Pak security agencies’ secret report blames RAW for meddling in Balochistan

Pakistani security agencies have blamed ‘hostile’ foreign intelligence agencies, particularly India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for creating trouble in Balochistan.

A confidential report, which has been sent to the Interior Ministry, has blamed these foreign agencies of targeting teachers and renowned educationists in Balochistan, which has long been affected by insurgency.

“After suicide bombing and terrorist attacks, they are targeting teachers and renowned educationists. Almost 80 per cent of the teaching staff in Balochistan belongs to Punjab, Sindh and Khyber PK provinces and hostile elements are threatening their lives to force them to relocate to other places,” The Nation quoted the report, as saying.

Sources, while quoting the secret report, said that the Indian spy agency is supplying hate literature in Balochi language to all schools and colleges across the troubled province.

The report also claimed that RAW has been recruiting young Baloch students and training them in guerrilla warfare to create trouble there.

“The Baloch students were cultivated through BSO hardliners by Indian RAW, taken to Kabul for indoctrination, given Afghan passports and trained in art of guerrilla warfare. India opened up Balochistan specific three consulates in Zahidan, Bandar Abbas and Ashkabad in Iran and established refugee camps for Balochistan dissidents in Kandahar, Spin Boldak, Helmand and Nimroz,” the report stated.

The report also said that India has opened many training centres across Afghanistan to prepare and send trained Baloch nationals to carry out activities against the country.

“India is running training centres in Kabul, Jalalabad, Khwaja Ghar (Takher Province), Khost, Paktia, Urgun, Khandar, Spin Boldak, Dranj (Badakhshan Province) where it’s military personnel in collaboration with RAW have been imparting training to the innocent Balochs against Pakistan,” it said. (ANI)

Air India plane crashes, killing at least 160 people

An Indian policeman watches firefighters at the scene of the Air India plane crash in Mangalore.(European Pressphoto Agency / May 22, 2010)

An Air India flight from Dubai crashed Saturday morning in the city of Mangalore after apparently overshooting the runway, killing at least 160 people.

Televised images showed rescuers carrying limp bodies up a wooded slope and wreckage still burning hours after the crash, with bodies and the nearby ground covered with white foam emergency workers used to fight the blaze.

There were reportedly 166 passengers and crew on the Boeing 737-800 jet, which was believed to be 2 or 3 years old, a relatively new addition to the company's fleet.

The rescue operation was complicated by rain and the topography: Flight IX-892 went down in a wooded valley about six miles from the runway.

Video: 160 Feared Dead in India Plane Crash

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. An investigation was underway, and authorities were searching the debris field for the "black box" flight recorder.

Air traffic control reportedly received no distress message or other communication from the pilot suggesting the aircraft was having mechanical or operational problems. The pilot was reportedly a Russian expatriate, and the copilot was Indian.

The runway at the Mangalore airport is relatively short and has what's known as a "tabletop" layout, with a flattened area carved out of mountainous terrain overlooking a valley, giving pilots a relatively small margin of error.

The airport, which opened to international flights four years ago, was shut down after the disaster, which occurred about 6:15 a.m. local time.

"This is a major calamity," V.S. Acharya, home minister for the state of Karnataka, said to the CNN-IBN television network.

Six people who were pulled out alive were rushed to a government hospital with a burn unit, about 10 miles away. TV pictures showed a fireman carrying a body up a slope with difficulty, a colleague pushing him to help him ascend.

One survivor, Umer Farooq, said after being admitted to the hospital that "there was a loud noise, followed by fire."

"I managed to jump out of a broken window," he said.

TV images showed more than 15 firetrucks, 20 ambulances and 100 rescue workers standing at the periphery of the wreckage, with dense smoke billowing from the small valley and part of a mangled wing resting almost vertically on a slope.

The crash could be the deadliest in India since a November 1996 midair collision between a Saudi airliner and a Kazakh cargo plane near New Delhi that killed 349 people.

Air India, a former monopoly with an aging fleet and a poor on-time record, has struggled in recent years to compete with lower-cost private airlines as the industry has been deregulated. Air India Express, its low-cost arm, is part of its effort to respond to a changing competitive landscape as it struggles under a $3.3-billion debt load.

In October, the airline hit the headlines after pilots and a flight crew got into a fistfight in front of startled passengers.

The state-owned airline has had several mishaps over the years. Safety expert Mohan Ranganathan, a former Air India pilot, said recently that India badly needs an independent regulator and safety board.

In June 2008, Air India Flight IC-162 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, overshot the Mumbai airport by 45 miles after its pilots fell asleep. They were jolted awake when air traffic controllers caused a loud buzzer to go off in the cockpit.

Flights from Dubai to other parts of India tend to be crowded with Indians returning from manual labor and service jobs in the Middle East, as well as with high-tech professionals and traders.

Air travel has rebounded in India and the region after last year's slump as economies have rebounded. India saw about 4.1 million air travelers in January, a 23% increase, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

India is expected to be among the fastest-growing air travel markets in the world over the next 10 years, Airbus, the world's biggest plane maker, said in a recent statement.

Over the next 20 years, Indian carriers will need 1,030 new aircraft worth $138 billion, it said.

US History of Betrayal or A Simple Case of Strategic Blindness

Dr M Anwar

Pak US relations present a history of ambivalent happenings with a blend of distinct episodes of planned betrayal, treacherous infidelity and foul exploitation to entrap Pakistan into the rhetorical lure of conceding a Non NATO alley, or granting the status of strategic partnership, partially meeting Pakistan’s economic requirements and security compulsions. When US needed Pakistan her policy makers rushed to Islamabad with all the psychological warmth, political affection and diplomatic tenderness. No time was wasted by US in declaring Pakistan as the most favored nation fully espousing and supporting Pakistan’s principled stance on human rights, freedom of expression and rights of self determination. This was openly repeated in US official commitments and private interactions. Simply speaking Pakistan remained a US sweet heart so long as it appeared relevant to serve US interests. On the other hand Pakistani political leaders and key communicators have been complaining that USA has a history of frequently abandoning Pakistan especially when the stakes for Pakistan were very high. Some analysts still forewarn that as Pakistan’s key coalition partner US will ruthlessly guard her interests in Afghanistan South Asian region but will ultimately desert Pakistan once her goals have been achieved.

In 1947 the then leadership of a newly founded sovereign state of Pakistan found the US allure attractive enough to pin hopes in USA to meet Pakistan’s immediate security needs and economic necessities. America skillfully used Pakistan as a military bastion against Soviets which led to shooting down of U-2 spy aircraft with a stern warning to Pakistan that its major cities especially Peshawar have been registered as targets of Soviet nuclear missiles. Later on Pakistan not only openly averted Russia but became a front line state to help US efforts to eject Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1980s. In her sincere efforts to cooperate with US efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan quickly forgot and forgave US for its elusive game plan of 1971 when Indian Army invaded Pakistan’s eastern wing and disintegrated Pakistan by creating Bangladesh. American account of betrayal was proven beyond any doubt. The seeds of mistrust and suspicion were sowed in Pakistan.

When Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1985, the secret myth of Muslim Jihad in Afghanistan was also uncovered and Muslims saw through the US scheme in which Pakistan and the Muslim world was used as a fodder of US war against Russia, under the cover name of Islamic Jihad. Today, it would not be incorrect to construe that Islamic Jihad against Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a naked fraud against Muslim Ummah. The American goal was to defeat Russia and eliminate its super power status. No sooner this aim was achieved, America once again abandoned Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Muslim world who had actually sustained the brunt of Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.

After 9/11 US hyper sensitivity and arrogance of power blurred American policy makers’ strategic vision as they decided to invade and occupy Afghanistan with full military force. Quick and almost effortless elimination of Taliban regime in Afghanistan created vague sense of victory in American political and military leadership. They once again lost sight of their real aim in Afghanistan and shifted main chunk of their forces to Iraq thereby dissipating their resources to unmanageable altitude. US depended upon Northern Alliance and empowered the old warlords of Afghan Jihad era, investing with huge amounts of money and weapons. Pushtoon majority was neglected as against the suggestions made by Pakistan. Similarly India was encouraged to intervene in Afghanistan through their links with Northern Alliance including the warlords. India established diplomatic missions in Afghanistan especially in Pushtoon majority region with the latent design to settle scores with Pushtoons who supported and participated in Kashmir freedom movement. Hence Indian influence in Afghanistan grew as a strategic distraction for US efforts to maintain order and eliminate the threat of insurgency. Once the chips were down and US tactical commanders could not mark their signatures in Afghan imbroglio, US media and intelligence operative in connivance with Indian spin masters decided to shift responsibility over to Pakistan for playing the double game against USA and allegedly supporting the militants in Afghanistan. US and Pakistan were therefore on divergent cognitive planes. Indian plotting and jealous competition against Pakistan led them to plan schemes to implicate Pakistan in different violent acts of terrorism to prove to the US that Indians were more loyal to them. Objective analysis of ground realities if analyzed objective would prove that India is not sincere to both USA and Pakistan. They are using Afghan territory to destabilize Pakistan and harm its interests in the region. Presently their aim is to encourage an anti Pakistan government in Afghanistan once the USA withdraws from that country. They are plotting schemes to implicate Pakistan in terrorist activities in Afghanistan prior to holding of Loya Jirga. The aim is to create anti Pakistan public opinion in Afghanistan. USA must develop strategic vision to see through the Indian design and guard against their activities in Afghanistan otherwise their efforts to create conditions for re-integration and re-conciliation may fall short of their objectives.

1 - Number One Newspaper of Pakistan - Daily Jang- Jang Group

1 - Number One Newspaper of Pakistan - Daily Jang- Jang Group

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I will return to Pakistan: Musharraf

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf plans to return to Pakistan and to re-enter politics.

Musharraf declined to commit to seeking a particular office, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "the question... of whether I am running for president or prime minister will be seen later."

But he strongly implied he wants to be prime minister.

"We run a parliamentary system there" Musharraf told Blitzer. "So you have to -- your party has to win in the election. Then only do you decide to run."

"Basically, you are heading the party, you are running for the prime ministership," he said. "Because in Pakistan, the chief executive is the prime minister, not the president."

Musharraf, who resigned as president under pressure in 2008 and left the country about a year ago, said he's unsure about the exact timing of his return.

"It is related to the elections in Pakistan," he said. "I am very sure of one thing, that whether it's end-term elections or midterm elections, I will be there before those elections."

Midterm elections could come next year, Musharraf said.

Musharraf also said that security concerns were shaping his decision on when to announce his return.

"Maybe my wife and my family (are) more worried than I am," he said Thursday. "But there are security issues which one needs to take into consideration. And that is why I'm not laying down any dates for my return."

"But," he added, "I do intend launching and declaring my intentions formally sooner rather than later."

The former Pakistani president took issue with a United Nations report released last month that said Musharraf's government failed to protect former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination.

"It was me who warned her about the threat to her," Musharraf said. "It was I who stopped her from going to that venue once before, to which a lot of political aspersions were cast on me that her movements are being restricted. But she decided to go again."

"All the security, wherever possible... by the police was provided to her," he said.

Asked if he would do anything differently if he could relive the experience, Musharraf said, "I think the same would have been done."

Musharraf also criticized the reported use of unmanned aircraft by the U.S. against militants in Pakistan, saying the "indiscriminate use of the drones... is having a negative impact in the public because of the collateral damage."

He said the attacks could be radicalizing Pakistanis and referred to Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American charged with the failed Times Square bombing. "I wonder whether this Faisal Shahzad incident... has he been affected by indiscriminate bombing by the drones," he said.

Musharraf also expressed support for the Pakistani government's decision to block access to Facebook this week in response to an online group calling on people to draw the Prophet Mohammed.

"You cannot have photographs of the Prophet Mohammed -- leave aside going for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed," Musharraf said. "It's most unfortunate. We must understand, these are sensitive issues. And for the sake of independence of media, liberty of speech, we cannot hurt sensitivities of millions of people."

Investigations on into Hamid Mir's links with Taliban

Pakistan's Jang media group has formed a committee to ascertain whether well-known TV anchor Hamid Mir had been taped speaking with a Taliban operative even as media reports said intelligence agencies had confirmed the authenticity of the recording.

Mir has been at the centre of a controversy over the past week after several websites uploaded a 13-minute conversation he purportedly had with a Taliban operative.

In the tape, Mir and the militant discuss the activities of former Inter-Services Intelligence officer Khalid Khwaja, who was recently abducted and killed by the Asian Tigers, a group of Punjabi Taliban.

The Jang media group said in a statement published today in its The News daily that it had set up a committee "to get detailed information" on the issue.

"For credible investigation, the committee has called upon professional journalist organisations to come forward to uncover the truth," the statement said.

Members of the committee held talks with Mir, who "disowned the voice (said to be his) and termed the audiotape fabricated," the statement added.

Mir said he would cooperate in the investigation so that the truth is unearthed. Mir claimed "some people want to ostracise him from the profession and they are defaming him as part of a conspiracy."

However, several TV news channels quoted sources as saying that three intelligence agencies had confirmed the authenticity of the recording after a detailed investigation.

The sources said the intelligence agencies, including the ISI, had submitted a report on the matter to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"The conversation between Hamid Mir and the Taliban militant is original and has been proved by the audiotape," the TV channels quoted the report as saying.

Senator Faisal Raza Abidi of the ruling Pakistan People's Party too said the government had verified the authenticity of the voices on the tape through intelligence agencies.

He said the recording "proved Hamid Mir's links with the Taliban."

The Daily Times newspaper, which first reported on the tape, has said that information passed on by Mir to the Taliban "could have led to the execution" of former ISI official Khalid Khwaja.

Osama Khalid, the son of Khwaja, has said that he will take legal action and register an FIR against Mir for "playing an instigative role in his father's murder."

Talking to BBC Urdu, Khalid said the unidentified Taliban operative in the recording was Usman Punjabi who used the alias of Muhammad Omar while talking to journalists.

Khalid rejected Mir's claims that the recording was doctored, saying the tape was original and he would prove it in court.

He demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and asked journalists to kick "black sheep" out of the profession.

Meanwhile, Daily Times editor Rashed Rahman said legal action must be initiated against Mir after the ISI and government confirmed the authenticity of the taped conversation between the talk show host and a Taliban militant.

"The Daily Times initiated self-accountability in the media by publishing a transcript of the taped conversation between Mir and an unidentified Taliban militant," he said, adding several people had contacted his media group with evidence against Mir