Pakistan strenghthens its borders with fresh troops movement

With plans to thwart any attack from across the border by the Indian Armed forces, fresh troops have been deployed at the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and along the international border to protect “vital points” where an insertion or ‘push’ by the enemy is expected.

There has been massive brigade movements to and from all major cities across the country in preparation for any strike against the country any where. Pakistan Air Force is also on high alert with warplanes constantly patrolling the skies and guarding strategic and senstive installations across the country.

While leaders of the both the nations keep stating that there is no possibility of a war at hand, when it comes to India, Pakistan can not afford to be lenient and play cool.

More to come as situation develops.

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ISI Gets A New Chief

Promoted as recently as yesterday, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has been appointed as the DG of Pakistan’s most elite and powerful Intelligence Agency, the ISI.

The move comes amid a major reshuffle at the top ranks within the Pakistan Army that saw new Corps Commanders take their places in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, and Bahawalpur.

ISI chief Lt Gen Nadim Taj has been moved as commander Gujranwala Corps while Lt Gen Yousuf, present VCGS, has been appointed Corps Commander Bahawalpur. Present Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lt Gen Raza Khan has been shifted as DG Joint Staff Headquarters.

Seven major-generals were promoted to the rank of lieutenant-generals. They are Major General Tahir Mahmoud (Infantry – present Commander SSG), Major-General Shahid Iqbal (Infantry – Chief Instructor NDU), Major General Tanvir Tahir (EME – DG C4Is), Major-General Zahid Hussain (Artillery – Commandant Pakistan Military Academy), Major General Ahmad Shuja Pasha (Infantry – DG Military Operations), Major-General Mohammad Mustafa Khan (Armoured Corps – ISI), and Major-General Ayyaz Saleem Rana (Armoured Corps – ISI).

Read More at Pak Tribune

Solving 9-20: Questions still unanswered!

The suicide blast that left scores of people dead and hundreds injured raises some very important questions and speculations that need to be answered. There are far too many ambiguities in the chain of events before, during, and even after the attack that raises eyebrows. Here are some of the those questions:

1- The Mysterious US Embassy Truck

2- The Blue-Flamed Fire on 4th and 5th Floor

3- The CCTV Footage That Ends Abruptly

4- The Gas Pipeline Claim

5- The CDA’s Uncharged Batteries

6- Intelligence Reports – Neglected or Planted?

7- Building the case for devaluing Pakistan

1- The Mysterious US Embassy Truck

Why was a US embassy truckload of steel boxes unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on the same night when Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad? This was two nights before the Marriott attack. It is questionable as to why both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines were either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. None of the hotel staff or security were authorized to be any where near the truck. Who gave this authorization? Was it the owner Hashwani?

Furthermore, these steel boxes were transported by hand to the 4th and 5th floors of the hotel WITHOUT going through the scanners installed at the hotel’s lobby entrance. Why was this allowed in the first place?

Washington has tried to clear the air by saying that the steel boxes in question were in fact part of the equipment that moves along with any high ranking official’s visit (Admiral Mullen in this case). If this is so then how come no explanation was given at the time these boxes were being transported. Why now?

Read the rest after the jump.

Pakistan-US forces trade fire!

Yet another incident has taken place at the borders where two US helicopters crossed in to Pakistani territory in North Waziristan despite the strong stance taken by the Pakistan Army against further border incursions.

The latest exchange came after the helicopters crossed the border from Afghanistan. U.S. military officials however stated that the helicopters were in Afghan air space the whole time. Yet another claim surfaced from United States that the helicopter, a U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowas, was in fact providing ground cover to a small contingent of US Army troops on a border patrol with Afghan Police.

The U.S. State Department said it was awaiting the results of an investigation of the incident by Pakistan and deemed the shooting incident as troubling.

Pakistani Military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas brushed aside US’s statement as some thing that didn’t make sense at all.

Two helicopters crossed into our territory in North Waziristan. They passed over our border checkpost, so our troops fired warning shots. The helicopters returned fire and then went back across the border into Afghanistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari stated that the warning shots fired by Pakistani Armed Forces were in fact flares with the intention to let the copters know that they have crossed in to the border. He stressed that the shots did not carry any hostile intent what so ever.

The ever so increasing incidents of visible US interventions in to Pakistan is a disturbing sign. At times it even looks like the United States is inciting Pakistani Armed Forces and the tribesmen on purpose to build a case against extensive firing on their men and machines. Moreover, it is only a matter of time whereby terrorists see this as yet another golden opportunity to further damage the Pak-US relations. US copters could be attacked by the enemy from within the Pakistani borders even though they might not have crossed the border. A string of accusations and denials will follow from Washington and Islamabad and would surely dampen relations.

The United States must understand and realize the fragility of the situation. An ugly confrontation could easily be avoided if US forces would restrain themselves and let Pakistani military do its job in Pakistan.

Also read more on this news at CNN

The (tight) lip service

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani has put a clamp on Pakistani ministers on issuing political and strategic statements from now onwards. Only Sherry Rehman, Minister of Information, or Akram Shaheedi, Pakistan’s Information Secretary, would be entitled to issue statements in the future.

In another similar development, all Pakistani private channels have voluntarily stopped airing Taliban comments on the continued military operation in different parts of the North-West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. Under this change, the channels will not air views of the Taliban leadership against the ongoing offensive.

Anchors at Dawn News and Aaj TV were seen calling the militants as ‘Taliban’ and reporting solely on the military progress and activities.

This is a complete turn over from the same media houses that have largely been skeptical of the Armed Forces offensive against (as they used to put it) alleged terrorists in the North. One might wonder what ever happened to that point of view now that they all have voluntarily decided to ban any pro-taliban stance what so ever. Perhaps they were paid the right price this time around.

Join In: The Citizen’s Trust For Victims of Terror

Dear readers,

We have all witnessed the destruction and loss of life from various suicide bombings and acts of terror over the last couple of years. Some of us might have even suffered the loss of a near and dear one in this horrific ordeal as well. Victims of such attacks are often the poor and needy who are just out there to make an honest living. Those who die or are seriously injured in the name of duty deserve our help and support.

The Citizen’s Trust for Victims of Terror runs on your donations and aims at meeting the following two objectives:

1. Rehabilitating those Injured / Amputated during such attacks.
2. Welfare and Education of Dependents of the Martyrs

———————————–

Account Details for Donations
The account below will be used for the donations:

Pakistan Social Association
1001407
Muslim Commercial Bank
F10 Markaz Branch,
Islamabad, Pakistan

———————————–

Please see the detailed mission statement of the trust fund that has been set up below and feel free to generously give what you can. In this holy month of Ramadan, many families have lost their sole bread-winners. Do a good deed today. I urge you all to take a step forward and make a difference.

For more information, please go to The Citizen’s Trust Blog or contact them on thecitizenstrust@gmail.com

Read the details after the jump

‘fedayeen Of Islam’ Claim Bombing Marriott Hotel

A claim to the Marriott Islamabad suicide bombing has come! Much to my surprise, it is not from Al-Qaeda or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or any covert spy agency. It is, according to DAWN.COM, a claim by a shadowy group calling itself ‘Fedayeen of Islam‘! That too in a telephone call to Dubai-based, pan-Arab news channel by the name of Al-Arabiya television,

Hmm…!

Its correspondent in Islamabad said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday’s attack. The speaker on the recording spoke in English ‘with a South Asian accent,’ he said.
The group also issued several demands including for Pakistan to stop its cooperation with the United States, al Arabiya said:

A suicide bomber rammed a truck packed with more than half a tonne of explosives into the security gates of the luxury hotel, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 260 in a massive fireball.

The speaker alleged that the attack was carried out by a ‘martyrdom-seeker’ — suicide bomber — while 250 US Marines and American and NATO officials were in the hotel.

President goes West as COAS heads East

The Pakistani leadership have moved in opposite directions in the face of one of the most shocking and disastrous suicide attacks on its capital.

While President Zardari is currently en route to United States to attend the UN Assembly as well as have a talk with President George W Bush, Pakistan’s Chief Of Army Staff has gone East on a 5 day official trip to China.

This happens to be quite an interesting move in a sense that while our President is heading to United States to possibly ensure that Pakistan’s solidarity shall remain as staunch as ever, our COAS is going over to our long time friend, China where he will be meeting the Chinese President Hu Jintao as well as visiting three military regions namely Shenyang military region, Beijing military region and Chengdu military region. The two countries are building some of their most sophisticated war machinery through mutual cooperation in the Chengdu Region including the multi-role medium-tech J-17 fighter planes. The sources revealed that General Kiyani would also visit some exercise areas where he would be shown some of the most modern defense equipment and war machinery that China has recently developed through indigenous research. General Kiyani will extend invitation to General Chen Bingde to visit Pakistan.

Whether the purpose of these polar opposite visits is to give a message to the United States and the rest of the world regarding a massive shift in Pakistan’s anti-terrorism policies or something else, there are huge expectations from both these tours.

President Zardari will probably be facing one of the toughest situations in his political career so far as he will be indulging the President of the United States in talks over various issues of grave importance ranging from Washington allowing US forces to operate inside Pakistan to where the relations between the two countries stand. He has already been snubbed and criticized for canceling his visit to China in favor of UK and the US and he will have tough waters to tread in the West and back home.

The nation, still bleeding, awaits its leaders’ next stance – and it is about time we take one!

Intruding US choppers fired at in NWA

Pak Tribune has reported that Pakistani troops reportedly fired at two US gunship helicopters that intruded into Lowara Mandi area of the North Waziristan Agency (NWA), forcing them to fly back to Afghanistan on Sunday night.

Government officials, including those from intelligence agencies, told reporters in Miramshah, the headquarters of the NWA, that the incident took place around 10 pm at the border village of Lowara Mandi.

Requesting anonymity, they said the two US gunship helicopters entered the Pakistani airspace and flew over Lowara Mandi. They said the Pakistani soldiers used the 12.7mm light machineguns to fire at the intruding choppers. They claimed the helicopters were forced to fly back across the border to Afghanistan.

9-20: CCTV Footage of Attack Released

The CCTV footage of the attack on the Marriott was shown during Rehman Malik’s press conference. The camera focusing on the entry gates shows a car arriving at the barriers, which is searched and allowed to enter. Then a truck comes in from the right and rams the closed barrier but fails to break through, also suffers a tire-burst, security guards initially run out of the way, but then approach the truck at which point there is an explosion in the driving cabin and the front screen blows out, as the fire rapidly takes hold of the truck, the security guards show tremendous courage and sense of responsibility by trying every means to extinguish the fire but it’s beyond their control.

The truck was full of tnt, plastic explosives and aluminum, which was first time used in this attack and hence became the cause of raging fires that engulfed the entire hotel.

Watch the video acquired via The Pakistani Politics on YouTube below

9-20: US Marines shifted mysterious steel boxes in to Marriott

Was there a top secret and mysterious operation of the US Marines going on inside the Marriott when it was attacked on Saturday evening? No one will confirm it but circumstantial evidence is in abundance.

Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on the same night when Admiral Mike Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad.

Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines were either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel lobby and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.

9/20: Pakistan Under Attack

Hotel Marriott in Islamabad burns

UPDATE: Sept 22 / 10:07 AM

Second American dead in blast

UPDATE: Sept 22 / 6:05 AM

Czech ambassador to Pakistan confirmed dead in Marriott suicide blast

Danish Intelligence agent missing after Marriott blast

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 2:45 AM

Initial reports claim lone suicide bomber carried out blast

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 10:53 PM

Al-Qaeda tape called for Pakistan attacks

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 8:32 PM

CCTV Footage of Attack Released

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 12:07 PM

US Marines shifted mysterious steel boxes in to Marriott

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 06:40 AM

Statement on the Explosion at the Islamabad Marriott Hotel by Bill Marriott

At approximately 7:00 p.m. local time, an apparent car bomb exploded outside of the Islamabad Marriott in Pakistan. The bomb caused extensive damage to the front of the hotel and started a fire. Marriott International and the hotel are working with local authorities and rescue personnel to assist victims. News reports indicate numerous people were killed and injured in the blast. “We live in a dangerous world and this is a terrible tragedy. We grieve for those people who died, or were injured, and their families,” said Bill Marriott.

UPDATE: Sept 21 / 06:30 AM

Pakistan government was aware of a possible attack by terrorists in the capital

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– Suicide bomber rammed a 1000 KG explosives-laden truck into the main gate of Marriott Hotel around 8pm
– Explosion left a 25-foot deep and 30-foot wide crater
– Entire area turned to rubble
– Gas pipeline burst keeping the hotel building ablaze for hours
– Fears of Marriott building collapsing after the blast
– Buildings within a 3-km radius were damaged, including Frontier House and PTV building
– Powerful explosion heard as far as 30 kilometers away

In Images: a 15 year old suicide bomber!

We have been saying for a long time now that the so-called ‘Pakistani Taliban’ is a group of criminals and not Mujahideen and their agenda is suspicious. These exclusive pictures, released by BRASSTACKS today, provide the proof. This is the Nowshera boy who was arrested before he could pull the trigger on his suicide jacket. A poor 15-year-old. His masters, people like Baitullah Mehsud, are using Pakistani children to kill ordinary Pakistanis and to spread chaos. What Muslim or Pakistani would do this? Why do Pakistani government authorities not bring these people on television so that we could ask them: How did they take you away from your parents? How did they tell you to pull the trigger and you will be immediately taken by Angels to Heavens? What are the training camps you attend? Who are these people? How can they have so much money to spend? How do they terrorize the poor tribal Pakistanis and hold them hostage with their shiny new weapons and scary hoods that hide their faces? How can we know that suspicious foreign players are not part of this game? Anyone can play this game. All you need to fool our people is a lot of money, local contacts, the ability to speak Pashto/Urdu and good knowledge of Islam. It is called ‘Special Operations’.

See the remaining images below

Qureshi Bend Over!

This has got to be the first ever instance of a Pakistani Foreign Minister going around and kicking his own country in the butt and accusing her of violating other nations’ sovereignty!

While he silently condemned the recent US Air strike, he also added:

permit me to say as well that we too have the responsibility to ensure that there are no actions from here that violate the sovereignty of another country

What are you on these days Mr. Qureshi? Did you even realize what you were saying and in what context. Our own foreign minister is blatantly pointing out that Pakistan is involved with promoting terrorism across its borders: the very same blabber that India, Afghanistan, and the United States keep uttering!