He said that Pakistan has always showed guarded and responsible attitude as compared to India, adding the huge participation in the exhibition is the abundant proof of Pakistan being a peaceful country; however, the security has further been beefed up following the Mumbai shootings and bombings.

It the success on the part of the organizers that thousands of delegates attended the exhibition despite strict warnings by US and European countries, he added. He said that 30 percent of stalls in IDEAS-2010 have already been booked. He said that Pakistan stands at a significant position in relation with weapon manufacturing industry. The foreign and defence policies are harmonious to each other, he stated.-SANA

Air Force chief Air Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed said it was up to the government to decide whether to stop such strikes through diplomatic and political means or by force. “The Air Force is ready for any type of air defense,” Tanvir told reporters, referring to various types of unmanned aircraft.

“First this nation, you people, our Parliament, our government, has to debate how we have to engage the foreign UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Whether we have to engage them diplomatically and politically to resolve it or engage them militarily,” he said.

Meanwhile, officials said that gunmen have kidnapped a Pakistani working on a US-funded aid project in the country’s volatile northwest. Police yesterday said the attackers seized the man from a convoy of relief vehicles in the Dir region on Monday. Other aid workers escaped after villagers fired on the attackers.

The UN’s World Food Program said the victim was distributing wheat and cooking oil on its behalf. WFP spokesman Amjad Jamal said the food was paid for by the US government.

Jamal said yesterday it’s unclear if Taleban militants were behind the kidnapping and that the WFP had received no demands. A spate of attacks and kidnappings have cast doubt on Western plans to flood the region with development aid to undermine support for Taleban militants.

In another development, at least six Taleban militants were killed overnight as the Pakistani Army moved close to rebel hide-outs in a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, an official said yesterday.

The six were killed in Bajaur, where Pakistani troops have been engaged in fierce clashes with militants linked to Taleban and Al-Qaeda since an operation was launched in the region in August. “Pakistani artillery pounded militant hideouts and underground bunkers, killing six rebels and wounding four others,” local administration official Mohammad Jamil told AFP. Jamil added that intense firing continued until yesterday morning.
Courtesy : Arab News

The participants included 261 personnel from the US Army, Navy, Air force, Marines, Army reserves equivalent to the rank of Lt. Colonel and above, 33 Senior Civilians including representatives of National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security and 42 International fellows including one Brigadier from Pakistan.

He said that if cost on food per person was taken as one dollar per day per person, the sum comes up to 35 billion dollars so far, and as food is 50% of the expenses on how people live in their running costs, if you add another 50% for education, health and many other things, the total sum was over 72 billion dollars spent over this period of time, and if you take the capital expenditure of housing and many other such things, you can practically double it again - over 150 billion over many years . If the ancillary cots of United States were three trillion on the war on Iraq where it spent 600 billion dollars, the ancillary costs incurred by Pakistan can be well imagined.

Haroon said that the Afghan refugees took much from us. They impacted our environment, left us with a culture of Kalashnikovs, a weapon later used to challenge the government and drugs which has become a trauma in our society, he added. Today we have nearly gone broke, thanks to the IMF for having bailed us out.

Dilating on the relations between Pakistan and United States, Ambassador Haroon recalled that the first Prime Minster of Pakistan Mr Liaqat Ali Khan laid the Foundation of these relations when he visited United States on an official visit in 1950.Since then Pakistan has been maintaining close relations with the United States and has been a member of CENTO, SEATO and Baghdad pacts.

Pakistan’s relations with the United States became even closer as the two countries entered into closer co-operation in their support to the people of Afghanistan against the invasion by the Soviet Union in 1978.

Afghanistan, Ambassador Haroon said comprises of four distinct ethnic groups Pakhtoons, Tajeks, Uzbeks and Hazaras. These ethnic groups are distinct from each other and make Afghanistan a difficult country to govern, even when ruled by its own people. Its difficult and inhospitable terrain has only added to the miseries of any attempts by foreign power to subjugate it.

Ambassador Haroon said that the void left by the United States after the Soviets were defeated was filled by Taliban; they challenged the status quo and provided the people of Afghanistan religious education and their brand of Justice.

After 9/11, the United States eliminated the Taliban rule but failed to follow up with development. What was required was a strategy comprising a mix of political, military and development measures. The Americans failed to do so, providing an opportunity to Taliban to resurface, he added.

In response to a question regarding his advice for the next administration Ambassador Haroon reiterated his earlier proposal for the formation of a joint force of Pakistani, NATO and United States Troops as a border force to increase Co-ordination and curb terrorist across the Pak-Afghan border.

He also suggested the force should come under the command of Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani. This proposal was being made to end complaints of mistrust among coalition partners and provide much needed local experience, essential for success in Afghanistan.

Haroon said that their was a better understanding between the leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan today and suggested that the new administration should increase economic assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan so that economic activity can be generated and basic needs of the people can be addressed, this he said will not cost much. “This amalgam of diverse interests under the nomenclature of Taliban has taken upon us, it is now Pakistan’s war” said Ambassador. “If the Taliban are not defeated history is a witness that whenever Khyber was breached, the battle has been fought in Panipat” cautioned Haroon.

Major General Robert Williams Commandant of the College introducing the College and participants said that the United States War College (USAWC) is a premier US institution for the education of strategic leaders for the study of the development and employment of land power in a joint interagency and multinational environment. The participants are future military and civilian leaders of the United States.-SANA

To a question the minister said although South Punjab was rich in agricultural resources it was kept deprived of basic necessities of life like quality education and quality health facilities. He was of the view that the only way to end its deprivations was to make it a province.

About local governemnt system Abdul Qayyum Jatoi said that it had miserably failed to deliver. “It had ruined the administrative apparatus, so it must be abolished forthwith” he contended.

Commenting on current economic situation, he said the PPP government is capable to resolve the problems of price hike, unemployment, education, health, power shortage and inadequate communication facilities. “ A change will be visible soon” he remarked. Replying to another question the minister said the PPP-PMLN partnership should continue in the overall national interest.

Vice Admiral Noman Bashir HI(M) was commissioned in operations branch of Pakistan Navy in June 1973. He has had the privilege to command two aviation squadrons, two ships (frigate and corvette) and the Naval Aviation. He has also had the coveted honour of commanding Pakistan fleet.

He has served on staff appointment at NHQ as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations), Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Training), Director Naval Intelligence and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Projects). He has also served as Commodore Training Ashore, Senior Pakistan Armed Forces Officer in the Sultanate of Oman and did a tenure in KPT as General Manager (Operations).

The Flag Officer is a graduate of Joint Services Staff College, Armed Forces War College at National Defence University and Royal College of Defence Studies UK. Before being appointed as the Chief of the Naval Staff, the Admiral was serving as Commander Karachi and in this capacity is in charge of all naval establishments and shore-based units at Karachi. The Flag Officer is married and blessed with two sons.

The practice of appointing Naval Chiefs from amongst the Vice Admirals has been scrupulously followed in the past. Noman Bashir who is one of the four Vice Admirals supersedes Vice Admiral Asif Hamayun. He is senior to the other two Vice Admirals including Saleem Minai and MA Khan. He belongs to Naval Aviation and is the brother of Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.

Federal Minister for Defence Chaudry Ahmed Mukhtar has congratulated vice Admiral Noman Bashir on his promotion and assuming the charge as Chief of Naval Staff. The Defence Minister expressed his hope that the newly appointed Naval Chief would further strengthen the maritime Defence of the country and will continue to play the significant role in strengthening the combat potential of Pakistan navy.
Input from Agencies

Further more Pakistan and China are ready to sign a contract for serial production of the first batch of forty-two JF-17 Thunder aircraft after 10 months of deliberations on the configuration of different parts of the planes. Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed said Pakistan had already received eight JF-17s and added that production of the 42 aircraft was likely to be completed by the end of 2010.

The day will dawn with Quran Khawani in all the principal mosques for the souls of martyrs. Special prayers will also be offered for the solidarity, prosperity and integrity of the country and liberation of occupied Muslim territories including Kashmir and Palestine. Floral wreaths will also be laid on the graves of martyrs to commemorate their sacrifices.

Hoisting of Hilal-e-Istaqlal ceremonies will be held in Lahore, Sialkot and Sargodha. Fauji melas will be held in various army garrisons. A salient feature of the Day will be ground and air shows by the PAF aircraft at the PAF bases in various cities.-SANA

He said that Pakistan is firmly committed to fighting terrorism. He briefed the German defence minister in detail about Pakistan’s three pronged strategy in this regard. The Prime Minister stated that overwhelming majority of Pakistanis particularly the people in tribal and bordering areas with Afghanistan were supportive of government of Pakistan’s war efforts.

He however called on the allied forces to desist from undertaking attacks on Pakistan’s territory which only served to enhance sympathies for the terrorists among the general masses particularly among the people suffering from the collateral damage. The Prime Minister welcomed the growing military and defence cooperation between the two countries and said that this would help in further strengthening relations between the two nations.

He noted that the high-level contacts are effective tools for strengthening cooperation between the two countries. He urged increased official exchanges and people to people contacts between Pakistan and Germany in the interest of adding substance to the relationship. Dr. Jung assured the Prime Minister of his government’s support in war against terrorism and endorsed Pakistan’s current strategy in that war. He also assured the Prime Minister that his government would consider the proposals made by Pakistan’s side for increased defence cooperation between the two countries.-SANA

The Prime Minister said that Pakistan’s defence policy is based on peaceful coexistence in conformity with the prevailing geo-strategic environment and the national aspirations. He emphasized the economic importance of sea routes and said that Pakistan Navy has an important role to play in protecting the sea lanes and routes besides the coastline of the country.

Admiral M. Afzal Tahir informed the Prime Minister that Pakistan Navy is fully capable of defending the country’s waters and stands fully prepared to face any challenge. Chief of Naval Staff extended invitation to the Prime Minister to be the chief guest on the commissioning ceremony of HAMZA Submarine at Karachi in the last week of September.-SANA

The U.S. officials, commenting on the proposed re-allocation of funds last month, said jets upgrades would help enhance Pakistan’s counter-terrorism capability. Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani held a series of meetings with U.S. lawmakers during the past few weeks to secure wider support for the move.-SANA

At the exhibition normally Pakistan places its long and short range surface-to-surface nuclear capable missiles. According to a Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO) over 60 countries will participate during the exhibition and some including USA, UK, Malaysia, China, German, Spain, Italy and France will exhibit their defence products.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate Preparations for 5th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, IDEAS 2008, to be held from November 24 to November 28, 2008 at Karachi Expo Center have taken a head start. Major General Muhammad Farooq, Director General Defence Export Promotion Organization (DEPO), Ministry of Defence Production, while chairing the second steering committee meeting for IDEAS here today, stated, “from the overwhelming response of foreign exhibitors for IDEAS 2008, one can gauge the popularity of this mega event. It is heartening to note that more than 92% space has already been booked”.

He further stated that this surge in response of foreign exhibitors can be attributed to the formal launch of IDEAS – 2008 by the Prime Minister, Mr Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, during the “Soft Launch of IDEAS – 2008” at Islamabad on 23rd May 2008. That ceremony was attended by Ambassadors / High Commissioners, Defence Attaches and elite of corporate sector. DG DEPO urged upon the participants of the meeting, to ensure that IDEAS – 2008 help create pleasant feelings and promote the image of Pakistan as a responsible and well organized nation among foreign delegates, exhibitors and trade visitors.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Interior Ministry, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Ports and Shipping, Government of Sindh, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, Central Board of Revenue, Pakistan Rangers, Sindh Police, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, Pakistan Customs, Civil Aviation Authority, City District Government Karachi, Press Information Department and Ecommerce Gateway – the event manager of the exhibition.

According to Indian news agency the minister opposed creation of “sub-regional security arrangements that are narrow and ultimately ineffective. “We cannot transplant ideas from other parts of the world,” Mukherjee said a day after holding wide ranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here. In his speech on India’s Foreign Policy he said “we already have some dialogue forums in place, such as ARF (Asean Regional forum), the CICA (Confidence-Building Measures in Asia) and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), where we are discussing security issues”.

As two major countries in Asia, India and China should try to work together to evolve a new framework “from these basic building blocks”, he said. “We should work together towards peace, security and stability in Asia and beyond. For this, we will need to evolve a security architecture which takes into account the conditions prevailing in Asia,” Mukherjee said. “I have no doubt that they will help us address our common concerns, such as the security of the sea lanes of communication, which are critical to trade and energy flows in our region and on which the future of our two countries will depend”, he told the audience.-SANA

Starting the briefing session Mr. Memon, welcomed all the participants, including Senators, Govt and UN officials, media and the groups of university students. In his statement he said that these Peacekeepers are fulfilling the UN Charter, which says, “to save succeeding generation from the scourge of war”. He said that “I am pleased that, today; Pakistan is the largest and most consistent contributor of the Peacekeeping personnel to the UN Peacekeeping operations. Pakistan has an outstanding track record in UN Peacekeeping. It is not only in numbers, that we lead, our Peacekeepers excel in quality as well. The professionalism and dedication of our troops is widely acknowledged.”

He said that Pak army was playing its role in peacekeeping mission since 1948 adding that so far the army has participated in 63 operations in the world and 83445 personnel from Pakistan had took part in it. He said that so far 90 Pakistani military men were martyred in different missions of the UN. He said that first peacekeeping mission was sent in 1948 to Congo. He said that presently 3582 soldiers were deploying in Congo, 3391in Liberia, 1129 in Ivory Coast, 1542 in Sudan, 250 in Hitti, 115 in Kosovo, 1195 in East Timor.

He said that 63 personnel of Pak army were functioning as Military Observer Mission Staff. He said that 129 are working as observers in various countries. He said part of the Pakistan military in UN peacekeeping force was12.5%. Concluding his remarks, he suggested that the world need to remove the root causes of disputes among states and people to finally eliminate the need for any missions or deployment to finally reduce the need of UN Peacekeepers”

Ms. Ishrat Rizvi, National information officer of the UN Information Centre, also attended the meeting. Major General Athar Abbas, Director General, Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) gave a comprehensive presentation on the role of Pakistani Peacekeepers to the UN peacekeeping missions. Participants gave a standing ovation to the remarkable contributions and services rendered by the Pakistani Peacekeepers. Participants highly appreciated the collection of the historic moments of the UN Peacekeeping and collaboration of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence & Defence Production and the United Nations to jointly commemorate the event.

Pakistan among the largest troops contributor: Ki-moon

NEW YORK: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has thanked UN member States, especially Pakistan for contributing troops for the world body’s peacekeeping missions around the globe. In a message on the 60th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping day, he said Pakistan is among the largest troops contributors, with nearly ten thousand soldiers in various UN peacekeeping Missions around the world. The Day is being marked by the UN since a General Assembly proclamation in 2001.

In a competitive race for avionics superiority Boeing held a grand opening for its new EA-18G Growler Support Center (GSC) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., Tuesday in preparation for the delivery of the first EA-18G Growler to the U.S. Navy fleet. The center will provide technical and logistics support for the Navy’s premier airborne electronic attack aircraft. The Navy will accept the first fleet Growler at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the aircraft’s home base, in early June. “This is not just a building. It is the culmination of the efforts of a lot of people,” said Capt. Brad Russell, commander, Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “We are excited to have Boeing aboard as part of the Whidbey team.”

The GSC will house approximately 24 representatives from the Navy and the Hornet/Growler industry team of Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Electric. The center, along with the base’s existing supply chain management facility, will ensure that logistics support for new Growlers is readily available. “It is crucial to have the GSC up and running now so that we can be prepared to support the Growler as soon as it arrives at Whidbey Island,” said Mark Fruits, program manager for F/A-18E/F Integrated Readiness Support Teaming (FIRST) for Boeing. “It’s exciting to see the partnership between industry and the Navy continue to grow with the Growler entering service, and we look forward to working together for years to come.”

FIRST is a performance-based logistics (PBL) program in which Boeing oversees inventories, forecasts demand and procures spare parts for the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fleet. (The EA-18G is derived from the combat-proven F/A-18F.) Boeing also provides technical information, on-site engineering services and field services. Through a PBL program, the customer pays for a set level of performance, not individual spare parts and services.

The Hornet/Growler Support Network also operates centers at Naval Air Stations Lemoore, Calif., and Oceana, Va. The centers, part of a Navy-industry logistics support plan, help lower total ownership costs for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G. Boeing, acting as the weapon system integrator and prime contractor for the EA-18G, leads the Growler industry team. Northrop Grumman is the principal subcontractor and airborne electronic attack subsystem integrator. The Hornet/Growler industry team divides EA-18G production across Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Electric and Raytheon manufacturing facilities. Naval Air Systems Command PMA-265 is the U.S. Navy acquisition office for the EA-18G

with Additional input from agencies

Chinese Defence Industry, mainly NORINCO, has light and heavy grade weaponry which has Soviet designation, It has built many weapon systems for air, land and sea forces but could not inject hi-tec sophistication as done by the USA, UK, France, Italy and even France. This time Chinese are making an endeavor to improvise Soviet designated MI series of combat or attack helicopters. Will they ever out-match Augusta, Cobra or Apache. I have my doubts.

Being a Defence Systems writer I noticed in Beijing world of difference between Chinese built T-80 tanks which Pakistan too managed to indigenously built with engines from Ukrain, Thermal imagery from United Kingdom, pcally made tracks, auto-loading gunnery system and ERA protection to destroy anti-tank missiles from Pakistan Ordinance Factories. There appeared a world of difference though Pakistan imported turts, hulls, and Armour from China for Al-Khalid MBT.

Russia’s landmark sale of transport helicopter assembly kits to be assembled in China could point the way to a vastly larger transformation in global arms production. As we reported Tuesday, the Russian Helicopter Co., which is now run by Oboronprom, has concluded a deal to sell assembly kits to build M1-171 military transport helicopters to China’s Lantian Helicopter Co., which is located in Sichuan province.

Under the deal, Lantian at first will receive and assemble 20 Mi-171 kits a year, but the number is expected to rapidly grow to 80 kits a year. That would mean that under this single deal, China will quickly be producing two-thirds as many Mi-171s as both production lines in Russia combined. Russian Helicopter makes the Mi-171 at two plants in Ulan-Ude and in Kazan. In 2006, 150 Mi-171s were scheduled to be produced, but only 120 of them were, representing a shortfall of 20 percent from the original production target.

Such shortfalls and bottlenecks are typical of the Russian Defense Ministry, and they are a major reason why President Vladimir Putin last year authorized the most radical restructuring of the Russian military-industrial sector since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism at the end of 1991.

In itself, the deal is a relatively small and apparently unimportant one. The Mi-171 is a version of the old Mi-8 military helicopter that was already the workhorse of the Red Army in the Afghan War from 1979 to 1987. Russia is therefore not yet reversing or abandoning its longstanding policy of not letting the Chinese get their hands on production technology to make state-of-the-art land war weapons systems or their support aircraft.

The deal does not reflect any significant change in Russian policy because President Dmitry Medvedev took over from Putin last week. The negotiations and process of closing and approving the deal were clearly concluded well before the change in the Kremlin took place. And in any case, as prime minister of Russia, Putin will now have an even more direct hand in controlling the country’s military industries and their policies.

But the move does appear to be one of the first substantive changes implemented by the restructuring and new leadership for major defense corporations that Putin ordered last year. And as such, it has truly far-reaching potential consequences. Putin has worked hard over the past eight years to revive and rebuild Russia’s once awesome military-industrial sector. But it has still never recovered from the loss of the enormous heavy industrial plants of Belarus and — especially — eastern Ukraine, and the loss of direct access to Ukrainian coal and steelmaking capacity in the Don Basin, or Donbass.

The Kremlin has certainly not lacked the financial resources to revive its military industries. With oil prices now spiking at an extraordinary $126-plus a barrel and Russia confirmed as the world’s second-largest oil exporter and largest combined oil and gas exporter, the investment has poured into the old aircraft, tank, helicopter and other weapons-making plants. But corruption, the lack of sufficiently trained workers, serious quality control and management problems all have gone unresolved. Russia’s ability to produce even enough weapons systems to modernize its own armed forces has fallen many years behind schedule.

There are major strategic risks for Russia in giving China the ability to produce many of Russia’s key weapons systems far more quickly, more cost-effectively and — most importantly — on a vastly greater scale than the Russians themselves can do. But the Kremlin is clearly testing the waters about taking that road anyway. If the Mi-171 co-production deal proves a success, many more, bigger agreements on the same lines can be expected to follow.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik also accompanied the prime minister. The prime minister had visited the ISI headquarters a few days back but on Friday his second visit in the company of party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. According to an official press release, the prime minister expressed his views by saying that the government was committed to maintain a minimum credible deterrence through conventional and strategic capabilities, “Pakistan had a major role to play for peace and stability in the region”, he added. “We, however, believe that peace is achieved through strength and not weakness,” he said, adding the government would continue to provide all necessary support to further enhance the capabilities of the armed forces.

According to sources these meetings are a routine matter and heads of intelligence agencies brief new government functionaries on the security situation to help them formulate future policies. The nature of such briefings is so sensitive that the president or the prime minister is required to go to the headquarters for first hand information, and non-government functionaries and low-grade intelligence officials are not invited.

Furthermore Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majeed and DD-SPD Strategic Planning Division Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai also visited the PM House and briefed him on the country’s strategic assets and various projects undertaken by the division to make the country’s defence impregnable.

The President said that the operational preparedness of our Armed forces is best among the best in the world and due to this the defence of the country is safe hands. He said Pakistan is a peaceful country but a strong defensive line is a sine qua non for the attainment of peace. He said there is always a room for the enhancement of training and the level of operational preparedness of our Armed Forces.

Emphasizing on t he need for a strong economic base Mr. Pervez Musharraf said that the security of the country is directly associated with the economic development of the country. He lauded the services of 4 AK Regiment during war and peace time and wished the unit success in its new station of duty. It may be mentioned the unit was performing duties of Guard Battalion at Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaque Pervez Kayani, Corps Commander Lt. General Ashfaque Pervez Kayani, Corps Commander Lt. General Mohsin Kamal and other senior officers were present on the occasion.-SANA

He conveyed to the Australian Chief of Defence Forces that Pakistan would not allow its territory to be used as launching paid by the extremists and terrorists elements. He informed the visiting dignitary that Pakistan had adopted a three-pronged strategy based on negotiations, economic development and the use of force to stem the tide of terrorism.

He said that terrorism posed a greater challenge to the world peace and stability and its elimination was only possible by addressing its real causes like poverty, ignorance and sense of deprivation. He said that the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) needed the development of economic infrastructure so as to generate economic and employment opportunities in the area.

The Australian Chief of Defence Forces Mr. Angus Houston, said that his country was very keen to promote a strategic relationship with Pakistan for the mutual benefits of the two sides. He told the Minister that his country wanted to work together with Pakistan to stamp out terrorism. He said the role of Pakistan was very crucial in eliminating the menace of terrorism. He held out an assurance to assist Pakistan in combating and defeating terrorism. He also lauded the key role played by Pakistan against the war on terror.-SANA