Army of Pakistan
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Pakistan dares India to breach border
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, in clear allusion to India, said on Thursday any country that tried to raid its territory in the way US forces did to kill Osama bin Laden would face consequences from its military.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir dismissed any suggestion the Pakistani military or its main spy agency had been involved with al-Qaeda and issued a blunt warning against any further intrusions.
Bashir did not directly respond to comments from the White House that US President Barack Obama reserved the right to take action again in Pakistan, but said there were a number of questions about how the covert raid took place.
This matter of sovereignty and violation of sovereignty, and the modalities for combating terrorism raises certain legal and moral issues which fall properly in the domain of the United Nations, he told the governments first news conference since US forces killed Osama bin Laden. About Indian statements following the killing of Osama bin Laden, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said: I only see them (statements) as symptomatic of trends and tendencies within Indian establishment and their armed forces to subvert the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
I dont think Indian leadership would really subscribe to this, he added. His statement came a day after Indian army chief General VK Singh said the countrys armed forces were competent to carry out the US-like operation in Pakistan against al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Salman, while defending the capabilities of ISI and Pakistan military, said, The statements that you refer to are indeed a matter of grave concern.Mincing no words, Salman said, We see a lot of bravado in our own region... from the military, air force, which state that this can be repeated.
This sort of misadventure or miscalculation would result in a terrible catastrophe, he said. There should be no doubt Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence. Any other country that would ever act on the assumption that it has the might and mimic unilateralism of any sorts will find ... that it has made a basic miscalculation.
Salmans comments, while apparently directed at India, also seemed aimed at reassuring the public the military was capable of defending the country.
Accusations that Pakistans intelligence agency colludes with al-Qaeda are false and cannot be substantiated, Salman said.
Its easy to say that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or elements within the government were in cahoots with the Qaeda, he said.
This is a false hypothesis. This is a false charge. It cannot be validated on any account and it flies in the face of what Pakistanis and in particular the Inter-Services Intelligence has been able to accomplish.
There is some scepticism that the Americans could have carried out the operation without running the risk of being shot down if Pakistans military or intelligence chiefs had no advance warning.
Salman said two Pakistani F-16 fighter jets were scrambled within 30 to 35 minutes after spotting unusual activity, US helicopters, in its airspace. He also launched a vigorous defence of Pakistani-US relations and said media reports of troubled ties and poor intelligence cooperation were wrong.
I think the notion that Pakistan-US relations have nose-dived, this is not quite our understanding. Pakistan considers its relations with the United States as of high importance and significance, he said.
We are prepared to do more together to change the picture in this part of the world and perhaps globally, he added.
We do not owe any apology to anyone on anything, he later said.
Salman said Pakistan has adequate capacity to uphold its honour, defend its sovereignty and safeguard its security.
He said Pakistan military and political leadership are well equipped and mindful of the defence requirements of the country. No Pakistani should feel demoralised in this regard.
There is no reason for any Pakistan to feel demoralised. We are proud of our defence capabilities, our armed forces and our track record on counterterrorism, the Foreign Secretary said.
He said that the action which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden was a covert operation and Pakistan armed forces were not consulted. He said the US helicopters reached the scene evading Pakistani radars and our authorities came to know of the incident when a copter crashed. Relevant units reached the site within fifteen minutes, the Pakistan Air Force was alerted and two F-16s were air-borne.
American CENTCOM Chief Admiral Mike Mullen telephoned Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at about three in the night and informed him about the operation. The Foreign Secretary said even Americans were mindful of the sovereignty issue and Admiral Mullen, among other things, also raised this issue during conversation.
Salman Bashir said American action in Abbotabad involved legal issues concerning violation of sovereignty and these should be addressed for the sake of global peace and stability. He pointed out that even presidential statement of the UN Security Council has emphasised that member states must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law and in particular human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
The Foreign Secretary also pointed out that the compound where Osama bin Ladin was killed is about four kilometre from PMA, Kakul, but we should be mindful of the fact that it is a training academy and doesnt have the kind of defence that we have for our other military and strategic assets, especially aerial and ground defence.
About remarks of CIA Chief that Pakistans ISI was either guilty of complicity or incompetent, the Foreign Secretary said such statements continue to surface and resurface and are aimed at pressurising Pakistan.
He said the United States intensively bombed Tora Bora mountains against advice of Pakistan and this flawed military strategy enabled al-Qaeda elements to disperse in different directions. It was at that time that Pakistani armed forces moved into Terah Valley and picked up 248 of fleeing al-Qaeda operatives. Since then all the major catches were made either by the ISI on its own or in joint operation with the CIA, and these included Khalid Sheikh, Abu Faraj Libbi, Rumzi, Abu Zubaida, Khalfan, Abu Hamza Rabia and so called Bali bomber, all arrested from different cities and places of the country.
About incompetence, he said this aspect is being looked into. However, he said if it was an intelligence failure then, as pointed out by Prime Minister Gilani, it was global intelligence failure. After all there was no information within the US system about those who were ultimately responsible for 9/11, and the US Government and the CIA failed to prevent them. He said this is not time for anybody to indulge in luxury of passing value judgements. The ISI has done a commendable work and has a brilliant track record of combating terrorism and al-Qaeda.
The Foreign Secretary said there are red lines in Pakistans cooperation with the United States and other members of the international community and these should be observed.
He said it was absolutely wrong to speculate that elements within the ISI or the Government were providing cover to Osama. He said the United States itself has acknowledged that some of the leads that ultimately led to identification of the Abbotabad compound resulted from the information shared between the ISI and the CIA.
To a question, Salman Bashir said family members of Osama bin Laden and others found in the compound were with Pakistan but he declined to provide details. He said in the spirit of cooperation, Pakistan would look into all aspects and hoped that more information will surface as to how long Osama lived in the compound, who was with him and what local support he had.
He said the US acknowledges Pakistans cooperation and there is strategic convergence between the two countries.
Pakistan dares India to breach border | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, in clear allusion to India, said on Thursday any country that tried to raid its territory in the way US forces did to kill Osama bin Laden would face consequences from its military.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir dismissed any suggestion the Pakistani military or its main spy agency had been involved with al-Qaeda and issued a blunt warning against any further intrusions.
Bashir did not directly respond to comments from the White House that US President Barack Obama reserved the right to take action again in Pakistan, but said there were a number of questions about how the covert raid took place.
This matter of sovereignty and violation of sovereignty, and the modalities for combating terrorism raises certain legal and moral issues which fall properly in the domain of the United Nations, he told the governments first news conference since US forces killed Osama bin Laden. About Indian statements following the killing of Osama bin Laden, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said: I only see them (statements) as symptomatic of trends and tendencies within Indian establishment and their armed forces to subvert the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
I dont think Indian leadership would really subscribe to this, he added. His statement came a day after Indian army chief General VK Singh said the countrys armed forces were competent to carry out the US-like operation in Pakistan against al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Salman, while defending the capabilities of ISI and Pakistan military, said, The statements that you refer to are indeed a matter of grave concern.Mincing no words, Salman said, We see a lot of bravado in our own region... from the military, air force, which state that this can be repeated.
This sort of misadventure or miscalculation would result in a terrible catastrophe, he said. There should be no doubt Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence. Any other country that would ever act on the assumption that it has the might and mimic unilateralism of any sorts will find ... that it has made a basic miscalculation.
Salmans comments, while apparently directed at India, also seemed aimed at reassuring the public the military was capable of defending the country.
Accusations that Pakistans intelligence agency colludes with al-Qaeda are false and cannot be substantiated, Salman said.
Its easy to say that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or elements within the government were in cahoots with the Qaeda, he said.
This is a false hypothesis. This is a false charge. It cannot be validated on any account and it flies in the face of what Pakistanis and in particular the Inter-Services Intelligence has been able to accomplish.
There is some scepticism that the Americans could have carried out the operation without running the risk of being shot down if Pakistans military or intelligence chiefs had no advance warning.
Salman said two Pakistani F-16 fighter jets were scrambled within 30 to 35 minutes after spotting unusual activity, US helicopters, in its airspace. He also launched a vigorous defence of Pakistani-US relations and said media reports of troubled ties and poor intelligence cooperation were wrong.
I think the notion that Pakistan-US relations have nose-dived, this is not quite our understanding. Pakistan considers its relations with the United States as of high importance and significance, he said.
We are prepared to do more together to change the picture in this part of the world and perhaps globally, he added.
We do not owe any apology to anyone on anything, he later said.
Salman said Pakistan has adequate capacity to uphold its honour, defend its sovereignty and safeguard its security.
He said Pakistan military and political leadership are well equipped and mindful of the defence requirements of the country. No Pakistani should feel demoralised in this regard.
There is no reason for any Pakistan to feel demoralised. We are proud of our defence capabilities, our armed forces and our track record on counterterrorism, the Foreign Secretary said.
He said that the action which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden was a covert operation and Pakistan armed forces were not consulted. He said the US helicopters reached the scene evading Pakistani radars and our authorities came to know of the incident when a copter crashed. Relevant units reached the site within fifteen minutes, the Pakistan Air Force was alerted and two F-16s were air-borne.
American CENTCOM Chief Admiral Mike Mullen telephoned Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at about three in the night and informed him about the operation. The Foreign Secretary said even Americans were mindful of the sovereignty issue and Admiral Mullen, among other things, also raised this issue during conversation.
Salman Bashir said American action in Abbotabad involved legal issues concerning violation of sovereignty and these should be addressed for the sake of global peace and stability. He pointed out that even presidential statement of the UN Security Council has emphasised that member states must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law and in particular human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
The Foreign Secretary also pointed out that the compound where Osama bin Ladin was killed is about four kilometre from PMA, Kakul, but we should be mindful of the fact that it is a training academy and doesnt have the kind of defence that we have for our other military and strategic assets, especially aerial and ground defence.
About remarks of CIA Chief that Pakistans ISI was either guilty of complicity or incompetent, the Foreign Secretary said such statements continue to surface and resurface and are aimed at pressurising Pakistan.
He said the United States intensively bombed Tora Bora mountains against advice of Pakistan and this flawed military strategy enabled al-Qaeda elements to disperse in different directions. It was at that time that Pakistani armed forces moved into Terah Valley and picked up 248 of fleeing al-Qaeda operatives. Since then all the major catches were made either by the ISI on its own or in joint operation with the CIA, and these included Khalid Sheikh, Abu Faraj Libbi, Rumzi, Abu Zubaida, Khalfan, Abu Hamza Rabia and so called Bali bomber, all arrested from different cities and places of the country.
About incompetence, he said this aspect is being looked into. However, he said if it was an intelligence failure then, as pointed out by Prime Minister Gilani, it was global intelligence failure. After all there was no information within the US system about those who were ultimately responsible for 9/11, and the US Government and the CIA failed to prevent them. He said this is not time for anybody to indulge in luxury of passing value judgements. The ISI has done a commendable work and has a brilliant track record of combating terrorism and al-Qaeda.
The Foreign Secretary said there are red lines in Pakistans cooperation with the United States and other members of the international community and these should be observed.
He said it was absolutely wrong to speculate that elements within the ISI or the Government were providing cover to Osama. He said the United States itself has acknowledged that some of the leads that ultimately led to identification of the Abbotabad compound resulted from the information shared between the ISI and the CIA.
To a question, Salman Bashir said family members of Osama bin Laden and others found in the compound were with Pakistan but he declined to provide details. He said in the spirit of cooperation, Pakistan would look into all aspects and hoped that more information will surface as to how long Osama lived in the compound, who was with him and what local support he had.
He said the US acknowledges Pakistans cooperation and there is strategic convergence between the two countries.
Pakistan dares India to breach border | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online
