US Envoy In Pakistan Terms 'Silly' Indian Army Chief's Remark': RTT

(RTTNews) - United States Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson has termed a recent remark of Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor as 'silly' but did not elaborate the remark.

Patterson is reported to have made the comment in an interview with Pakistan-based newspaper "The Dawn," but the daily did not elaborate the remark of Gen Kapoor that came in for the U.S. envoy's rather harsh criticism.

The 'silly' remark of the U.S. envoy comes at a time when Pakistan is engaged in a strategic dialogue with the U.S. and as the former nudges India to resume the composite dialogue process, stalled in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

It is being speculated that Patterson was referring to an old remark of Gen Kapoor wherein he had said (without naming Pakistan) that India should be ready with a plan to launch "highly-mobile 'battle groups'...adequately backed by air cover and artillery fire assaults, for rapid thrusts into enemy territory within 96 hours".

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Indian Army Chief’s outrageous admission of Armoured debacle stuns the world: Daily Mail

By Makhdoom Babar
(Additional reporting by Ajay Mehta in New Delhi & Hina Kayani in Rawalpindi)

While the Indians celebrate 62nd Army Day, country’s Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, just after a couple of weeks of announcing a new war doctrine of Indian army to eliminate Pakistan and China in matter of hours even if it has to fight on simultaneous fronts, outrageously admitted Indian Army’s Armoured debacle and expressed concern about the force's 'night blindness' in the area of Armoured Corps and mechanised infantry. 'My major concern is that night blindness of the army is removed so we are able to fight in the night as in the day,' Kapoor said at New Delhi Yesterday, an admission that stunned the world in the back drop of his two weeks old remarks. The situation also forced Indian Defence Minister Antony to chew his own buts as he had been endorsing and projecting General Kapoor’s announcement regarding the new war doctrine for Pakistan and China Earlier, when his attention was brought to the fact that the Indian Army's tanks have a night vision capability of 20 percent, Pakistan's have 80 percent while China has 100 percent, General Deepak Kapoor admitted this outrageous military debacle by saying: 'You are right.'
'Projects are already in the pipeline to ensure that we have the night vision capability that our adversaries have. It may take three-four years,' Kapoor added. The lack of night vision capability of the Indian Army has affected its fighting capability during the night. The deficiency has been persistent since the Kargil conflict.
On a query about the obsolete artillery of the Indian Army, the army chief said that successive bans have delayed acquisition of new guns for long. 'Artillery is a cause for concern. We need to have better guns. Trials for towed guns are underway. Because of bans the process got delayed. We are now acquiring (ultra light) guns through FMS (Foreign Military Sales) route (from the US),' Kapoor added.

The Daily mail’s investigations into the matter reveal that despite a numerical strength of tanks over Pakistan, Indian army otherwise armoured and infantry capabilities are even below average if compared with Pakistan Army. According to these findings, Indian armoured corps comprises around 4, 059 tanks with a backup of 1, 133 as reserve while Pakistan Army’s Tank strength is 2,401 with a backup of 270 as reserves. However this numerical supremacy of Indian army is outraged with the fact that Indian armoured corps relies mainly on its Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun which emerged as a big failure while Pakistan Army’s armoured corps’ main strength has become Al-Khalid MBT which is a great success story, endorsed across the world. But the latest admission of Indian Army Chief about failure of its armoured corps to fight a battle in the night time is an additional and a rather huge disadvantage to the Indian Army and crystal clearly negates the claims of Indian Army Chief regarding smooth victory in case Indian army has to fight a war with Pakistan or China or even both at the same time.
The Daily Mail’s findings further disclose that India’s MBT Arjun is more flab than brawn. More a heavyweight than a performer. A potpourri really, with a French engine, and German seals fitted into an Indian hull and turret. And transporting this heavyweight is going to be another problem, which could limit its operational performance.
These findings further indicate that Arjun has indeed suffered throughout its development, from confusion and inexplicable delays and by imbalances between the Army, the DRDO and the bureaucracy. Pakistan by contrast, has drawn a lesson from the Indian experience and avoided the trap of over lasting her R&D’s indigenous know-how in the development of its MBT Al-Khalid.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Indian Army Chief’s outrageous admission of Armoured debacle stuns the world: Daily Mail

Soldier called 'Paki' by Prince Harry insists there are 'no hard feelings' after apology: Telegraph

By Ben Leach

Speaking for the first time about the incident, Ahmed Raza Khan, a captain in the Pakistan Army, denied the Prince was racist.
He also revealed, in an interview with the Sun newspaper, that Prince Harry had personally phoned him to apologise but said he had "no hard feelings".
The 24-year-old said: "The Prince called me by a nickname which is usually very insulting, but I know he didn't mean it that way. He phoned me to apologise and I have no hard feelings. We need to close this chapter now.
"When I spoke to Harry he told me he never meant what people may think about the so-called nickname and I believe him.
"We were close friends when we were training and I know he is not a racist. I have no reason to take up the issue again.
"Since he has apologised, I would say, let bygones be bygones."

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Soldier called 'Paki' by Prince Harry insists there are 'no hard feelings' after apology: Telegraph

20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani: The Global Elite: Newsweek

In theory this mumbling, chain-smoking general answers to President Asif Ali Zardari. But Kayani and his troops remain the dominant power in what could be the most dangerous country in the world. He's responsible for Pakistan's nukes; for the battle against Al Qaeda and its tribal allies along the Afghan border; and for managing tensions with neighbor India. So far, his army has kept itself out of politics and seems focused on the battle against jihadists. In the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Kayani stood firm on Pakistan's sovereignty while also taking measures against the alleged sponsors of the outrage.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: 20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani: The Global Elite: Newsweek

Pakistan army flexes muscles to shoot down drone aircraft: Monsters and Critics

Islamabad - Pakistan's army on Friday carried out a training exercise in which pilotless aircraft drones were shot down by anti-craft guns and short range surface-to-air missiles, a military statement said.
The exercise was carried out as public pressure on the government in Islamabad is increasing to use force to halt air raids by US drones that target suspected militant hideouts in Pakistan's tribal region.
'The elements of army air defence demonstrated their shooting skills by targeting the drones flying at different altitudes,' said the statement.
The indigenously built man-portable surface-to-air missile Anza II, the anti-aircraft Oerlikan and an unnamed 57 mm radar-controlled gun were used in the exercises that were conducted in a semi-desert area near Muzaffargarh in central Pakistan.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan army flexes muscles to shoot down drone aircraft: Monsters and Critics

Pakistan troops rescue climbers: BBC

Nanga Parbat is one of the most dangerous mountains in the world

Pakistan's army has rescued two Italian mountaineers stranded for 10 days on Nanga Parbat - one of the highest and deadliest Himalayan peaks.

Climbers Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones got into difficulties on 15 July when fellow climber Karl Unterkircher fell into a crevasse and died.

The two were stuck at about 6,600m (21,600 feet) above sea level.

Nanga Parbat is sometimes called the "Killer Mountain" because of the problems it poses climbers.

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Pakistan: roars and whimpers: Oxford Analytica

Lawyers take to the streets again this week, as pressure builds on the government to restore deposed judges. A 'long march' will start on Tuesday in Multan; ex-servicemen and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) -- which recently withdrew from the Pakistan Peoples' Party-led coalition government -- will join the suits on the road.

Protesters will be united in opposition to President Pervez Musharraf, whose dismissal of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in March 2007 triggered a crisis of legitimacy that has yet to be resolved. A judiciary that had showed signs of independence, and had threatened to jeopardise Musharraf re-election plans, was removed, with the imposition of emergency rule in November.

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Ban thanks Pakistan, other troop contributors to UN’s peacekeeping: APP

UNITED NATIONS, May 28 (APP): 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 that have helped keep peace in conflict-torn countries.

“Our special thanks go to the top contributors: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Nigeria.

Together, these nations of the South contribute nearly half of the United Nations peacekeepers,” he said in a message marking the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers being observed today.

This year, the annual occasion also marks the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations Peacekeeping.

“Peacekeeping has developed into a flagship enterprise of our organization. Today, we have more than 110,000 men and women deployed in conflict zones around the world. They come from nearly 120 countries—an all time high, reflecting confidence in UN peacekeeping,” the secretary-general said.

“They (peacekeepers) different cultures and experiences to the job, but they are united in their determination to foster peace.”

Pakistan is among the largest troop contributors, with nearly 10,000 soldiers in various UN Peacekeeping Missions around the world.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Ban thanks Pakistan, other troop contributors to UN’s peacekeeping: APP