tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36931012444716887192024-03-12T19:22:46.262-07:00Pakistan InsidePakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-6735997171549901792009-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:002009-10-12T12:56:33.512-07:00Dhaka turns to magic lamp to save power<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/BD--12--l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 471px; height: 219px;" src="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/BD--12--l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bangladesh, facing critical electricity shortages, has turned to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL), described by officials as “magic lamps” to save power.</span><br /><br />And to help ensure smooth electricity supply to millions of farmers during irrigation season, the government, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to distribute 10 million CFLs to the consumers which will save around 200 to 300 megawatt of electricity.<br /><br />“We are trying to minimise the gap between the supply and demand with our limited generation through improving our management side and introducing efficient appliances in the system”, State Minister for Power Division Brigadier General (retired) Enamul Haq, said.<br /><br />He was addressing as the chief guest at the opening ceremony on installation of CFL and electronic blasts in Dhaka.<br /><br />Secretary for the Power Division Abul Kalam Azad and top officials of the Power Ministry were present.<br /><br />“These installation will save one MW electricity from the Mouchak-Gulbag feeder in Dhaka city alone. However, examining its all sides we will install seven more CFL in the city areas”, Azad said.<br /><br />However, Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) on Sunday kicked off the much awaiting free distribution programme of 1.5 million Compact Fluorescent Lights to the consumers in the capital.<br /><br />DPDC will install 17,000 pieces of 23 Watt CFL and 6,000 pieces of 14 Watt CFL among its consumers along with 23,000 electronic blasts.<br /><br />GTZ, the German development support agency, has provided 100,000 EURO for purchasing the bulbs made by the local manufacturer.<br /><br />“We are installing the energy saving bulb to increase energy efficiency. We wants media support in this regard as it’s a new idea and the price of this bulb is much higher than the traditional one but if we calculate the other benefit including saving money using same quantity of electricity thus finally help the government to improve power supply quality”, the state minister said.<br /><br />“To popularize the use of CFL initially the consumer will give us the two incandescent bulbs and then they will get 2 CFL from us”, Azad said.<br /><br />The Power Division will give soon the CFL to the domestic consumers of utility services who use incandescent bulbs that consume more electricity.<br /><br />Bangladesh earlier put the clock one hour ahead to use day light in a frantic bid to conserve electricity.</span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-73662838157534517892009-10-12T12:51:00.000-07:002009-10-12T12:55:07.685-07:00US fails to reach goals in Afghanistan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:hi8W63tkg8hpaM:http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/files/2009/08/00000afghanistan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 185px; height: 227px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:hi8W63tkg8hpaM:http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/files/2009/08/00000afghanistan.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">With its troops struggling against the growing Taliban insurgency to stabilize Afghanistan, the United States has not reached its civilian goals in the war-ravaged country, a leading American newspaper reported on Monday.</span></strong></span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Citing administration officials, The New York Times reported on Sunday that Washington was falling far short of its goals in fighting Afghanistan’s endemic corruption, creating a functioning government and legal system and training a police force.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">The officials told the newspaper nearly seven months after President Barack Obama announced a stepped up civilian effort to bolster his deployment of 17,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan, many civil institutions are deteriorating as much as the country’s security.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">According to the officials, Afghanistan is now so dangerous that many aid workers cannot travel outside the capital city of Kabul to advise farmers on crops.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Agricultural assistance was a key part of Obama’s announcement in March that he was deploying hundreds of additional civilians to work in the country.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">The judiciary is so weak that Afghans are increasingly turning to a shadow Taliban court system because, a senior military official said, “a lot of the rural people see the Taliban justice as at least something,” The Times said.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity also described Obama as impatient with civilian progress so far. “The president is not satisfied on any of this,” the paper quoted a senior administration official as saying.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Since the beginning of the war in 2001, Washington has allocated nearly $13 billion for civilian aid to Afghanistan, officials at the State Department said.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">However, the Defence Department report in January noted that although the Afghan Ministry of Finance is responsible for tracking international aid, there is “no reliable data on the total amount of international assistance that has been pledged or dispersed to the country.”</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">President Obama is considering troop reinforcements after US and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal warned that the war could be lost unless more troops are sent to Afghanistan.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Despite the presence of over 100,000 US and NATO ‘boots on the ground’, the escalated militancy has made the current year the deadliest yet for foreign forces, as well as Afghan civilians.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">More than 1,500 civilians, the main victims of the controversial war, have been killed and many others wounded in the first six months of 2009, which shows a 24 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the latest UN report.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-573231130367500502009-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:002009-10-12T12:50:56.739-07:002009 Nobel Prize winners<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/Nobel--12--l.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 371px; height: 169px;" src="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/Nobel--12--l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">With Monday's prize in economics, all the 2009 Nobel Prizes have been announced. The winners will receive them on Dec. 10 in twin ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo.</span></strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Here is a look at this year's winners and their work:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine to Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for discovering how chromosomes protect themselves as cells divide, work that has inspired experimental cancer therapies and may offer insights into aging.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobel Prize in physics to Americans Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith. Kao was honored for discovering how to transmit light signals long distance through hair-thin glass fibers. Boyle and Smith received the prize for opening the door to digital cameras by inventing a sensor that turns light into electrical signals.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobel Prize in chemistry to Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Israel's Ada Yonath — the first woman to receive it since 1964 — for creating detailed blueprints of ribosomes, the protein-making machinery within cells, research that's being used to develop new antibiotics.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobel Prize in literature to Germany's Herta Mueller, a Romanian-born writer honored for work that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed."</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision drew praise, derision and plenty of puzzlement.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson for their work in economic governance. Ostrom was the first woman to win the prize since it was founded in 1968, and the fifth woman to win a Nobel award this year — a Nobel record.</span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-62373613863407696112009-10-07T05:32:00.000-07:002009-10-07T05:37:22.530-07:00Army top brass shows concern on US aid bill<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.asianews.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/437ef2f15bStarts.jpg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.asianews.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/437ef2f15bStarts.jpg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Consuming a fair share of the time, top military brass of the country on Wednesday expressed its concerns over the conditions posed by the Kerry-Lugar bill to deliver the civilian aid to Pakistan by US as the Pakistan Army's Corps Commanders met here today</span></strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;">. <br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Corp Commanders conference held at the General Headquarters with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaque Pervez Kayani in chair. All formation commanders of the Army attended the meeting.<br /><br />The deliberation on US bicameral legislation now awaits President Barack Obama's signature was on top of the agenda, while the corps commanders also discussed the progress of operation against militants in Swat and the future army offensive in South Waziristan and other tribal areas.<br /><br />The National Assembly session is also underway in the capital to debate on the Kerry-Lugar bill in today’s proceedings.<br /><br />The bill triples the annual US civilian economic assistance to Pakistan for the next five years.<br /><br />A key English newspaper of Pakistan Tuesday reported that Pakistan Army conveyed its part of protest to the US over the language and observations in the bill on Pakistan’s military services and intelligence agencies, when Commander of International Forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal met Gen Kayani at the GHQ on Tuesday<br /><br />“General McChrystal returned from the GHQ with an unambiguous message that the terms set in the Kerry-Lugar Bill on the national security interests of Pakistan are insulting and are unacceptable in their present formulation,” the newspaper said in its report.<br /><br />however, on the other hand Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has defended the bill, portraying it as a ‘big success’ of the democratic government.<br /><br />“The passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill is a big success of the government as it is for the first time that the United States has supported a democratic government in Pakistan instead of dictatorship,” he said while addressing a meeting of the parliamentary party of the coalition partners of the government on Tuesday.<br /><br />President Asif Ali Zardari has also urged PPP leaders and ministers to vigorously respond to criticism of party and government’s policies by political adversaries.</span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-37260442219673072252009-10-07T05:25:00.000-07:002009-10-07T05:31:57.134-07:00NASA telescope discovers giant ring around Saturn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:n5YwvwUCm8Mw6M:http://www.heavens-above.com/images/saturnPic1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 106px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:n5YwvwUCm8Mw6M:http://www.heavens-above.com/images/saturnPic1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong>The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the biggest but never-before-seen ring around the planet Saturn, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced late Tuesday.</strong><br /><br />The thin array of ice and dust particles lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system and its orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane, the laboratory said.<br /><br />JPL spokeswoman Whitney Clavin said the ring is very diffuse and doesn't reflect much visible light but the infrared Spitzer telescope was able to detect it.<br /><br />Although the ring dust is very cold — minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit — it shines with thermal radiation.<br /><br />No one had looked at its location with an infrared instrument until now, Clavin said.<br /><br />The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles.<br /><br />The newly found ring is so huge it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it, JPL said.<br /><br />Before the discovery Saturn was known to have seven main rings named A through E and several faint unnamed rings.<br /><br />A paper on the discovery was to be published online Wednesday by the journal Nature.<br /><br />"This is one supersized ring," said one of the authors, Anne Verbiscer, an astronomer at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Her co-authors are Douglas Hamilton of the University of Maryland, College Park, and Michael Skrutskie, also of the University of Virginia.<br /><br />Saturn's moon Phoebe orbits within the ring and is believed to be the source of the material.<br /><br />The ring also may answer the riddle of another moon, Iapetus, which has a bright side and a very dark side.<br /><br />The ring circles in the same direction as Phoebe, while Iapetus, the other rings and most of Saturn's other moons go the opposite way. Scientists think material from the outer ring moves inward and slams into Iapetus.<br /><br />"Astronomers have long suspected that there is a connection between Saturn's outer moon Phoebe and the dark material on Iapetus," said Hamilton. "This new ring provides convincing evidence of that relationship."<br /><br />The Spitzer mission, launched in 2003, is managed by JPL in Pasadena. Spitzer is 66 million miles from Earth in orbit around the sun.Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-23323345338326815852009-10-04T02:55:00.000-07:002009-10-04T02:57:46.467-07:00India should justify its large presence in Afghanistan: FM<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5aG4CwUn40C6zM:http://newsx.com/files/images/Shah-Mehmood-Qureshi.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 108px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5aG4CwUn40C6zM:http://newsx.com/files/images/Shah-Mehmood-Qureshi.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong>Voicing Islamabad’s concern over large scale Indian presence in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said New Delhi needs to justify its interest in Pakistan’s war torn western neighbor, which shares no border with India.</strong><br /><br />“They have to justify their interest. They do not share a border with Afghanistan, whereas we do. So the level of engagement has to be commensurate with that,” he told the Los Angeles Times when asked in an interview about implications of India’s building up its commercial and political presence in Afghanistan.<br /><br />“If there is no massive (Indian) reconstruction (in Afghanistan), if there are not long queues in Delhi waiting for visas to travel to Kabul, why do you have such a large presence in Afghanistan? At times it concerns us,” he added.<br /><br />The foreign minister’s comments came a day after top American experts told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Islamabad’s concerns over Indian influence in Afghanistan are real and now being taken more seriously by Washington.<br /><br />Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal in a report to Pentagon recently feared serious regional implications of expanding Indian influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan suspects an Indian hand behind unrest in parts of its southern Balochistan province and earlier this year Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, in Sherm el Sheikh, which were reflected in a joint statement issued by the two South Asian powers.<br /><br />In the interview with the Times, Qureshi saw a “realization on both sides that dialogue is the only way forward.” “Any other option would be mutually destructive—suicidal,” he said about prospects of resumption of dialogue process, stalled since late last year’s attacks in Mumbai, blamed on a Pakistan based militant group. “Now, the Mumbai attack was a hiccup. But what I have tried to convey to the Indians is: who has benefited from Mumbai? I bid you, not us. The real beneficiary is that element that does not want normalization,”<br /><br />Qureshi said, “By disengaging from each other, we are falling into the trap of that very element that wants us disengaged. The only way we can defeat their designs is to have a continuous engagement and resume that dialogue. “That will have a positive impact in South Asia. If you want Pakistan focused more on the (threat from extremists along the Afghan border) west, then we have to feel more secure on the east. There is a linkage there,” he added.<br /><br />The foreign minister stated that the South Asian region is hostage to the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the peaceful resolution of which through uninterrupted dialogue is the only way forward.<br />Earlier, he told a think tank in Los Angeles about Pakistan’s constructive diplomacy with India on reducing South Asian tensions.<br />He declared that Pakistan is fully committed to peace, security and development in the region.<br />Achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan is crucial for security and economic development of Pakistan, he said, adding that no country had suffered more than Pakistan due to the wars in Afghanistan.Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-69415204857978119312009-10-04T02:01:00.000-07:002009-10-04T02:04:43.700-07:00Bolivia to buy six Karakoram-8 planes from Pakistan<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:0HQM7YvyEClGQM:http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/k-8_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 84px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:0HQM7YvyEClGQM:http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/k-8_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The Bolivian government has approved the 57.8-million-dollar purchase of six planes made in Pakistan with Chinese technology for use in anti-drug operations, media here reported on Friday.</strong></span></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The deal was finalised on Wednesday in consultation with ministers and stipulated that the aircraft would provide a “contribution to the regional battle against narco-trafficking, ensuring requisite control of national air spaces and areas prone to and affected by this problem,” reported local independent media agency Fides.The government has not explicitly confirmed the deal but “the president will announce it on October 10,” according to Defence Minister Walker San Miguel, who was cited by La Razon newspaper.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">The K-8, or Karakorum, plane is a light fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan in the early 1990s. It is used primarily as a training aircraft, but can also be used for airfield defence.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Bolivia is also waiting for five US-made Huey helicopters to be delivered by Brazil. Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Thursday the delivery was being delayed by the United States, which had yet to give the project a green light.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Morales accused Washington of “boycotting” Bolivia’s anti-drug efforts after the country expelled agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Bolivia is the third largest cocaine producer in the world, behind Colombia and Peru.</span></span></span></p>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-58261885152813254232009-10-02T09:29:00.000-07:002009-10-02T09:35:20.505-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:e0Tw9ZWX_7zgmM:http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/images/2009-03/12/xin_29030612164118790035.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 127px; height: 85px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:e0Tw9ZWX_7zgmM:http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/images/2009-03/12/xin_29030612164118790035.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Pakistan Navy has acquired Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters Z9EC from China.</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></strong></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></strong></span></span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The induction ceremony was held here on Wednesday at Naval Aviation Base. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was the chief guest on the occasion. This is the first batch of the series of six helicopters to be procured as per the contract signed with China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></strong></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Z9EC helicopters have been built according to the specific requirements of Pakistan Navy and are capable to detect and destroy submarines. The aircraft is configured to carry torpedoes and is fitted with state of the art Pulse Compression Radar, Low Frequency Dipping Sonar, Radar Warning Receiver and Doppler Navigation System.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Talking to the mediamen after inauguration, the Naval Chief said that these days the Indian Ocean is experiencing intense activity and around 100 ships from different countries are operating at all times for safeguarding their interests. These extraordinary developments are an indicator of the importance of the trade routes in these waters. Pakistan Navy is also conducting continuous deployment of ships and aircraft to guarantee guarding our maritime interests.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Commenting on the regional stability, he denied being part of any arms race but expressed resolve to maintain quality in naval platforms and enhancement of capabilities in consonance with the developments in the region. He also expressed his full confidence in Chinese technology and termed it compatible to Western. “Pak-China relationship is time-tested and would further be strengthened with such defence collaborations like F-22 P frigates and Z9EC helicopters projects,” he added. Earlier in his welcome address, Commander Pakistan Fleet Rear Admiral Asif Sandila highlighted salient features of Z9EC project.</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">He apprised that apart from China, Pakistan is the first country that would operating these helicopters in Anti Submarine Warfare role. Later, the helicopter made fly and staged demonstration of its characteristics and maneuverability. The ceremony was attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhao Hui, representatives of M/s CATIC and a large number of senior naval officers and Aviators of Pakistan Navy.</span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-43881501340357746132009-10-01T07:19:00.000-07:002009-10-01T07:24:10.941-07:00Quetta:US new concern<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2008/07/wa_img_18bullet_interview_3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 166px; height: 192px;" src="http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2008/07/wa_img_18bullet_interview_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><b><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The United States has now turned its focus to Quetta, claiming that it has now become a major Taliban base from where Mullah Omar and his commanders plan and launch cross-border strikes into</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">.</span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">On Tuesday, The Washington Post quoted US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson as saying that</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">was high on</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Washington</span></span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s list of terrorist bases in the region.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">‘In the past, we focussed on Al Qaeda because they were a threat to us. The Quetta Shura mattered less to us because we had no troops in the region,’ she said. ‘Now our troops are there on the other side of the border, and the Quetta Shura is high on</span></span><st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Washington</span></span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s list.’</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Gen Stanley A. McChrystal, the top US and Nato commander in</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, has also raised alarms about the Quetta Shura, describing it in his recent report to President Barack Obama as a major command centre for the widening wave of Taliban bombings and attacks.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Other</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">US</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">officials claim that virtually all of the Afghan Taliban’s strategic decisions are made by the Quetta Shura. Decisions flow from the group ‘to Taliban field commanders, who in turn make tactical decisions that support the Shura’s strategic direction,’ one such official told the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">US</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">media.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Ambassador Patterson acknowledged that the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">United States</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">is far less familiar with the vast desert region than with Fata, where it has been cooperating closely with</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">for several years in the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders and where it periodically kills insurgents with missiles fired from remotely piloted aircraft.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">‘Our intelligence on</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">is vastly less. We have no people there, no cross-border operations, no Predators,’ the ambassador said.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">She said Pakistani officials were growing ‘extremely nervous’ that the current policy disputes in</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:state st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Washington</span></span></st1:state><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">would lead to a premature</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">US</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">pullout from</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">. ‘They will not rush to cut ties with the Taliban if they think they will be back in charge there again,’ she said.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Although the media have often quoted unnamed</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">US</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">officials as expressing doubts on</span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s sincerity to fight the Quetta Taliban, this marks the first time a senior US official has publicly endorsed such claims.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s chief military spokesman, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, however, rejected such claims as incorrect.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">‘From our judgment, there are no Taliban in Balochistan,’ he said. Asked about the names of Quetta Shura leaders provided by Afghan and US officials, he said: ‘Six to 10 of them have been killed, two are in</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, and two are insignificant. When people call Mullah Omar, the mayor of</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, that is incorrect.’</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Post report quoted Pakistani analysts as saying that the Taliban’s presence in the</span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">region is more discreet than it was earlier in the decade, when Mullah Omar fled there from US and Afghan military attacks. He was joined by thousands of fighters, who blended into ethnic Pashtun neighbourhoods and refugee camps. The report claims that Pakistani officials have allowed the Taliban movement to regroup in the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">area because they view it as a strategic asset rather than a domestic threat.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Michael Semple, a former UN official in</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">now based in</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Islamabad</span></span></st1:city><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, told the Post that the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">region’s refugee camps were ‘a great reserve army’ for the Taliban. He said Pashtun tribes in the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Kandahar</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">region of</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, the Taliban’s ethnic and spiritual base, have strong ties with those on the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">side.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">During Ramazan, posters appeared on walls across</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Quetta</span></span></st1:city><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">, asking people to contribute their money, vehicles and sons to the ‘fight against occupying forces’ across the border in</span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Afghanistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Experts who spoke to the Post said unlike Pakistani Taliban groups in Fata, the Quetta Shura is considered uninterested in operations inside</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Maj-Gen Abbas, however, rejected the suggestion that because the Quetta Taliban were not attacking Pakistani targets,</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">was not interested in combating them.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">He said he hoped the Swat campaign had overcome any concerns</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:state st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Washington</span></span></st1:state><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">might have about</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">’s willingness to take on the insurgents. If the</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">United States</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">has information about Taliban leaders in Balochistan, ‘tell us who and where they are,’ he said. ‘We will not allow your forces inside, but if you lead, we will follow.’</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">But Ambassador Patterson said Pakistani officials had ‘made it crystal clear that they have different priorities from ours,’ being far more concerned about Taliban attacks inside</span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">than across the border. She noted that</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">had once trained religious fighters to operate against</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">India</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">and elsewhere and that the same groups had now turned against the state.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">‘You cannot tolerate vipers in your bosom without getting bitten,’ Ambassador Patterson said. ‘Our concern is whether</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">really controls its territory. There are people who do not threaten</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Pakistan</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">but who are extremely important to us.’</span></span></span></p></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-84054627961467696202009-09-29T11:31:00.000-07:002009-09-29T11:43:00.727-07:00Judge delays Google's Digital Library<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46317000/jpg/_46317353_google-signs-bod.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 170px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46317000/jpg/_46317353_google-signs-bod.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A New York judge has put<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Google's vision of creating the world's biggest digital library on hold.</span></strong><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-size:13px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">Judge Denny Chin postponed a fairness hearing set for next month that was meant to address a settlement between Google and authors and publishers.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">The $125m agreement, worked out last year, has effectively been sent back to the drawing board by the judge.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">The class action case would let Google distribute and sell digital versions of out of print, copyrighted books.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">It has been criticised because some say it would give Google too much power to set book prices.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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.</p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">The $125m agreement, worked out last year, has effectively been sent back to the drawing board by the judge.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">The class action case would let Google distribute and sell digital versions of out of print, copyrighted books.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">It has been criticised because some say it would give Google too much power to set book prices.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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.</p></span></span><b><br /></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><b>Fair concerns'</b></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">The move follows objections filed by the Department of Justice last week. It said the deal should not go through in its current form.</p></span></span><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">In a 32-page filing, the DOJ said the settlement needed to be reworked so that it complied with US copyright and antitrust laws.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">It was revealed earlier this week that publishers, authors and Google have been working to modify the agreement, which was completed last year.</p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">"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.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">He noted that objectors to the settlement include "countries, states, non-profit organisations, and prominent authors and law professors".</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">"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.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><b>'Status conference'</b></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">"Clearly voices such as ours had an impact on Judge Chin," wrote consumer watchdog advocate John Simpson in an email to BBC News.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">"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."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">Orphan books - of which there are thought to be five million - are titles where the authors cannot be found.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; ">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".</p></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-30609633978686356722009-09-25T09:53:00.000-07:002009-09-25T10:01:05.608-07:00Iran 'concealed nuclear facility'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:boS1fPCTkDu6UM:http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iran/gfx/titlephoto_nuclear.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 127px; height: 86px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:boS1fPCTkDu6UM:http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iran/gfx/titlephoto_nuclear.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Iran concealed a partially-built second uranium enrichment plant in defiance of calls for transparency over its nuclear plans, US President Barack Obama says.</span></span></span></span><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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".</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Iran told the UN about the plant on Monday, saying it was not operational yet and would provide nuclear energy.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Speaking in New York, Iran's president denied there had been any secrecy.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Tehran has previously acknowledged it has one enrichment plant, at Natanz.</span></span></p></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Despite Iran's assertions that the facility was for peaceful purposes, the new plant was "not consistent" with that goal, the US president said.</span></span></p></span></span><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><b><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">'Line in the sand'</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Tehran would be held accountable for any failure to meet these responsibilities, he said.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Gordon Brown stressed that the US, France and UK were "at one" on the issue, and accused the Iranians of "serial deception".</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">There was now "no choice but to draw a line in the sand" over the nuclear issue, he said.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"Iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear programme."</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Mr Sarkozy said the situation was a challenge to the entire international community.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Iran must co-operate fully with the IAEA, Mr Medvedev said.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">China also said Iran should work with the UN watchdog, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Pittsburgh.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><b><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Underground plant</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Iranian officials were quick to deny the latest plant was any kind of clandestine project.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The existence of Iran's first enrichment plant, at Natanz, was only confirmed after intelligence emerged from Iranian exile groups several years ago.</span></span></p></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><p></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In Washington, US officials said the Western nations decided to reveal their intelligence assessments when the Iranians realised the plant's secrecy was compromised.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Iran's letter to the UN watchdog, the IAEA, on Monday informed it that "a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction".</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In response, the IAEA has requested Iran to "provide specific information and access to the facility as soon as possible", an IAEA statement adds.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Earlier this month, Tehran agreed to "comprehensive" talks on a range of security issues - but made no mention of its own nuclear programme.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; "><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(70, 70, 70); font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; font-family:verdana;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-77714162867540068112009-09-25T09:46:00.000-07:002009-09-25T09:51:56.083-07:00Exclusive Report on BlackWater/Xe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bwater1.jpg?w=320&h=240"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bwater1.jpg?w=320&h=240" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong>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.</strong> <p>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.</p><a href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/pkkh-blackwater-23-09-09.pdf">Read the complete Story here ...</a>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-63426406340056222492009-09-15T03:33:00.000-07:002009-09-15T03:37:06.413-07:00Afridi, Gul nominated for ‘T 20 best performance of the year’<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:y94Bxko-mGkZTM:http://xomba.com/files/images/3511217483_25e79ba57c.preview.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 119px; height: 72px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:y94Bxko-mGkZTM:http://xomba.com/files/images/3511217483_25e79ba57c.preview.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>The ICC has short listed the nominations for the annual awards here on Tuesday.</strong></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Pakistan’s Sana Mir has also been excluded from the list of ‘Women’s Player of the Year’.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The ICC Award ceremony will be held on October 1 during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.</span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-32560862546786997702009-09-14T12:58:00.000-07:002009-09-14T13:23:37.966-07:00Musharraf resigned after a deal: President Zardari<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:c80URxXTf5gMwM:http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/news_images/Asif-Ali-Zardari1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 111px; height: 111px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:c80URxXTf5gMwM:http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/news_images/Asif-Ali-Zardari1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he participated in the talks which led to the safe exit of former president Pervez Musharraf.</span></span></strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“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.”</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Regarding corruption charges, President Zardari said all the ‘stories of corruption’ are part of a campaign of maligning the politicians.</span></span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">He said no minus-one formula can meet success in the absence of a president like Farooq Leghari.</span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-80636304521340007632009-09-13T01:07:00.000-07:002009-09-13T01:14:35.833-07:00No direct funding to PPP Govt : US<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:TTCg42VHQ1XKwM:http://www.nation.com.pk/uploads/news_image/large/USSenateokaysbilltotripleaidtoPak_5571.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 90px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:TTCg42VHQ1XKwM:http://www.nation.com.pk/uploads/news_image/large/USSenateokaysbilltotripleaidtoPak_5571.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">US State Department Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources, Jacob J. Lew in his briefing told this.</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">“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.”</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.”</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-69602364589755788022009-09-12T04:25:00.000-07:002009-09-12T04:30:10.262-07:00Pakistan first F-22 frigate arrives in Karachi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.geo.tv/9-12-2009/eng/9-12-2009_49087_l.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 152px;" src="http://www.geo.tv/9-12-2009/eng/9-12-2009_49087_l.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;">PNS Zulfiquar, Pakistan's first F-22 frigate has reached Karachi on Saturday.</span></strong></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Commander Pakistan fleet Rear Admiral Asif Sandela received Pakistan Navy's newly acquired state-of-the art missile frigate.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pakistan Navy Spokesman Salman Ali talking to media said PNS Zulfiquar participated in exercises with other naval ships.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pakistan Navy has signed an agreement with China for construction of the four frigates-three in China and one in Pakistan.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The war ship was constructed at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai and formally handed over to Pakistan on 30th July.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-53302171013818168442009-09-11T10:48:00.000-07:002009-09-11T10:51:06.787-07:00Pakistan rejects Indian protest on Gilgit-Baltistan, Bunji dam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Ul_ArenTIuFYwM:http://www.apakistannews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/pakistan-investigating-mumbai-attack-foreign-office.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 103px; height: 78px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Ul_ArenTIuFYwM:http://www.apakistannews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/pakistan-investigating-mumbai-attack-foreign-office.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-45397394186497536292009-09-11T07:28:00.000-07:002009-09-11T07:33:11.529-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/China--08--l.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 119px;" src="http://www.thearynews.com/beta/upload/newsimg/China--08--l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>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.</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"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."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">And efforts to build new power lines are regularly stymied by competing interests from government agencies, environmental groups and disgruntled residents.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"In the U.S., energy policy is made on the state level," Ahearn said. "Every state has a different approach."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Industry experts say they're not sure when that will happen.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"We've been kind of in a holding pattern for six months or so," Mark Bachman, an analyst with PacificCrest, said.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"It's hard to guarantee when exactly it will start or finish as the project hasn't been approved," Rong told the AP.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"There's an advantage to planning this from the top," Ahearn said. "The speed and execution advantage is in China."</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-10411956976179449332009-09-11T07:20:00.000-07:002009-09-11T07:23:03.790-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QZ1OdVv7PtBrwM:http://www.mytripolog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dubai-metro-uae.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 131px; height: 100px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QZ1OdVv7PtBrwM:http://www.mytripolog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dubai-metro-uae.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>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.</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"We want less people using their cars," Sheikh Mohammed said.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">But low-paid expatriate workers who are mostly South Asian and rely heavily on public buses will now have a faster alternative.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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).</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The metro is operated and maintained by UK support services firm Serco.</span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-65956099339544923812009-09-10T11:55:00.000-07:002009-09-10T12:00:45.317-07:00Zardari rejects Obama’s AfPak strategy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://wondersofpakistan.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/asif_ali_zardari4.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 285px;" src="http://wondersofpakistan.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/asif_ali_zardari4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>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.</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />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.<br /><br />‘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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />‘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.<br /><br />‘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.’<br /><br />Many analysts say Pakistan and Afghanistan have a shared history and were badly affected by geopolitical shifts in the 20th Century</span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-24966304281933151162009-09-10T11:22:00.001-07:002009-09-10T11:28:30.946-07:00Pakistan demands release of $1.6billion from US<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.novinite.com/media/images/2009-05/photo_verybig_103362.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 114px;" src="http://www.novinite.com/media/images/2009-05/photo_verybig_103362.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:100%;">Pakistan on Thursday once again demanded from the US to immediately release $1.6 billion under the Coalition Support Fund.</span></strong></p><p>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.</p><p>Pakistan needs the funds to cater to its deteriorating economy and to fulfil the requirements of its defence and armed forces.</p><p>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.</p><p>The last instalment provided by the US was released in the beginning of the prevailing year, after which Pakistan has not received any thing.</p><p>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<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-53572980492545973042009-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:002009-09-10T09:51:36.042-07:00POF, French firm signs MOU on rocket technology<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/images/pof.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 109px; height: 107px;" src="http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/images/pof.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-align: -webkit-left; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Federal Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi was also present on the occasion.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">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.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">France is already a major defence supplier to Pakistan including Mirage warplanes and submarines and other equipment for its forces.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></span></span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-35332904171441598172009-09-10T07:40:00.000-07:002009-09-10T07:55:32.893-07:00Pakistan v Hindustan: A Military Fact-Checking Exercise<p style="font-size: 1em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; "><p style="font-size: 1em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style="font-size: 1em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style="font-size: 1em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><br /></p></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/ssg.jpg?w=420&h=279&h=279"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 420px; height: 279px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/ssg.jpg?w=420&h=279&h=279" border="0" alt="" /></a></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"> <span style="font-size:130%;">LAND FORCES</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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’.</span><br /></p></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/2.jpg?w=450&h=240&h=240"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 240px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/2.jpg?w=450&h=240&h=240" border="0" alt="" /></a></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>NAVAL FORCES</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><br /></p></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/2984004159_fd296323d4_b.jpg?w=450&h=256&h=256"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 256px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/2984004159_fd296323d4_b.jpg?w=450&h=256&h=256" border="0" alt="" /></a></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"> <strong><span style="font-size:130%;">AIR FORCES</span></strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><br /></p></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/800px-baburcruise1.jpg?w=450&h=264&h=264"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 264px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/800px-baburcruise1.jpg?w=450&h=264&h=264" border="0" alt="" /></a></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">MISSILES</span></strong></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span><br /></p></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nuclear.jpg?w=450&h=240&h=240"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 240px;" src="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nuclear.jpg?w=450&h=240&h=240" border="0" alt="" /></a></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">NUCLEAR CAPABILITY & DETERRANCE</span></strong><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p></span></span><p><object width="425" height="344"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kf2XysO9Jos&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; text-align: left; font-family:Georgia;font-size:13px;"></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">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.</span></p><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pakistan Payendabaad!</span></p></span></span><p style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font-size:1em;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>References:</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p size="1em" style=" margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: justify; "> <a href="http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/pakistan-v-hindustan-a-military-fact-checking-exercise/">http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/pakistan-v-hindustan-a-military-fact-checking-exercise/</a> <span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></p>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-693425739053588132009-09-10T06:52:00.000-07:002009-09-10T06:56:27.943-07:00Chinese Workers embrace Islam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.geo.tv/9-10-2009/eng/9-10-2009_48999_l.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 152px;" src="http://www.geo.tv/9-10-2009/eng/9-10-2009_48999_l.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Six hundred and sixty Chinese nationals working on the Haramain train construction project have embraced Islam in a ceremony in Makkah.</strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Abdul Aziz Al-Khudhairi, Makkah Governorate Undersecretary, who witnessed the declaration of the shahada described the event as a “direct response to critics of the government for contracting Chinese company.”<br /><br />“We received hundreds of letters opposing the signing of a contract with the Chinese company and demanding that Muslims be contracted,” Al-Khudhairi said. “Six hundred and sixty of them have now embraced Islam.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />Now those who were calling for them to be dismissed are happy at their embracing Islam.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />The numbers will also go up, as this is only the beginning, and represents around ten percent of the 5,000 working on the Haramain train.”<br /><br />Al-Khudhairi demanded that “our conduct reflect the teachings of our religion and our words should match our deeds to have an effect on people”. “We must also respect human rights,” he added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, as many as 2,722 people have embraced Islam at the Cooperative Office for Call, Guidance and Awareness of Communities in Al-Taif Governorate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />The Office’s Director General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Sawat pointed out that the office has also distributed during that period 1,247,694 copies of the Holy Qur’an, religious books and pamphlets as well as 225, 901 religious cassettes.</span>Pakistan Insidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336683403484374088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693101244471688719.post-13654997249604047822009-09-06T03:05:00.001-07:002009-09-06T03:12:31.214-07:00NEWS BREAK: Anne Patterson Blocks Shireen Mazari<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:vI8TpLQO1lLMdM:http://www.the-leaders.org/library/images/library_img_15.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 103px; height: 77px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:vI8TpLQO1lLMdM:http://www.the-leaders.org/library/images/library_img_15.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">US Ambassador In Pakistan Forces A Newspaper To Censor A Known US Cri</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">tic</span></strong></span><br /><p> Finally, the Americans take their revenge. Dr. Mazari single-handedly threw cold water on Washington's plan last year to send a rabidly anti-Pakistani US army general as defense attaché to Islamabad. The Pakistani government quietly accepted the appointment. But Dr. Mazari broke the story and aborted the plan. When the new pro-US elected government seized power, Mr. Zardari's special assistant Husain Haqqani's first order of business was to fire Dr. Mazari from her official post. And now the US ambassador succeeds in blocking her column. Welcome to the Banana Republic of Pakistan where soon US ambassadors will have the right appoint presidents and prime ministers. Some say they already do.</p><p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family:'Times New Roman';"></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pakistan—United States Ambassador Anne W. Patterson intervened with one of the largest newspaper groups in Pakistan to force it to block today a decade-old weekly column by a prominent academic and critic of US policies.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">Dr. Shireen Mazari, the former director of the Islamabad Institute of Strategic Studies and a mordant critic of US blunders in Pakistan and the region, was stunned when<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=787" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(170, 125, 57); font-family: 'Times New Roman', georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-weight: normal; ">her column</span></a></span></b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>failed to appear in today's edition of the newspaper.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>This happened after the US ambassador sent a 'private' letter to the management of The News International, one of the largest English-language dailies of Pakistan.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is a new high for American influence inside Pakistan.<span> </span></span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Never before did a US ambassador manage to force such a change in a newspaper's policy.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>For those who are new to Pakistan, this is equivalent to having Maureen Dowd or Tom Friedman's column knocked off the pages of the New York Times because Dick Cheney does not like their criticism.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;">Unlike Ms. Patterson in Pakistan, her colleague in London, ambassador Louis Susman, could never dream of achieving a similar feat by, say, convincing The Times of London to block a column by David Aaronovitch.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Or the US ambassador in Moscow, John Beylre, Jr., who could never even think of forcing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">Komsomolskaya Pravda to do anything remotely similar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span> </span>They have Vladimir Putin in Russian who knows how to protect his country's interest.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">Only in Pakistan, where<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=785" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(170, 125, 57); font-family: 'Times New Roman', georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-weight: normal; ">American meddling</span></a></span></b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>has reached alarming proportions and risks turning this second largest Muslim country and the world's seventh declared nuclear-armed nation into another version of Latin America's banana republics where Washington has been known to change governments at will.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The US achieved a feat last year when it forced the country's military establishment under a weak and insecure Pervez Musharraf to strike a 'deal' to forgive the questionable illegal wealth and other criminal cases against several Pakistani political figures in order to help them come to power in exchange for supporting US policies in Pakistan.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">Another major break for Washington is Pakistan's acquiescence in the construction in Islamabad of what will soon become<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://pakistankakhudahafiz.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/us-plans-for-%e2%80%98imperial%e2%80%99-presence-in-pakistan/" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(170, 125, 57); font-family: 'Times New Roman', georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-weight: normal; ">the largest US embassy in the world</span></a></span></b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Recently, members of privately armed US militias have been spotted in Islamabad, in some cases roughing up Pakistani citizens, without the Pakistani government daring to take action.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But blocking Dr. Mazari's column is a new high for American influence in Pakistani affairs.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">She especially earned the ire of the Americans last year when she single handedly threw cold water on US plans to post a notoriously anti-Pakistan US army general to Islamabad.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>It was March 2008 when the new pro-US government in Islamabad allowed Washington to post<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;">Major General Jay W. Hood as the Chief, Office of the Defence Representative in Islamabad.<span> </span></span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;">But Dr. Mazari broke the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); "><a href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=13674" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(170, 125, 57); font-family: 'Times New Roman', georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-weight: normal; ">news of the appointment through her</span></a></span></b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>column, creating an uproar and forcing the Pakistani government to reject the appointment.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dr. Mazari held a press conference today at the Islamabad head office of Pakistan Justice Movement, or PTI, a political party headed by cricket star Imran Khan where she is a senior official handling foreign policy issues.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ambassador Anne Patterson is reported to have sent a letter to the management of the newspaper protesting at Dr. Mazari's writings, especially on the question of the presence of Blackwater and other private American militias on Pakistani soil.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Interestingly, Ms. Patterson said she did not want to see her letter published in the newspaper and insisted it be kept private.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>It is also not clear if Ms. Patterson actually threatened legal action or other form of protest or pressure if the newspaper continued to publish Dr. Mazari's columns.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The newspaper editorial team is said to be ready to publish the blocked column later, possibly with some editing.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Frankly, no one can blame a newspaper for protecting its interest when the very government of Pakistan seems incapable of protecting the national interest.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Had Pakistan had a truly nationalistic government in Islamabad, one that inspired confidence, I can imagine that any newspaper would have politely deflected undue pressure from a foreign diplomat.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But the very fact that the column failed to run marks a victory for the US embassy and a fresh sign of the growing US influence and meddling in Pakistan's internal matters.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is not clear if Ms. Patterson sought the permission of the Pakistan Foreign Office before directly contacting a Pakistani newspaper to exert pressure.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is the fourth attempt by the US Embassy to silence Dr. Mazari, whose incisive political commentary based on her close brush with power corridors in Islamabad over the years has given the Americans and the Brits a constant headache.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Her columns are fodder for those who advocate a more nationalistic and Pakistan-centric approach in dealing with Washington instead of the current approach where the United States is reaping strategic benefits at the expense of Pakistan's interests and stability.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In 2006, the US ambassador at the time, Ryan Crocker, is reported to have warned Pakistan's foreign secretary Mr. Riaz Khokar, that he will consider Dr. Mazari's writings to be reflective of official Pakistani thinking because Dr. Mazari was heading a think tank financed by the Foreign Office.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>The US diplomat demanded Dr. Mazari, according to her, be removed from office or told to stop criticizing US policies.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The foreign secretary resisted the pressure and Dr. Mazari continued her policy discourse.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>The interesting thing is that the first order of business for the present pro-US government in Islamabad after seizing power last year was to fire Dr. Mazari.<span> </span></span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Her ousting was engineered by Mr. Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to Washington who is widely known in Pakistan as a staunch American apologist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span> </span>Many jokingly call him 'America's ambassador to the Pakistani embassy in Washington.'<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span> </span>So it was no surprise that Dr. Mazari was fired as soon Mr. Haqqani's government came in power.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;">I personally faced a similar situation when<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/latest_col.php?id=7" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(170, 125, 57); font-family: 'Times New Roman', georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 222); font-weight: normal; ">a US diplomat telephoned me</span></a></span></b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in November 2007 to accuse me of spreading anti-Americanism on the state-run PTV.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span> </span>My crime was to start a series of talk shows discussing how our ally the US turned Afghanistan into a hub for anti-Pakistan forces in the region.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span> </span>The lady US diplomat used a cheap trick to intimidate me when she asked, 'Does Musharraf know what you're doing?'</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">My answer was, 'Does President Bush know when US media frequently runs anti-Pakistan articles?'</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dr. Mazari is not disheartened by this episode.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>'They might have knocked me off this time,' she told me today after her press conference, 'but the last round will be mine. The Americans can't gag me in my own country.'<span> </span>And that is exactly what the newspaper, The News International, has assured her of.</span></span></p><p style=" font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;color:black;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" style=" font-weight: normal; text-align: center; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span lang="EN-GB" style=" ;font-size:8pt;">© 2007-2009. 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