India attempts to alter the regional strategic landscape ; CJCSC
Pakistan army’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Friday 9 Nov. 2018, alleged that India was attempting to alter the regional strategic landscape through an unprecedented military build-up. Pakistan army’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Friday alleged that India was attempting to alter the regional strategic landscape through an unprecedented military build-up.
Gen. Hayat was speaking at a book launch event hosted by Center for International Strategic Studies Islamabad (CISS). The CISS said in a statement that General Hayat reviewed the regional security situation and listed the threats faced by Pakistan especially in the context of latest developments, including the first deterrence patrol by Indian nuclear submarine INS Arihant, Indo-Russian nuclear deal for S-400 air defense missile systems and India’s shifting doctrinal posture. “An aggressive hybrid war had also been imposed on Pakistan,” he alleged. “Pakistan was determined to maintain credible minimum deterrence against full spectrum of evolving threats while exercising restraint and responsibility in order to preserve regional peace and stability,” he said. Besides, India’s destabilising actions, the world powers providing high-tech military hardware and technologies were also aggravating regional and global security, he claimed.
Gen. Hayat also claimed that exceptional access to modern technology granted to India was undermining strategic stability. “We are fully alive to these challenges. We will do what it minimally takes to restore the strategic balance in the region,” he said. He reminded about Pakistani proposal for a ‘Strategic Restraint Regime’. About the challenge of hybrid war, Hayat said that it would be dealt with through “a whole of the nation approach”.
He additionally called for a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory treatment for Pakistan’s application for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group. Executive Director CISS Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi said South Asia was a crisis-prone region due to unresolved disputes between India and Pakistan. These issues have resulted in trust deficit and lack of communication between the two countries, he said.
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The abduction and murder of (KP) SP Tahir Dawar
‘shocking tragedy’ Long wait for body of Superintendent police tortured to death in Afghanistan
Superintendent of police (SP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tahir Dawar was first reported missing from his Islamabad residence on October 26. According to reports, the police officer had arrived in Islamabad along with his driver earlier in the day. He was staying at his home in F/10 and went for a walk at approximately 8:PM and never returned.
On November 13, pictures circulating on social media claimed to show the dead body of the Dawar found in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The federal government and police authorities said they had no confirmation regarding reports of Dawar being killed. “It is a matter of national security and someone’s life, and cannot be discussed on an open forum,” State Minister for Interior Shehryar Afridi responded when asked by reporters about the pictures circulating on social media. November 14, the Afghan government confirmed the discovery of a body along with the service card of SP Tahir Dawar.
SP Dawar had also survived two suicide attacks while he was posted in Bannu district.
The funeral prayer of martyred Superintendent Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar has been offered in Hayatabad area of Peshawar. The body was received at the Torkham border from Afghan officials by Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi, Shaukat Yousafzai, Mohsin Dawar, Deupty Commissioner Khyber and other security officials. Earlier, Afghan authorities have refused to hand over body of slain SP Tahir Dawar to their Pakistani counterparts.
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32 killed, 31 injured in explosion in lower Orakzai district
November 23, 2018 | According to report, it was an improvised explosive device hidden in a carton of vegetables. The explosion, which according to officials was a suicide bombing, took place near an imambargah on Friday morning. The attack took place during the regular Friday bazaar in Kalaya, a town in Orakzai tribal district. More than 50 people were wounded, with 17 of them in critical condition. Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack a day earlier in northwestern Pakistan, the group’s Amaq news agency said. It said the bomber had targeted Shi’ite Muslims in a market in Orakzai
Terror attack on Chinese Consulate in Karachi foiled
November 23, 2018 | Two policemen lost their lives due to multiple injuries caused by explosive material, while a private security guard was injured in the blast. The police officers were identified as Assistant Sub Inspector Ashraf Dawood and Constable Amir, while the private security guard was identified as Muhammad Juman, according to police. Two civilians, a father and son, named Zahir Shah and Abdul Karim, were also killed in the attack. Three terrorists were killed in the operation by security forces amid a series of gunshots and an explosion on Friday, but were killed before they could force their way in with a car packed with explosives, police said.
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The way forward ‘Pakistan Navy Take Note’
Wednesday, 07 November 2018 | Source: The Pioneer
Given the geopolitical scenario, India’s nuclear deterrence triad becoming operational is significant. For all the viciousness of political thrust and counter-thrust between parties over the past four decades, India’s political establishment has shown rare consistency and unanimity in pursuing the national nuclear programme and its weaponisation. From Indira Gandhi through to AB Vajpayee on whose respective watch Pokhran-I and Pokhran-II took place, and from Manmohan Singh to Narendra Modi, the importance of nuclear power for civilian purposes and for our national security has not been lost on the political leadership.
The lion’s share of the credit for our achievements in the nuclear field must, of course, go to our brilliant scientists and technologists who have battled all manner of obstacles put in their way by nations and agencies averse to India acquiring nuclear capability. But without the backing and support of those in power from across the political spectrum, it could have all ended in shambles. Instead, we had the Prime Minister on Monday proudly announce that the country’s first indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arihant, had successfully completed its first deterrence patrol. The success of the submarine “gives a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail”, he added, clearly targeting Pakistan. The Chinese, too, have been, in a sense, put on notice. We do live in a rough neighbourhood.
The fully operational submarine completes the sea leg of India’s nuclear triad, giving it all-round nuclear strike and counterstrike capabilities after the induction through the 2000s of the Agni series of land-launched nuclear missiles and the arming of our fighter aircraft including Sukhoi-30s, Mirage-2000s (as well as the on-order Rafale) which can all deliver nuclear warheads. It is important here to underline that the development of the triad is very much part of India’s nuclear doctrine premised on the twin principles of minimum credible deterrence and a no first-use policy. Which is also why it is significant that the Prime Minister iterated that India’s nuclear triad will be “an important pillar of global peace and stability”. As for the achievement itself, well, only a handful of countries the United States, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China can deliver nuclear warheads from a submarine and India now joins that club.
The 6,000-tonne Arihant, armed with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), is capable of delivering nuclear warheads up to 750km away. The range, however, say experts, is a limitation, and India requires the capability to deploy SLBMs capable of striking targets thousands of kilometres away. Also, the number of nuclear-powered and nuclear-missile carrying submersible vessels of the Indian Navy will need to be enhanced appreciably. To this end, a second nuclear submarine, the INS Arighat, is already under development and expected to be operational by 2020.
But a dose of realism also needs to be injected to counter the excessive chest-thumping in certain quarters the US has 72 operational nuclear submarines, Russia over 40, UK and France between 8-12 each and China 10 (equipped with JIN-class nuclear-tipped missiles with a range of over 7,000 kilometres). So, while India’s newest nuclear-weapons delivery platform is a welcome and much needed as it completes the country’s land-air-sea ability in terms of nuclear deterrence, we have to keep the nuclear programme well-funded to ensure that future security challenges can be met effectively.
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Pakistan and India break ground on visa-free Kartarpur corridor
Amid tense bilateral ties, South Asian neighbours agree to provide a visa-free corridor for Sikh pilgrims.
The development comes ahead of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary next year.
By the Pakistan Side
Pakistan PM lays foundation for Kartarpur Corridor
Sialkot Punjab: November 28, 2018 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday 28 Nov. laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur — the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev — to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.
Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri and Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the ceremony.
Before it, Pakistan and India announced that they would develop the corridor on their respective side of the border to help Indian pilgrims visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
By the India Side
Nov 26, 2018 : The foundation stone for the Kartarpur road corridor in India was laid down on Monday 26th Nov. by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, Governor VP Badnore and Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri.
What is the Kartarpur Corridor?
The Kartarpur corridor is a proposed four-kilometre-long corridor between India and Pakistanconnecting the Sikh holy shrine of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib to the shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (also referred to as the Kartarpur Gurdwara) in the states of Punjab in India and Pakistan. It is also one of the border gates as the route was closed following the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. The main aim of this proposed corridor is to facilitate the crossing of religious devotees to visit the Kartarpur Gurdwara, located in the Narowal District in Pakistan which about 120 kilometres from Lahore but only three kilometres from the Indian side of the border. The gurdwara is situated on the banks of river Ravi and is considered to be the first gurdwara ever built. The shrine holds a special significance for the Sikh community, as the first among the 10 Sikh gurus, Guru Nanak is believed to have spent the last 17 years of his life at the site of the shrine.
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5 reasons to expand your digital strategy into Pakistan
( Google Marketing Manager’s opinion on Pakistan economy and its future )
By : Lars Anthonisen | November 2018
Pakistan is quickly becoming a digital-first country, which means there are new opportunities for brands to reach and engage with consumers who may have previously been overlooked. Read on for five reasons you should consider expanding your digital campaigns into Pakistan. There’s a reason Pakistan is attracting interest from major foreign investors. With an economy powered by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a rapidly growing population of mobile users, the country is on track to produce one of the largest digital audiences in the world. Here’s what you need to know about the developments happening in Pakistan, and why it should be on your radar.
- Pakistan will soon have the fifth largest population in the world
Pakistan has a population of more than 202 million people, which means there are lot of potential consumers coming online every day. And the country is even more urbanized than neighboring India, with nearly 40% of total households living in cities.
- Entrepreneurship plays a big role in its fast-growing economy
With a current GDP at $1,641 per capita, Pakistan is expected to be the fourth fastest growing economy globally through 2030. Driven largely by SMEs (more than 90% of all companies in Pakistan are SMEs), these smaller businesses contribute 40% to the country’s $305 billion GDP.
- The number of smartphone users is steadily increasing
Currently, there are 59 million smartphone users in Pakistan, and more than 83% of those users are on Android devices. This number will likely grow quickly as smartphone prices have dropped over the last few years. Pakistan also has some of the cheapest data prices in the world, which is helping to grow mobile app usage. YouTube captures a huge chunk of smartphone users’ attention and is the most-used online video streaming platform among millennials.1
- Pakistan’s internet penetration is nearing a tipping point
Pakistan’s overall internet penetration stands at 22% with 44.6 million users. In spite of this, digital consumption in the country continues to grow quickly. YouTube watch time, for example, has seen over 60% growth over the last three years.2
- China invests heavily in Pakistan’s development
The Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the largest Chinese investment in a foreign country (valued at $62 billion). One of the first CPEC projects is to lay 820 kilometers of fiber-optic cable, connecting more Pakistanisto the internet. This is in addition to ongoing investments in 3G and 4G network expansions from China Mobile the company has already announced plans to invest another $225 million in 4G expansion (bringing its total investment to $2.4 billion).
How you can make an impact on Pakistan now
Leaving your mark on Pakistan now is crucial, and you can start by reaching out to the SME audience to help them scale. As interest in the country increases, infrastructure investments will minimize barriers to internet access and data speed pushing more people into the digital space and presenting endless opportunities for your brand.
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