Pakistan Defense News

ISLAMABAD: ISAF Commander General John Allen is likely to arrive in Pakistan today (Thursday) to have an important meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said an ISPR statement. “He will call on the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The meeting will focus on reviewing the progress made in the implementation of the recently evolved border coordination measures and standing operating procedures,” ISPR officials said. Sources said that the frequent raids by militants from Afghanistan’s side against Pakistani areas and security forces would also be discussed in the meeting between the two top military leaders. staff report Gen Allen likely to meet COAS today

* Key Taliban commander killed by brother-in-law in Khyber Agency PESHAWAR: At least eight soldiers were killed in clashes after the Taliban attacked a checkpost in South Waziristan on Wednesday, officials said. Dozens of terrorists, armed with rockets and grenades, stormed the checkpost in Surang Baba Ziarat village, around 30 kilometres north of Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, a senior security official in Peshawar told AFP. The attack came during a military operation against terrorist hideouts which netted a huge cache of arms and ammunition, the official said. Eight soldiers were killed and six injured in the checkpost attack, the official said, while 18 terrorists died during three hours of fighting. A second security official confirmed the military death toll. The area is cut off to journalists and aid workers and it was not possible to confirm the death toll independently. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed in a telephone call that the...

ATTOCK: Nine militants were killed after security forces completed the operation against the attackers of the Kamra Airbase early Thursday morning. Militants stormed into runway area of the PAF Base Minhas at around 2:00 AM from the direction of nearby village Pind Salman Makhan. The militants, disguised in security forces’ uniforms launched an armed attack which was followed by a furious gun-battle between the security forces and assailants. The militants used hand grenades and rockets during the attack due to which one aircraft was badly damaged. However security officials were successful keeping the militants away from the hanger and all other aircraft remained secure during the attack. One security official was martyred during the attack, while Base Commander Air Commodore Mohammad Azam who oversaw and took part in the operation was injured. Meanwhile Air Force spokesman Tariq Mahmood confirmed that troops had secured the airbase approximately eight hours after the attack. ...

KABUL: Authorities in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that one of their border posts came under a shelling attack from Pakistan, prompting Afghans to return fire in a clash that lasted for more than two hours. The incident, which reportedly caused no casualties, comes amid growing border tension between the neighbours, with Kabul alleging that Pakistani security forces have fired hundreds of rounds into Afghanistan in recent months. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment but Islamabad has rejected similar allegations in recent past, saying Pakistani troops only respond to attacks from terrorists. Afghanistan and Pakistan typically blame each other for violence by the Taliban plaguing both sides of their border, known as the Durand Line. Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said Afghan border police and Pakistani security forces traded artillery fire in eastern Kunar province's Dangam district on the frontline between the two countries, but there were no casualt...

* Senior official says without protecting porous border, militants will escape into Afghanistan * Claims Americans have ‘never been encouraging on this point’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has told Washington that US forces must seal the Afghan border in the event of any offensive against the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan, an official said on Saturday. The Haqqanis, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan and whose leaders are understood to be based in the Pakistani tribal district, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington. "The Americans have been repeatedly told that they will have to seal off the border on the Afghan side whenever an operation is launched in North Waziristan," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. Without protecting the porous, mountainous border, militants would simply escape into Afghanistan, where Pakistan has no writ, the official explained. He claimed that Americans have "never been enc...

* Official says coordinated actions on Pakistan-Afghanistan border should not be mistaken for ‘joint operations’ RAWALPINDI/LAHORE: A military official on Tuesday rejected a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about a Pakistan-US agreement for a joint operation in North Waziristan. Coordinated actions on respective sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, being part of routine, should not be mistaken for "joint operations", the official said. He further stated that targeted action in operation "Tight Screw" by Pakistan Army against terrorists in the North Waziristan was an ongoing process. This was being undertaken for some months now to squeeze terrorists and there was no new operation as claimed in the report, he added. When, where and how to carry out operations within our territory is up to Pakistan alone to decide, the official concluded. The WSJ had reported that “the US and Pakistani officials are considering joint counterterrorism campaigns in Afghanistan an...

PESHAWAR: A small training aircraft of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) crashed in Trangzai area of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Monday, PAF officials said. The Mushak aircraft was partially damaged while making the emergency landing, however, the trainee pilot and instructors remained safe, the PAF officials added. The air force’s spokesman in a statement said that the aircraft made emergency landing due to some technical fault and both the pilots remained safe. Police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. online PAF training plane makes emergency landing

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) on Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt during a special investiture ceremony held at the Presidency. The citation read on the occasion said that the award was being conferred in recognition of the air chief’s long meritorious services. Butt has also been decorated with Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-i-Basalat for his meritorious and dedicated services. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Defence Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, National Regulations and Services Minister Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan, Secretary General M Salman Faruqui, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, federal secretaries, officers of Pakistan Air Force and a few other dignitaries were present on the occasion. app President confers Nishan-e-Imtia...

RAWALPINDI: Field General Court Marshal (FGCM) proceedings against Brigadier Ali Khan, Major Inayat Aziz, Major Iftikhar, Major Sohail Akbar and Major Jawad Baseer have been completed. According to ISPR, all four accused have been convicted besides other, of the charges for having links with a proscribed organization. The FGCM have awarded a sentence of 5 years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to Brigadier Ali Khan, Major Sohail Akbar has been handed down 3 years RI while Major Jawad Baseer sentenced to 2 years RI, whereas Major Inayat Aziz and Major Iftikhar have been awarded 1 year 6 months RI each. Convicts have the right to an appeal against conviction before the Army court of appeals as provided in the Pakistan Army Act. Brigadier Ali, four others sentenced

WASHINGTON: The US and Pakistani intelligence chiefs held "productive" talks Thursday on ways to work together to fight extremists, a US official said, in a new sign of easing tensions between the countries. Islam met Thursday with Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus and held "substantive, professional and productive" talks, a senior US official said on condition of anonymity. "The talks provided an opportunity to discuss a number of proposals for how we can enhance our joint efforts against terrorism," the official said. "Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together to counter the terrorist presence in the region that threatens both US and Pakistani national security," he said. The official did not go into further detail. The United States has been looking for ways to cooperate with the ISI, whose relationship with US spies has swung from friendly to hostile in recent years. The remarks echo those of the US com...

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has received $7.9 billion worth of military equipment from the US since 2001, but the low ebb in bilateral ties in recent months has slowed down the pace of American arms sales to Pakistan, a latest Congressional report has said. In its report, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), an independent research wing of the US Congress, informed US lawmakers that major arms sales and grants to Pakistan since 2001 have included items useful for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, along with a number of big ticket platforms more suited to conventional warfare. “In dollar value terms, the bulk of purchases have been made with Pakistani national funds, but US grants have eclipsed these in recent years,” said the CRS. The Pentagon reports total Foreign Military Sales agreements with Pakistan worth about $5.4 billion for fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2010 (in-process sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for about half of this). In...