The Pak-Lankan Relationship and India

[courageneverdies]

The Relationship between Pakistan and Srilanka on Military grounds basically started in 90's or roughly mid-80's. The basis was to eliminate the permanent threat being faced by Srilanka, the Tamil Tigers. India was known to support the Tamil Tigers for a long time but due to the entrance of Pakistani Military personnals into Srilanka against Tamil Tigers which was hosted and requested by Lankan authorities not only forced India to change their course of politics with Srilanka but also were forced to send military support to Srilanka in order to resist the increasing interaction between Pakistan and Srilanka.

This merely started in 2006 and as an outcome Srilanka was benefited by both expertese of Pakistan and India. Resulting in the defeat of Tamil Tigers.

In this thread the discussion regarding the subject is welcomed and your comments are required on it.

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

Under is the article which shows the increasing friendship threads between Pakistan and Srilanka and the anxiety of India. This article was published in 2006.

Pakistan's increased role against Tamil Tigers angers India: Both set for a proxy war in Sri Lanka?

Sat, 2006-08-26 03:08

By H. L. D. Mahindapala

Pakistan is playing an increased role in Sri Lanka's counter-insurgency operations against the Tamil Tigers -- and this new development is worrying India.

Indian intelligence sources claim that a group of Pakistani officers were drawing up plans jointly with the Sri Lankan Air Force for "a decapitation strike from the air, with bunker-buster bombs, to kill Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran."

This explains why the Tamil Tigers aimed to assassinate Col (retd) Bashir Wali Mohammed, the last High Commissioner (ambassador) to Sri Lanka, when he was on his way back to his residence in Colombo on August 14, 2006 The bomb planted in a trishaw killed four commandos escorting Mohammed who narrowly escaped the explosion. Col. Wali Mohammed is a former Director of the Pakistan Intelligence Bureau. He is the first diplomat to be targeted by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

Col. Mohammed was also reported to be working closely with the Muslims of the east who were being targeted ruthlessly by the Tamil Tigers. In the latest attack launched in Mutur the Tamil Tigers succeeded in ethnically cleansing the area by driving out the Muslims, accusing them of being anti-LTTE and pro-government.

Pakistani newspapers reported that the unseen hand of India was behind this attack.

Analysts are concerned that Eelam IV, which was postponed by Prabhakaran due to the unexpected tsunami that hit the eastern coast, would develop into a proxy war between India and Pakistan.

The Tamil Tigers are now whipping up the humanitarian issue as a sympathy card to drag India on to their side. India which has been dithering on this issue may not enter into it openly but could play its hand discreetly by supplying arms and ammunition as a counter-weight to Pakistan's open support to Sri Lanka.

India also views Col. Mohammed's successor Air Vice-Marshal Shehzad Azlam Chaudhry of the Pakistani Air Force suspiciously.

This new appointment is significant in the light of the Sri Lankan Air Force playing a critical role in attacking key Tamil Tiger targets. B. Raman, former additional secretary at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) - the Indian intelligence agency that trained, armed, financed and provided diplomatic cover to the Tamil Tigers – states in an article written on August 18, 2006: "About 12 to 15 members of the Pakistani Armed Forces, including four or five from the Pakistan Air Force, are stationed in Colombo to guide the Sri Lankan security forces in their counter-insurgency operations.

"The Pakistan Air Force officers have reportedly been guiding the SLAF officers in effectively carrying out air-mounted operations against the LTTE," he said.

He added: "Pakistan, which has already been playing a discreet role in assisting the Sri Lankan security forces in their operations against the LTTE even before Mr. [Mahinda] Rajapakse became the President, has further increased its involvement in the counter-insurgency operations" [since November 2005].

"Of all the three [Sri Lankan] services, the SLAF has the closest relations with its Pakistani counterpart," Raman says.

Technical personnel of the PAF play an important role in the repairs and maintenance of the aircraft and other equipment of the SLAF. Sri Lankan aircraft have been sent to Pakistan for overhauling.

"The posting of Air Vice-Marshal Shehzad Chaudhry, who had in the past handled air-mounted operations against the Baloch freedom-fighters, is expected to further step up the Pakistani involvement in [Sri Lanka's] use of air strikes to subdue the LTTE and intimidate the Tamil population," Mr. Raman says.

"While India cannot justifiably object to it, the increasing involvement of Pakistan in the counter-insurgency operations is a matter of serious concern from the point of view of India's national security," Mr. Raman says.

"The clandestine co-operation between the armed forces of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which has been there even in the past, picked up momentum after an unpublicised visit by Gen. Mohammed Aziz Khan, then Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, to Colombo in September 2003.

India had never objected in the past to the close military-military relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but Gen. Aziz Khan's secret visit upset Delhi, according to Raman.

Analysts conclude that India is concerned because Gen. Aziz Khan had been instrumental in Pakistan's clandestine operations to occupy the disputed territory in Kargil.

India destabilised Sri Lanka when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was allied to the Soviet Union. She opposed Sri Lanka moving closer to USA under J. R. Jayewardene. Will India do it once again because Sri Lanka is getting closer to its old enemy, Pakistan? Is all this going to take the Sri Lankan crisis to a new level? Above all, is South Asia about to burst into a huge conflagration with the two nuclear giants of the region testing their nerves and strengths in Sri Lanka?

Analysts believe that India will not make the same mistake twice of tying up with the Tamil Tigers, particularly with the Indian mood running against the Tigers who has admitted to the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. At the same time, if India feels threatened by Pakistan getting closer to Sri Lanka then there is a possibility of India using the Tigers to beat Pakistan in Sri Lanka.

"Looking at the new development from any angle there is no doubt that India has to take the blame for Sri Lanka's slide towards Pakistan," said a leading sociologist. "It is India's failure to take a firm stand against separatist terrorism in Sri Lanka that has opened the space for Pakistan to enter. India's interventions in the region -- from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka -- have been a disaster for India in particular and SAARC in general. If India decides to go with the Tamil Tigers the repercussions will be disastrous. India can afford to lose the support of the last remaining 4% Tamils in Sri Lanka. But it can't afford to lose the 80% Sinhalese who are there to stay unlike the Tamils prefer to run away from the raging violence," he added.

KIT, Over n Out.

 

[courageneverdies]

Talking of 2006, it is important to know that in the same year, March 2006, the President of Srilanka Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Pakistan.

Under is an article from www.colombopage.com which shows the objectives of his visit to Pakistan.

* Pakistan welcomes Sri Lanka President

Friday, March 31, 2006, 13:09 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka. Low rate crdit card loan for Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus Car


Mar 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in Islamabad today on a three-day visit. He was welcomed by the Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at the Chaklala Airbase in Rawalpindi with a red carpet treatment and a 21-gun salute.

President Rajapaksa is expected to meet the Pakistani leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf to discuss trade and defense matters. President Musharraf will host a banquet in honor of the Sri Lankan President. Official talks between the two countries will take place at the President House.

During his visit, President Rajapaksa will engage in discussions regarding tourism, education and cultural exchanges. He is expected to sign three agreements of cooperation.

Pakistan Prime Minister Aziz expressed confidence that Sri Lankan President’s visit would strengthen the Pakistan-Sri Lanka ties further in all fields.

This is Sri Lanka President’s first visit to Pakistan and second foreign trip since coming to power.

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And this is the post-visit article of the same source which clearly tells the strength of Pak-Lankan Relations.

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* Sri Lanka President's visit to Pakistan: Bilateral ties further strengthened with more agreements

This is President Rajapaksa’s second State visit since he assumed duties as President in November last year.

Apr 04, Colombo: During the three-day official visit of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Pakistan the Sri Lankan and the Pakistan governments had entered several important agreements to further strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.

A joint statement issued in view of the visit said “The two sides exchanged views on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues and reaffirmed their commitment to promotion of peace, stability, economic development and social progress and agreed to intensify cooperation and consultations on bilateral, regional and global issues by maintaining regular high level contacts.”“Pakistan reaffirmed its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and for the ongoing peace process in the country. The two sides agreed to make every effort to further strengthen their multifaceted and multi-sector cooperation in education, culture, commerce & trade, science & technology, defence and tourism for the common benefit of the two countries, based on the tradition of friendly relations which has always existed between them,” it said.

Sri Lanka has expressed their resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations for the preservation of shared values and principles and in the interest of peace and progress of their societies.

Sri Lanka has agreed to provide loan facilities of US$ 10 million to Pakistan for strengthening trade relations between the two countries. It was also agreed to make this loan facility available to the Pakistani business community to purchase Sri Lankan products.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen the SAARC and expressed satisfaction on the ratification of South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) by all member states. They shared the view that this development would augur well for the social and economic amelioration of the peoples in the region.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already concluded a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that covers Trade in Goods as well as Trade in Services.

During his visit Sri Lanka President held talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and several other senior politicians and also addressed a forum of Pakistan and Sri Lankan business leaders in Karachi. Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz accepted the invitation extended by President Rajapaksa to visit Sri Lanka. This is President Rajapaksa’s second State visit since he assumed duties as President in November last year.

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KIT, Over n Out.

 

[Casual Observer]

We keep hearing the unproven accusations that India is responsible for staunch support of the LTTE, though if you are a keen observer of the ground reality Pakistan in fact supported the LTTE through it's infancy.

 

[courageneverdies]

We keep hearing the unproven accusations that India is responsible for staunch support of the LTTE, though if you are a keen observer of the ground reality Pakistan in fact supported the LTTE through it's infancy.

The following article might be of some use for you.

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'Pak played key role in Lanka's victory over Tamil Tigers'


London Pakistani supplied Al-Khalid - the main battle tank, its fighter pilots flying air strike mission on LTTE bases and positioning of some of its highly trained army officers in Colombo played a key role in the Sri Lankan forces rout of Tamil Tigers, Pakistani media has claimed.

"It was the Pakistani defence cooperation with Sri Lanka as the largest suppliers of high-tech military equipment that played a major role in the ultimate defeat of the LTTE at the hands of the Sri Lankan army," The News daily quoted well placed sources in the Pakistani establishment as saying.

The newspaper said the defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had grown significantly in recent years as Islamabad, unlike New Delhi, had no problems supplying the state-of-the-art weaponry to Lankan army to accelerate its counter-insurgency operations against the LTTE which finally ended with the killing of Tiger chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

The report said that Sri Lankan army was running short of ammunition but tied up supplies of 60mm, 81mm, 120mm and 130mm mortars and 150,000 grenades every ten days during its crucial battle to overrun the Tigers' political capital Kilinochchi.

According to the report, Pakistan supplied weapons and ammunition worth USD 190 million for the past one year and the Colombo's shopping list supplied by its army chief Sarath Fonseka included 22 Al-Khalid main battle tanks and other high tech arms.

As part of the cooperation, Pakistan Air Force pilots had participated in several successful air strikes against several military bases of the LTTE in August 2008, the report said.

Islamabad had positioned a highly trained group of Pakistani armed officers in Colombo to guide the Sri Lankan security forces in their operations against the LTTE. This was quite contrary to the LTTE propaganda that India was helping the Sri Lankan Government.

It was exactly a year ago, in the first week of May 2008 that Sri Lankan Army Chief Fonseka visited Pakistan and held detailed talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chief of Army Staff General Asfaq Parvez Kayani to finalise arms purchase.

This meeting was followed by a dialogue between Pakistani Defence Secretary Lt Gen (R) Syed Athar Ali and his visiting Lankan counterpart Gotabhaya Rajapakse in Rawalpindi on January 19, 2009.

During the meeting, the two countries had agreed to enhance cooperation in military training, exercises and intelligence sharing regarding terrorism, the report said.

In fact, Fonseka has gone on record to say in an interview to an Indian TV channel that his country turned to China and Pakistan for military purchases only after New Delhi refused to supply weapons to it.

SOURCE: www.expressindia.com
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I do not say this, Express India says. These are ground realities. I would like to ask you something,

1. If Pakistan was helping Tamils (Which they have never), than why not India provided Srilanka with the required arms despite of the fact that in such case India would have been under direct threat?

2. It was 2008, when India turned a direct turn. They helped Srilankan government because they knew that if Pakistan helped Srilanka in the same way India would have a new threat towards their South-Eastern Border. They wanted to atleast secure one side of their border. What were they doing to help Srilanka before 2008, before Pakistan descided to fully cooperate with Srilanka? Was India sleeping? No, she was awaken and was supporting Tamil Tigers.

These are ground realities. You should not turn them now.

KIT, Over n Out.