General Kayani: The Party Pooper

Dan Qayyum | PKKH Editorial

The stage had been set for another round of the cordial, cosmetic but utterly pointless exercise at the behest of Washington as the US and NATO try and control the India-Pakistan proxy war on Afghan soil and convince Pakistan to shift its focus to the Western border. A lot of groundwork had been done to project the gradual normalization of relations between India and Pakistan in the run-up to the foreign minister-level talks.

However, India’s Home Minister GK Pillai’s direct allegation on the eve of the talks that Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) was ‘literally controlling and coordinating it (the Mumbai attacks) from the beginning till the end’ – had doomed the latest round of talks even before they commenced.

Pillai Unleashed

The latest outburst by Pillai – who had also recently blamed the unrest in occupied Kashmir on the ISI while absolving the trigger-happy Indian security forces of any blame – was part of a calculated attempt to undermine and pressure the ISI as the rift between it and the CIA continues to grow over Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s ‘democratically elected’ leaders, implanted at Washington and London’s behest, had been all set to play their part in this malarkey as they have done in the past, most noticeably when they attempted (and failed) to clip the ISI’s wings by pushing it under Rehman Malik’s interior ministry in the early days of Zardari’s government.

SM Krishna and Shah Mehmood Qureshi appeared quite relaxed and happy when they broke for lunch around 1300 hrs (Pakistan Standard Time) after the first round of talks. After having painstakingly worked out numerous CBM agreements and cosmetic gestures during Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s visit to Islamabad last month, both Foreign Ministers were set to announce these agreements. A draft joint-statement was also ready in which the Pakistani side had appeared to give more concessions than they got in return – namely more promises to reign in JuD and Hafiz Saeed yet no word of protest on the Indian attempts to implicate the ISI in terrorism or to include Kashmir in talks.

This is when Kayani was forced to step into the picture and hold separate meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, making it absolutely clear on the two that Pakistan will not let itself be bullied, and there will be no further talks unless the following issues were included in discussion:

1) India’s human rights abuses in Kashmir
2) India’s covert support to TTP terrorists and Baloch separatists
3) India’s continued attempts to point the finger at Pakistan’s military establishment, as evident by Pillai’s statement

Krishna’s schedule was to leave at 3.20 pm and reach Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s office to meet him at 3.30 pm. The call on President Asif Ali Zardari was to follow at 5.30 pm at the Presidential palace.

Just 15 minutes prior to his departure, Krishna was informed that the order has been reversed and the call on Zardari will precede.

In the time slot Krishna was to meet Gilani, Kayani met the Prime Minister after having met with Zardari earlier.

According to the official release issued after Kayani’s meetings with Pakistan’s political leadership, the army chief discussed the security situation in the country and operational matters of the army.

However, when the talks resumed after Krishna’s two call-ons, the atmosphere totally changed.

Qureshi’s Switch

The tone and tenor of Qureshi changed at the third and final rounds of the marathon talks. He is said to have demanded on the time frame for settlement of various issues, as well as a resumption of the composite dialogue on Kashmir. He also raised the issue of India’s covert support to terrorists in Pakistan and the role its consulates in Afghanistan are playing in arming and training terrorists from the TTP and various Baloch separatist groups. Finally, Pakistan responded to India’s requests of blocking Hafiz Saeed’s right to speak publicly by telling the Indian contingent to put a leash on India’s official state actors such as Pillai and stop them from making statements that can only further strain the relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

India Caught with its Pants Down

To say that the sudden shift caught the Indian contingent as well as the country’s media and analyst’s off-guard would be an understatement. Heads were scratched and editorials were hurriedly scribbled trying to decipher what prompted the sudden change in Pakistan’s stance, from being apologetic in recent months to the new ‘take it or leave it’ posture which sent alarm bells ringing not just in Delhi but as far as Washington and Langley.

In Qureshi’s defense, he went far and above the call of duty and warned India not to expect him to come over to India for the next round of talks unless India was prepared to actually discuss all unresolved issues including Kashmir, and not use Mumbai as a stalling tactic which it has done successfully for the last couple of years.

With the endgame for US being spelt out in the mountains of Afghanistan, this is the latest signal in the gradual shift of power in the region – one where Pakistan can and will dictate terms as per its own national interest – even if it takes an Army chief to hold the US-backed puppet government to task to protect the national interest, just as when Kayani forced the reversal of the order that would have put the ISI under Rehman Malik’s control almost exactly 2 years ago.

Dan Qayyum is an Afghanistan and India analyst for PakistanKaKhudaHafiz.com, Pakistan’s leading online alternative news website, as well as for the defense and security publication Fortress Magazine, published out of Karachi, Pakistan.

Russian Combat Aircraft Makers Fear Competition with China

MOSCOW- Russian aircraft makers MiG and Sukhoi have spoken against the sale of RD-93 jet engines to China citing the threat of strong competition from cheaper Chinese models of fighter aircraft.

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport planned to sign a contract with China on the delivery of 100 RD-93 engines for FC-1 fighters, which are direct competitors of the famed MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft.

Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of the MiG and Sukhoi corporations, said the re-export of technologies must be approved by the original manufacturers to avoid unfair competition.

The FC-1 Xiaolong (Fierce Dragon) is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft developed jointly by China and Pakistan. It is designated as JF-17 Thunder by Pakistan.

A Russian aircraft industry source said the FC-1 is inferior to MiG-29 in performance, but sells for about $10 million, while the price of a MiG-29 is about $35 mln.

MiG-29s are currently competing with FC-1s in an Egyptian tender on the delivery of 32 fighters. In addition, Egypt has launched negotiations with Pakistan on the licensed production of FC-1 aircraft.

Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) approved the re-export of RD-93 engines to Egypt as part of the FC-1 fighter package in November 2007.

Rosoboronexport has said a decision to allow the re-export of technology could be made only by the government, and the manufacturers have never been consulted on the issue.

Russian weapons manufacturers are also facing increasing competition from China on other arms markets.
Russian S-300 and Chinese HQ-9 air defense systems have been competing in a Turkish tender since 2007.
Russian and Chinese armored personnel carriers competed in an Indonesian tender in 2007.

In 2009, Myanmar chose Russian Mig-29s over Chinese J-10s and FC-1s. Russia has also accused China of producing its own copycat versions of some Russian-made weaponry, including the Su-27SK fighter jet, in violation of intellectual property agreements.

RIANOVOSTI

Turkey Excited with State-of-the-art Pak JF-17 Thunder

ISLAMABAD – Turkish President Abdullah Gul has shown keen interest in Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder aircraft, a multi-role combat aircraft equipped with the state-of-the-art technology and is manufactured according to the present day defence requirements.

Turkish President made these remarks in a meeting with a Pakistani defence delegation, led by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar who called on him, revealed a Defence Ministry handout issued here on Wednesday. President Gul also emphasised the need for initiating joint defence production projects between Pakistan and Turkey.

He said that the existing strategic partnership between Pakistan and Turkey provided an opportunity for the joint ventures among the defence production organs of the defence forces of Pakistan and Turkey.

Referring to the unprecedented economic growth that Turkey has been achieving over the last couple of years, Turkish President said “we want the same type of economic development in Pakistan also and are prepared to help our brotherly country in every possible manner.”

Turkish President said he was personally motivating the Turkish investors to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector, adding that Pakistan’s coal reserves were third largest in the world and production of electricity from coal would be a viable project for the overseas investors, he maintained.

The President also desired to expedite work on the US$ 20 billion railway project that would connect Pakistan with European market through Istanbul.

Ch Ahmed Mukhtar thanked the Turkish President for personally monitoring Turkish investors’ projects in Pakistan. He appreciated the level of hospitality extended to his delegation and hoped that the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Turkey would be further enhanced in every field. Turkish Minister for National Defence Mr Vecdi Gonul and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Mr. Tariq Azizuddin were also present in the meeting.

Pakistan will not Compromise on Kashmir and Water Rights!

PKKH Exclusive | Zainulabedin Ameer

As the current Pakistan-India talks proceed, the public on both sides of the border remains optimistic about the outcome. These talks are just a starting point, but they are seen as significant because they can lead to ongoing dialogue for eventual conflict resolution. There are several issues to be discussed, and some of them are key ones that must be handled carefully. Whatever the outcome of this dialogue, it must be remembered Pakistan’s stance will not change on key issues, and India knows this too; there will not be any compromise on Kashmir and Water Rights!

While the Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna was on Pakistani soil, support for the Pakistan-India talks back in India appeared to be confusing, with the BJP opposing this effort in its entirety. Experts in Pakistan, at the same time, have already been skeptical about this whole exercise because it is obvious that the general mood in India indicates a lack of desire to come to a peaceful and progressive resolution of issues.

In view of the general opinion in India regarding talks with Pakistan, the Pakistani people must understand that the water dispute and the Kashmir issue are core issues which India is simply being boarish about and not really willing to talk about. While many of us are caught up in the ‘Aman ki Asha’ smokescreen, it’s time to realize that India is acting like a wolf in sheep’s clothing; they are hell bent upon turning Pakistan into barren land by denying its water rights although they have signed an international accord decades ago to not block any waterways.

As if the blocking of waterways is not enough, the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir has taken a turn for the worse; the atrocities carried out by the Indian army have increased lately, and the people there turn out in large numbers on the streets, a great number of them carrying the Pakistan flag and chanting pro-Pakistan slogans. There is no doubt that the Kashmiris see Pakistan as their custodian; they know that if they are ever to be liberated, it will be Pakistan that will play a major role. These sentiments are actually based on Pakistan’s support for them as well as the efforts of past democratic regimes. However, our present government lacks the necessary aggressive foreign policy required to pursue their liberation.

While we have seen a lot of criticism against the Pakistani government in our own media regarding the way officials have covered up for India’s hyper-adventurism in the past, we have also now witnessed Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi openly expressing his personal opinion regarding the lack of sincerity on the part of Indian External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna. It seems obvious that Mr. Qureshi gets this feeling because back in India, officials do not want to talk about the water dispute and the Kashmir issue. In Pakistan, however, these are apparently the two main points on our agenda; Pakistan is not really interested in talking about the Mumbai 26/11 terrorists because we know it was nothing but a drama planned and executed by India itself. Therefore, we are left with the real issues, the water dispute and the Kashmir issue. Let’s face it, no one is going to resolve these issues for us, and we will not budge from our position! India knows this all too well!

While many expect huge achievements regarding an eventual peace process between Pakistan and India, pragmatically speaking, we can’t expect friendly relations with an already hostile neighbor itching to implement a now well known Cold Start Doctrine. We all know how easily the Indian tone changes when heads get swelled and leaders there believe they can dominate Pakistan. However, Pakistan is at a huge advantage strategically at this point of time as the advantage that India thinks it has (with its presence in Afghanistan and its instigation in Baluchistan and our tribal areas) is at an end with a third super power being buried in Afghanistan, India is left with no role to play. India has to pack up and leave! In their best interest, their focus should now be to resolve the water issue and the Kashmir dispute through sincere diplomacy.