Judge Chin," wrote consumer watchdog advocate John Simpson in an email to BBC News.

"There was no way the proposed settlement could go forward. We believe that the proper place to solve many of the case's thorniest problems, such as that of orphan books, is in Congress because it is important to build digital libraries."

Orphan books - of which there are thought to be five million - are titles where the authors cannot be found.

Judge Chin has called for a "status conference" to be held on 7 October - the original date for the hearing - to determine "how to proceed with the case as expeditiously as possible".

Iran 'concealed nuclear facility'

Iran concealed a partially-built second uranium enrichment plant in defiance of calls for transparency over its nuclear plans, US President Barack Obama says.

The US, UK and France said the UN had to be given immediate access and urged tough new sanctions, while Russia also said it was "seriously concerned".

Iran told the UN about the plant on Monday, saying it was not operational yet and would provide nuclear energy.

Speaking in New York, Iran's president denied there had been any secrecy.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was working within the framework set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog.

Tehran has previously acknowledged it has one enrichment plant, at Natanz.

Iran's decision to build a secret facility represented a "direct challenge to the basic compact" of the global non-proliferation regime, US President Barack Obama said, making a statement in Pittsburgh, where he is hosting a G20 summit.

Despite Iran's assertions that the facility was for peaceful purposes, the new plant was "not consistent" with that goal, the US president said.

'Line in the sand'

Speaking alongside UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr Obama said it was time for Iran to begin meeting its international commitments.

"Iran must comply with UN Security Council resolutions and make clear it is prepared to meet its responsibilities as a member of the community of nations," Mr Obama said.

Tehran would be held accountable for any failure to meet these responsibilities, he said.

Speaking after Mr Obama, the French and British leaders used strong language to insist that Iran would now have to disclose full details of its entire nuclear programme or face new and tougher sanctions.

Gordon Brown stressed that the US, France and UK were "at one" on the issue, and accused the Iranians of "serial deception".

There was now "no choice but to draw a line in the sand" over the nuclear issue, he said.

"Iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear programme."

Mr Sarkozy said the situation was a challenge to the entire international community.

"Everything must be put on the table," the French president said, adding that the world needed to see a "step change" from Iran in the coming months.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, informed of the plant's existence by Mr Obama this week, said the second plant was against the requirements of UN Security Council resolutions.

Iran must co-operate fully with the IAEA, Mr Medvedev said.

China also said Iran should work with the UN watchdog, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Pittsburgh.

Underground plant

Iranian officials were quick to deny the latest plant was any kind of clandestine project.

"This installation is not a secret one, which is why we announced its existence to the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]," Ali Akbar Saleri, head of Iran's nuclear agency, told the AFP news agency.

Iran says it does not need to inform the IAEA of any new site until 180 days before any nuclear material is place in the facility.

The existence of Iran's first enrichment plant, at Natanz, was only confirmed after intelligence emerged from Iranian exile groups several years ago.

Western governments are said to have known of the existence of the new enrichment plant for some time. Mr Obama was first told about it during the "transition" period before he took office in January, officials say.

In Washington, US officials said the Western nations decided to reveal their intelligence assessments when the Iranians realised the plant's secrecy was compromised.

The new facility is said to be underground at a mountain on the site of a former missile site belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, north-east of the holy city of Qom.

Construction on the facility - believed by the US to be large enough to contain 3,000 centrifuges, not large enough for commercial work - started in earnest in mid-2006, diplomatic sources said.

Iran's letter to the UN watchdog, the IAEA, on Monday informed it that "a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction".

Iran told the agency that no nuclear material had been introduced into the plant, and enrichment levels would only be high enough to make nuclear fuel, not a bomb.

In response, the IAEA has requested Iran to "provide specific information and access to the facility as soon as possible", an IAEA statement adds.

The disclosure of the new plant comes one day after world leaders stressed the need for greater co-operation against nuclear proliferation and shortly before Iran is due to resume talks with international powers on the issue.

Since taking office in January, Mr Obama has told Tehran than he is ready for direct talks on the nuclear issue, but has had no firm response from Iran.

Earlier this month, Tehran agreed to "comprehensive" talks on a range of security issues - but made no mention of its own nuclear programme.

The talks are due to be held in Geneva on 1 October with Tehran and the five permanent UN Security Council members - US, UK, Russia, China and France - plus Germany.

Exclusive Report on BlackWater/Xe

An indepth report on the origins of BlackWater, the infamous US Private Military Company that is under US Congress Investigation for murder of Iraqi civilians.

Its origin, track record in Iraq and Afghanistan and the controversies surrounding it, and most importantly, their presence in Pakistan and what it means for us.

Read the complete Story here ...

Afridi, Gul nominated for ‘T 20 best performance of the year’

The ICC has short listed the nominations for the annual awards here on Tuesday.

From Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal and Sana Mir have been dropped from the list while Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul has been included in the list for Twenty20 cricket only whereas he was dropped from the ODI list.

The selection panel of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has short listed the long list which was earlier announced for the ICC Awards 2008 and 2009.

Name of any Pakistani cricketer was already not included in the lists of ‘Player of the Year’ and ‘Test Player of the Year’ while the name of fast bowler Umar Gul was excluded from the One-day list and Saeed Ajmal from the list of Twenty20 cricket.

Pakistan’s Sana Mir has also been excluded from the list of ‘Women’s Player of the Year’.

However, names of Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul remained included in the Twenty20 list along with Tillekaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka and Chris Gayle of the West Indies.

Umpires list has also been short listed and only four umpires were nominated. This list also includes two umpires from Pakistan – Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf.

The ICC Award ceremony will be held on October 1 during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Musharraf resigned after a deal: President Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he participated in the talks which led to the safe exit of former president Pervez Musharraf.

Speaking at an Iftar-dinner hosted at the Presidency for media representatitives, the President said the local officials and foreign forces were part of the deal under which former president was provided a safe passage.

To a question, he said two international forces who have interests in this region acted as guarantors during talks for providing safe passage to Pervez Musharraf.

“All the stakeholders were on same page at the time of making the decision on providing safe exit to the former president Pervez Musharraf,” he said adding “it was unanimously decided that now he (Pervez Musharraf) will play golf.” 

Regarding corruption charges, President Zardari said all the ‘stories of corruption’ are part of a campaign of maligning the politicians.

Zardari also suggested constituting of a ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ to sort-out the facts about Musharraf’s safe exit, and said Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairwoman Asma Jahangir should be its head.

The President exchanged views on the overall political situation in the country, his forthcoming visit to the United States, government’s successes in the war against terrorism as well as the issues of national importance.

He said no minus-one formula can meet success in the absence of a president like Farooq Leghari.

No direct funding to PPP Govt : US

The United States made it absolutely clear on Friday, days before President Asif Ali Zardari is to meet President Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in New York, that bulk of the money it will provide under the Kerry-Lugar Bill will not go directly to the PPP government, but to specific projects and purposes for which it is intended.

Senior journalist, Shaheen Sehbai in a dispatch here said that the US government was still grappling with the issue of a huge trust deficit and would not feel comfortable with aid money getting into the hands of the PPP government despite efforts in Washington to repair and whitewash the image of PPP leaders.

US State Department Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources, Jacob J. Lew in his briefing told this. 

Jacob Lew told the briefing: “On the question of aid, there, as any of you who have seen the press releases put out would know, they’re very much anxious to have as much of the assistance as possible flow directly to the Pakistani government.

“We made clear that we’re looking at a variety of approaches, that we certainly intend to be supportive of Pakistani ministries where the programmes are ready to accept that support effectively, but that we also needed to look at the provincial level and to work with the traditional NGO community, and it wouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach.”

The official made it obvious that instead of providing aid to the government to spend wherever it liked, they would look at the ministry projects, which are ready on a case-to- case basis and also provide direct aid to provinces and NGOs. That is what he meant by saying that “it would not be a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Jacob Lew also spoke about his visit to Pakistan in general. “We focused on a number of issues. I think, as you all know, with the Kerry-Lugar programme being worked through now in Congress and the budget process working through, in terms of the appropriations, we’re ready to take the next step and put a detailed programme out there that really goes and specifies what forms of assistance will be provided. 

This is the latest indication that the U.S. government is still struggling to overcome with its trust deficit symptom and is not willing to give the funds on account of aid directly in the hands of the People’s Party, despite the Pakistani officials in U.S. trying hard for improving the image of the PPP leaders.

Pakistan first F-22 frigate arrives in Karachi

PNS Zulfiquar, Pakistan's first F-22 frigate has reached Karachi on Saturday. Commander Pakistan fleet Rear Admiral Asif Sandela received Pakistan Navy's newly acquired state-of-the art missile frigate. Pakistan Navy Spokesman Salman Ali talking to media said PNS Zulfiquar participated in exercises with other naval ships.  The F-22P frigate was equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and sensors including anti-surface missile, surface-to-air missile, guns, torpedoes, depth charge and air surveillance radar. Pakistan Navy has signed an agreement with China for construction of the four frigates-three in China and one in Pakistan. 

The war ship was constructed at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai and formally handed over to Pakistan on 30th July.

Pakistan rejects Indian protest on Gilgit-Baltistan, Bunji dam

The Deputy High Commissioner of Indiain High Commission Islamabad was called to the Foreign Office on Friday and Indian protest on Gilgit-Baltistan self-rule order was rejected.

The Foreign Office Director General (South Asia) emphasized that Pakistan rejects the Indian protest as the Government of India has no locus standi in the matter.

A press release issued by the Foreign Office stated that the Government of Pakistan also rejects the Indian claim that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. "Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute is based on relevant UN resolutions."

Two protest notes were handed over to the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi today by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, on the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009); and construction of Bunji Dam in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

First Solar Inc. said Tuesday it has received initial approval from the Chinese government to build what may become the largest solar field in the world.

First Solar, which makes more solar cells than any other company, said it struck a tentative 10-year deal to build in China's vast desert north of the Great Wall. The project would eventually blanket 25 square miles of Inner Mongolia — slightly larger than the size of Manhattan — with a sea of black, light-absorbing glass.

The solar field would dwarf anything in operation in the U.S. or Europe. At 2 gigawatts, or 2 billion watts, the solar plant could pump as much energy onto China's grid as two coal-fired plants, enough to light up three million homes. Like most solar plants, however, it wouldn't produce electricity at night.

"The potential is enormous" for projects like this in China, CEO Mike Ahearn told The Associated Press before the announcement. "The Chinese government is further along in its thinking about solar than we've imagined."

Ahearn said it would be nearly impossible to install a solar field of this size in the United States. There's plenty of land, but there's not enough near transmission lines, Ahearn said.

And efforts to build new power lines are regularly stymied by competing interests from government agencies, environmental groups and disgruntled residents.

"In the U.S., energy policy is made on the state level," Ahearn said. "Every state has a different approach."

In contrast, Ahearn said China has designated a region within the country for renewable energy production and transmission. It also has promised to guide First Solar through the approval process and make it profitable.

First Solar announced the deal Tuesday after signing a "memorandum of understanding" at its corporate headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress.

The agreement outlines broad aspects of the project, including deadlines for a feasibility study and the government's role in helping with construction permits. But Ahearn said much of the deal hasn't been worked out yet, including how much First Solar would get paid.

Ahearn said a system like this would cost $5 billion to $6 billion if it were built in the U.S., though it likely would be cheaper using lower-cost Chinese labor.

First Solar plans to make money by selling the plant to a local operator, but it won't be able to estimate its profit until China determines the size of its subsidy for solar energy. The country is expected to offer a "feed-in tariff," which would require utilities to buy solar energy at a fixed price for a set number of years.

Industry experts say they're not sure when that will happen.

"We've been kind of in a holding pattern for six months or so," Mark Bachman, an analyst with PacificCrest, said.

Bachman said announcements of smaller solar farms have been popping up "all over the place" in China. But investors so far have been unimpressed because of the uncertainty surrounding its subsidy program.

For several years, solar panels have been rapidly spreading around the world as an alternative power source, appearing on rooftops of homes and businesses in most major countries. The solar industry has focused on a handful of European countries that offer the best incentives, but companies are starting to look elsewhere for longer-term projects that can keep their factories occupied for several years.

Ahearn said First Solar spent the past few months searching for partners in China, culminating with its 2-gigawatt deal in Inner Mongolia. Like the U.S., China has taken aggressive steps to move away from fossil fuels. It located the First Solar plant in Ordos, a gritty industrial city of 1.4 million people that is the main production base for China's largest coal company.

The project hasn't been given an exact location yet, but the agreement said it will be located within a massive development zone that is expected to eventually offer nearly 12 gigawatts of renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power. First Solar will provide most of the solar, with the first 30 megawatts installed by June 1, 2010. The company will expand the plant over the next decade, installing about 27 million thin-film panels by 2019.

Li Rong, director of the new energy department of the Ordos city government, said First Solar's project still faces a number of hurdles, including acceptance by the government's National Development and Reform Commission.

"It's hard to guarantee when exactly it will start or finish as the project hasn't been approved," Rong told the AP.

First Solar said the Ordos project will be the largest solar farm ever. But there are other projects that may provide stiff competition for that distinction.

The Clinton Climate Initiative said it is working with the Energy Resources Institute in India on a possible solar development that would be even larger. The project could install two solar farms — one in Gujarat and one in Rajasthan — that are larger than First Solar's. But CCI officials said the project is in an extremely early stage and most details haven't been worked out yet.

BrightSource Energy is developing one of the largest U.S.-based solar projects. The Oakland, Calif. company has power-purchase agreements with two California utilities to build 14 solar plants with a combined capacity of 2.6 gigawatts. BrightSource may spread the plants across California, Nevada and Arizona.

First Solar also is building solar farms in California and New Mexico, but Ahearn said he expects Asia to be home to the biggest solar plants for some time.

"There's an advantage to planning this from the top," Ahearn said. "The speed and execution advantage is in China." 

Dubai  inaugurated its metro network in a bid to cut dependency on cars and ease congestion, becoming the first city in the oil-rich Gulf to introduce rail as a commuting option.

The first train rolled out of the Mall of the Emirates station carrying dignitary passengers led by the emirate's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

"This is a dream coming true," said Sheikh Mohammed as he sat on the train travelling along the Red Line -- the first of two metro lines to open. A Green Line is scheduled to enter service in mid-2010.

The train travelled through empty stations, which will open to commuters only by Thursday morning. Sporadic fireworks went off as the train paced along the elevated track.

"To me, the metro is something special, like the first (Dubai national carrier) Emirates plane that flew and the first container-ship that arrived at (Dubai's) Sheikh Rashid port," Sheikh Mohammed told a group of journalists on Tuesday.

"This is just another of Dubai's achievements to celebrate," said Mattar al-Tayer, the head of the Roads and Transport Authority in the opening ceremony. The city state has more than one million vehicles, with cars and buses accounting for 88 percent -- almost one car for every two inhabitants of a population estimated between 1.6 million and some two million, mostly foreigners.

"We want less people using their cars," Sheikh Mohammed said.

But it remains to be seen whether motorists will be lured to leave their cars at home and hop onto the fancy air-conditioned blue trains, whose stations and connecting walkways are also temperature-controlled.

Petrol is subsidised in Dubai, as in the rest of the seven-member United Arab Emirates, while car loans were until recently easy to obtain, making the option of public transport less attractive.

And blazing sunshine and stifling humidity during a large part of the year in the southern Gulf desert country could make walking to and from stations uncomfortable.

But low-paid expatriate workers who are mostly South Asian and rely heavily on public buses will now have a faster alternative.

The RTA says metro fares will be affordable for everyone. A trip from one end of the 52-kilometre (32-mile) Red Line to the other will cost 5.80 dirhams (1.50 dollars).

Those who prefer not to ride on crowded carriages have the option of sitting on the leather seats of a "gold class" coach -- an unusual treat in a metro network -- at twice the price of standard tickets.

RTA says it made every effort to meet the deadline of the symbolic opening date of 09/09/09 for the Red Line since construction began in 2005, but only nine of its 29 stations have been opened on time.

Construction work remains visible at many of the incomplete stations of the mostly-elevated railroad that are set to open by February 2010, according to RTA.

It said on Monday that 90 percent of the work has been completed on the unfinished stations, pointing out that some were built to serve new neighbourhoods which have yet to be completely developed.

The global financial crisis has hit the construction sector in Dubai, delaying many projects due to the credit crunch. Plans for a further two metro lines have been put on hold as many new proposed development zones may not be built up for the foreseeable future.

The cost of building the Dubai Metro, which is being constructed by a consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has nearly doubled to 7.6 billion dollars, RTA said.

The metro is operated and maintained by UK support services firm Serco.

Zardari rejects Obama’s AfPak strategy

President Asif Ali Zardari has rejected the Obama administration’s strategy of linking the policy on Pakistan and Afghanistan in an effort to end a Taliban insurgency and bring stability to the region.

US President Barack Obama earlier this year appointed senior diplomat Richard Holbrooke as his special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan in a move intended to address these two states as a single arena of conflict.

‘Afghanistan and Pakistan are distinctly different countries and cannot be lumped together for any reason,’ Mr Zardari said in an interview with the Financial Times on the anniversary of his first year in office.

Mr Zardari’s comments reflect Pakistan’s unwillingness to be aligned in a joint policy framework with neighbouring Afghanistan, an approach referred to as ‘AfPak’. The president and his senior officials draw a distinction between a Pakistan with functioning institutions, diversified economy and a powerful national army, and Afghanistan, a state shattered by decades of conflict and ethnic divisions.

Ending the Taliban insurgency raging on both sides of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is only likely to be achieved by concerted military action by Nato forces fighting in Helmand and Kandahar and Pakistan’s army in Waziristan and other tribal areas along the border. Military experts say Taliban leaders travel across the Durand Line, the colonial era border, to avoid military pursuit.

Mr Holbrooke’s two-country mandate was also a recognition of Pakistan’s historic role in supporting the Taliban regime ousted from Kabul in 2001, and Islamabad’s former doctrine of ‘strategic depth’ into Afghanistan in case of a conflict with arch-rival India.

Mr Zardari said Mr Holbrooke had brought a ‘unique focus on relations with Pakistan’ and acknowledged the emphasis President Obama had put on Pakistan’s economic and energy needs.

The appeal by the husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for individual, rather than joint, focus comes ahead of a high profile meeting with President Obama and Gordon Brown, the UK’s prime minister, in New York later this month and a visit next month to Islamabad by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state.

At these meetings, Mr Zardari is expected to appeal for more financial assistance to Pakistan, which he says is essential to ending the menace of terrorism.

‘Pakistan does not have the luxury of time. Given the severity of the internal security challenge the country is facing, it is critical that the economy is provided a strong stimulus as quickly as possible so that the maximum number of jobs are created in the shortest time,’ he said.

‘If international aid flows are delayed beyond the next few months, the country will be forced to cut development spending as well as the provision of critical social services. You can then imagine how big a setback that could be for the global war on terror.’

Many analysts say Pakistan and Afghanistan have a shared history and were badly affected by geopolitical shifts in the 20th Century

Pakistan demands release of $1.6billion from US

Pakistan on Thursday once again demanded from the US to immediately release $1.6 billion under the Coalition Support Fund.

According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, US has to pay Pakistan money under the Coalition Support Fund and the payment of money by the US is quite sluggish but Pakistan cannot wait very long because the country’s economy is in a sensitive state.

Pakistan needs the funds to cater to its deteriorating economy and to fulfil the requirements of its defence and armed forces.

Sources say expenditures worth $100 million are being carried out every month in the war on terror and the funds provided by the US are quite slim as compared to the expenditures.

The last instalment provided by the US was released in the beginning of the prevailing year, after which Pakistan has not received any thing.

President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to United States later this month will raise the issue with his counterpart Barack Obama and urge him to immediately provide finances under the Coalition Support Fund.—Online 

POF, French firm signs MOU on rocket technology

Pakistan Ordnance Factories and a French company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on upgrading the capabilities of 122 mm rockets used by the Pakistani armed forces on the sidelines of the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition which opened in East London Tuesday.

The MOU was signed on behalf of POF by its chairman Lt.General Shujaat Zamir Dar and by David Quancard, president, Roxel company, which is a leading French company dealing in rocket technology.

Federal Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi was also present on the occasion.

The contract when materialised will help Pakistan armed forces to enhance the firing range of the present stock of 122 mm rockets in its arsenal from its current range of  20 kilometres to 40 km and beyond.

The French company chief sales executive Francis Rodriguez speaking to the media said the present Pakistani rockets are equipped with the Russian technology and are quite outdated and once actual agreement is signed with his company, the induction of new technology will not only increase the range but make the weapon more lethal and effective.

He said POF is manufacturing defence equipment of international standard and his company trust the Pakistan technology and  is happy to assist POF in bringning further new advancements.

Rodriguez said since the induction of a democratic government in Pakistan, its relations with France has deepened and both President Asif Ali Zardari and Nicholas Sarkozy are keen to see that these are further consolidated in all fields particularly in the defence sector.

France is already a major defence supplier to Pakistan including Mirage warplanes and submarines and other equipment for its forces. 

Pakistan v Hindustan: A Military Fact-Checking Exercise

Pakistan and India have met on the battlefield many times in the last six decades. On paper, it would seem to be no contest, but reality paints a different picture. India may be five times bigger and have more than twice as many soldiers and weapons, but it has always been unable to overpower Pakistan. Seeing Pakistan as a major obstacle to its vain plans for regional hegemony, India wants nothing more than to subjugate it. The fake ‘peace and friendship’ rhetoric is merely a cynical ploy. Bringing Pakistan to heel is India’s most ardent wish, just like it has done with most of its bordering neighbours.

This is a fact that has been proven beyond any doubt by the covert rebellions that India is actively stirring and sponsoring in Baluchistan and the NWFP. Also, the staged incidents and terrorist acts that resulted in India reflexively pointing a finger at Pakistan, only for the world to later realise that it was an Indian hatched enterprise. The Mumbai drama and the attack on the Indian parliament are cases in point. India looks for any excuse, no matter how spurious, to destabilise, demoralise the Pakistani nation and to stoke tensions and turn global opinion against Pakistan.

It is only Pakistan’s brave armed forces that provide the necessary deterrence to prevent Indian adventurism. Highly capable, professional, well-equipped and world-renowned, Pakistan’s armed forces strike fear into the heart of the Indian generals who haven’t fallen for their own bollywood propaganda. Throughout the six decades of Pakistan’s existence, they have gone from strength to strength, fighting, flying and sailing fearlessly to war in defence of the homeland. In comparison, the Indian armed forces are bloated, arrogant and inefficient, a mere reflection of the national predilection for pen-pushing, bullying and boasting.

The atrocities committed by the vaunted Indian Army in its own country are well documented. Their inhuman treatment of their own people from the Assamese and Tamils to the Sikhs and Marathis is a matter of record. The brutalisation of Kashmir is clear for the world to see. Only an invading force bent on oppression and subjugation would pour over half a million troops into that beleaguered state. They are not there for the fresh air and picnicking. Only one force in the region is capable of rolling back Indian aggression. Only one force HAS resisted. It is the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force.

LAND FORCES

On paper, India has a much higher number of weapons and equipment, but when the chips are down, its weaknesses are exposed. A case in point was the 2001 mobilisation of troops on the border following the farcically staged attack on the Indian parliament. It went very badly for the Indian army. At the cost of billions of dollars to the poverty-stricken Indian masses, the Army took several months to mobilise, and even when it did, it was in no position whatsoever to launch any kind of attack. The infantry proved to be less than ready, with dozens being killed in ‘friendly-fire’ attacks, and many taking their own lives due to ’stress’. The armoured vehicles were in a gross state of disrepair and the organisation was chaotic. The whole charade turned out to be more of an exercise in vanity and bluster than actual military sense.

The Pakistani response could not have been more different. Multiple Army Corps were mobilised within days and dispatched to the border efficiently and quietly. Equipment was readied and the determined troops stood their ground, ready to defend Pak Sarzameen. Pakistani officers could only look on in surprise at the antics across the border. Eventually, India decamped and withdrew having wasted billions on yet another useless adventure. But they should have known that attempting to intimidate and demoralise the Pakistan Army is an exercise in futility.

Pakistan was well prepared and its soldiers befitted with high morale. A great deal of credit for this goes to Pakistan’s defence production facilities which have done a very impressive job of equipping the large Army. Pakistan’s defence facilities produce almost every kind of weapon and ordinance that a modern army requires, from main battle tanks like the Al Khalid to infantry assault rifles like the venerable G3. Pakistan has no need to import equipment and is self-sufficient in the production of high-tech weaponry to international standards. The measure of the quality of products is proved by the fact that Pakistan in 2006 exported over $300 million dollars worth of high-tech arms to friendly countries, by far outstripping the pathetic arms exports of India. Pakistani defence companies, public and private, have built a solid reputation in the global arms market.

India on the other hand suffers from a defence industry that is laughable in its ability to deliver. The long-anticipated (over forty years to be exact) Arjun tank turned out to be a complete failure, its designers somehow overlooking the elementary fact that it was too wide to be transported by train and therefore useless. In addition, in recent exercises it suffered from numerous malfunctions that lead the Indian army to wash their hands of it and order over a thousand Russian T-90 tanks off the shelf from Russia instead. The Indian Government, always keen to save face, forced the army to buy a few token Arjun tanks (christened ar-junk by critics). The Arjun fiasco is perhaps the most famous example of fantastically expensive Indian defence catastrophes, but by no means is this an isolated occurence. Almost every piece of equipment conceived by the mad scientists of the infamous and ironically named DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has failed. In fact, the DRDO has produced more flops than Sunny Deol, and that’s saying something.

While the Indian army lurches from one rebellion to another, the Pakistan Army is efficient and highly organised, capable of applying deadly force to the nations enemies. The recent Army actions in Malakand and Swat are clear examples of the Army’s sound capabilities as it completely eliminated the TTP from entrenched positions within a matter of weeks. Such a feat of counter-insurgency is unprecedented. The Sri Lankan military was unable to pacify the Tamils for over 40 years and the Indian army, in spite of its brutal methods, is still regularly humiliated at the hands of the Kashmiri Mujahideen, Naxalites and countless other separatist rebel groups that have sprung up to challenge the so-called ‘biggest democracy in the world’.

NAVAL FORCES

Commensurate with its vain plans for regional domination, India has built a navy along the lines of the USN and Royal Navy. Thus it possesses dozens of surface ships of all kinds, destroyers, frigates and even an aircraft carrier. What the Indian naval brass haven’t realised yet is that the world has moved on without them, and in this age of anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, its large surface fleet has been reduced to a series of easy targets. Since the advent of the anti-ship cruise and ballistic missile, building a massive surface fleet is not only incredible expensive, it is incredibly stupid. No surface vessel in existence today is capable of avoiding a land based, air launched or sea launched saturation missile attack – not even the most high-tech American vessels. Put it this way, it would only take a small $50 million missile boat, carrying 4-8 primitive Harpoon style missiles to sink an aircraft carrier worth many billions. And if there is one thing the Pakistan Navy does not lack, it is missiles.

The Soviets knew this, and so they restricted their surface fleet and concentrated on submarine warfare, and the German Kriegsmarine circa WW2 knew this too. They relied on masses of U-boats to control the seas, not expensive surface vessels that would be more of a liability than a benefit. While the Indian Navy has gone down the foolhardy path, the Pakistani Naval brass have been far wiser. Knowing that they cannot match India in numbers, they have concentrated on securing territorial waters and securing sea lanes via high-tech submarines. The acquisition of the Augusta 90-B was a major step in the upgradation of the submarine fleet, and this is soon to be followed by the purchase of several German U-214 boats. This type is the most modern and sophisticated conventional diesel submarine in the world and far outstrips anything in the Indian arsenal. This has been supplemented by the purchase of small Chinese and possible Turkish frigates and large numbers of anti-ship missiles of the air launched and sea-launched variety. Pakistan is also proficient in the building of the only vessel it makes any sense to construct these days – the small missile-launching patrol boat.

The most important factor for a Navy is balance. This is what gives a Navy the ability to respond to any threat – a variety of vessels in small but not overwhelming numbers that can be utilised well. While the Indian Navy is bloated and suffers from a critical shortage of usable, serviceable ships and a submarine fleet in an appalling state of disrepair and neglect, the Pakistan Navy has capitalised on its strengths while minimising its weaknesses. If war were to break out tomorrow, the Indian navy, in spite of its superior numbers, would not dare to approach Pakistani territorial waters for fear of undetectable submarines lurking below and lethal cruise missiles raining overhead. Under those circumstances, being the absolute liability that it is, their vaunted but ultimately useless Indian aircraft carrier would most likely set sail at full steam – back to port.

AIR FORCES

The Pakistani air force is probably the most beloved of the nations three armed services. It has fought valiantly and heroically in all the wars it has partcipated in and faced down an enemy many times its size and capability. What it lacks in high-tech fighter jets it makes up for in ingenious tactics, meaning that Pakistani air force pilots are renowned the world over for their skill and bravery. Despite the technological gap, it is the emphasis on training and discipline and peak professionalism that gives Pakistani pilots the clear edge over their Indian adversaries.

In every single war, the Pakistan air force has outperformed the Indian air force and thus cemented its place in the nations imagination. It is the only air force in the world to have a 100% strike rate against the Israeli air force – a feat no Arab nation could achieve. As a result, today Pakistani pilots are invited to train the cadets and pilots of other air forces around the world and cadets from dozens of countries come to study at the ‘Top Gun’ style Pakistan Air Force Academy.

The Indians may have superior jets like the Russian Su-30 MKI, but Pakistan is catching up fast. The acquisition of the F-16 Block 50 from the US and the Chinese FC-20 will transform Pakistan Air force into a technological force to be reckoned with. This will be greatly helped by the induction of over 250 JF-17 multi-role jets co-produced with the Chinese. These will form the backbone of the air force for decades to come, replacing existing older aircraft.

While Indian pilots crash their poorly serviced planes by the dozens, Pakistani engineers have worked wonders in preserving and servicing the Air Force through times when parts and spares were difficult to come by due to sanctions. India is spending multiple billions on upgrading its fleet and is due to import hundreds of the latest fighter jets through its MRCA tender, but Pakistan is not standing still either. By 2015, the Pakistani Air Force will be revolutionised. Regardless of Indian belligerence, the induction of modern fighters, AWACS surveillance planes and upgraded air defence systems will make the skies over Pakistan impregnable.

MISSILES

Pakistan’s missiles are the envy of the world. Possessing both liquid-fuelled and the more useful solid-fuelled missiles, Pakistan has the entire region within range and most importantly, all of India. With short-range battlefield types all the way to the 3,500km Shaheen II, all of Pakistan’s missiles are field tested and operational and capable of ‘pinpoint’ accuracy. This is in marked contrast to the Indian missile programme that has known only a succession of humiliating and expensive failures. Recent reports from India indicated that of all of its claimed missile types, only the short-range Prithvi missile is operational and ready for war. The rest suffer from malfunctions and defects that have yet to be corrected. This embarrassing revelation is particularly painful to Indians if the Indian missile program was contrasted with its Pakistani equivalent.

Pakistan wins on all counts. Not only is it ahead, but it is widening the gap by developing longer range missiles that go into ICBM (inter-continental) range along with more advanced and powerful nuclear warheads. But the most exciting development by far in the ballistic missile field are the reliable reports that Pakistan is developing next generation missiles in the form of MIRV (multiple independent re-entry vehicles). As the name suggests, this allows multiple independent warheads to be deployed from the same missile, effectively disabling any possible anti-ballistic missile threats. It allows the devastation of the missile to be massively multiplied without significant increases in missile numbers. This technology is expected to be deployed on the Shaheen III and later types.

In addition to the ballistic missile arsenal, Pakistan is also way ahead when it comes to cruise missiles. When the now 700km range Babur was tested in 2005, the world was stunned and Indian commentators were left catatonic. Especially considering the fact that the Babur was produced in-country with no outside assistance save for a stray US Tomahawk missile or two. The Indians have no equivalent missile, and instead rely on the Brahmos import from Russia. The Brahmos is supersonic, but what it makes up for in speed it loses in agility and accuracy. While the Brahmos makes for good bollywood style PR, the Babur, and now the air launched Ra’ad are far more suitable for wartime, being cheaper, more flexible and more accurate. Longer range versions are being developed, particularly anti-ship varieties that will hunt down and sink ‘white elephants’ in the Indian ocean – the Indian surface fleet.

NUCLEAR CAPABILITY & DETERRANCE

Recent reports that the Indian nuclear of 1998 were ‘fizzles’ only confirms what the world already knows – India is far behind Pakistan when it comes to nuclear weapons technology and weaponisation. This has been confirmed not only by Western analysts but also by the Indians themselves. Started in 1972, the Pakistani nuclear programme has resulted today in an arsenal of over 200 nuclear warheads of both the highly-enriched Uranium and Plutonium varieties with the capacity to produce around 50 more each year.

Pakistan’s first nuclear tests were in May 1998, when six warheads were tested. It is reported that the yields from these tests were 12kt, 30 to 35kt and four low-yield (below 1 kt) tests. From these tests Pakistan can be estimated to have developed operational warheads of 20 to 25kt and 150kt in the shape of low weight compact designs and may have 300–500kt large-size warheads. Plutonium warheads are more operationally deployable with only 2–4 kg of plutonium needed for the same device that would need 20–25 kg of U-235. The low-yield weapons are probably in nuclear bombs carried on fighter-bombers such as the Dassault Mirage III and fitted to Pakistan’s short-range ballistic and cruise missiles, while the higher-yield warheads are probably fitted to the Shaheen and Ghauri series of ballistic missiles.

The sixth Pakistani nuclear test (May 30, 1998) at Kharan was a successful test of a sophisticated, compact, but powerful bomb designed to be carried by missiles. And that was over 10 years ago. The advancements in miniaturisation technology since then have been astounding. The plutonium based nuclear weapons are now reportedly being spiked with tritium. Only a few grams of tritium can result in an increase of the explosive yield by 300% to 400%. Pakistan has also built hard and deeply buried storage and launch facilities to retain a second strike capability in a nuclear war, as well as road-mobile missiles, air defences around strategic sites, and concealment measures.

India is no match for Pakistan when it comes to courage, professionalism and most importantly a ‘mission’ – to make Pakistan a force that will bring Jusice and Peace to humanity, for all times to come. The future belongs to this great nation and it’s emenies will soon become irrelevant.

Pakistan Payendabaad!

References:

http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/pakistan-v-hindustan-a-military-fact-checking-exercise/