Petraeus would helm an increasingly militarized CIA

Gen. David H. Petraeus has served as commander in two wars launched by the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 

If confirmed as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Petraeus would effectively take command of a third — in Pakistan.

Petraeus’s nomination comes at a time when the CIA functions, more than ever in its history, as an extension of the nation’s lethal military force. CIA teams operate alongside U.S. special operations forces in conflict zones from Afghanistan to Yemen. The agency has also built up a substantial paramilitary capability of its own. But perhaps most significantly, the agency is in the midst of what amounts to a sustained bombing campaign over Pakistan using unmanned Predator and Reaper drones.

Since Obama took office there have been at least 192 drone missile strikes, killing as many as 1,890 militants, suspected terrorists and civilians. Petraeus is seen as a staunch supporter of the drone campaign, even though it has so far failed to eliminate the al-Qaeda threat or turn the tide of the Afghan war. More >>>

Drug money continues to fund Taliban operations

Defence analyst Maria Sultan claimed on last night’s Express 24/7show Witness with Quatrina Hosain that the US was contributing to the Taliban in part by allowing the poppy trade to flourish.

Quatrina Hosain hosted former ambassador Asif Ezdi, Editor of Blue Chip magazine Humayun Gohar and Director of South Asian Strategic Stability Institute Maria Sultan in the program to talk about the Pakistan-America relationship and the recent Wikileaks cables.

The cables released over the weekend reveal that the US had the ISI listed as a terrorist organisation.

Sultan questioned the US approach towards controlling the booming poppy cultivation in Afghanistan which was undoubtedly one source for the Taliban to fund its continued operations on both sides of the Durand line. Furthermore there was a ready supply of weapons and other supplies available from raiding NATO supply lines. More >>>

Any discriminatory waiver can push the region into a nuclear arms race.

Islamabad March 22, 2011

Dr. Javed Laghari, chairman of the Higher Education Commission and patron-in-charge of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute, said that any discriminatory waiver would only increase the asymmetry of fissile material stockpiles in South Asia, which not only goes against Pakistan’s security interest but could very easily push the region into a nuclear arms race which is neither desirable nor helpful. 
He was inaugurating the three-day International Conference 2011 on ‘Fissile Material Treaty (FMT): Possibility and Prospects’ organised by the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) here on Sunday night. Maria Sultan, director-general of SASSI, conducted the proceedings.

Dr. Laghari hoped that the conference would justify the need for consensus to start negotiations on FMT, which were central to international non-proliferation and arms disarmament measures and keeping the effectiveness of the Conference of Disarmament (CD) as the custodian of the multilateralism in international arms control negotiations. He said that the CD at this moment was facing a deadlock. He lamented that a new trend of selectivity based on commercial interests was developing which would increase the possibility of proliferation without the fear of costs.

IAEA applauds PNRA for efforts made nuclear safety, security

IAEA applauds PNRA for efforts made nuclear safety, security 

ISLAMABAD, Apr 23 (APP): Pakistan is a significant contributor to the Nuclear Security Fund, which is clear manifestation of a strong leadership, national commitment and a serious approach to nuclear security, exhibited through implementation of the Nuclear Action Plan for Pakistan.Deputy Director General and head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),Denis Flory said this while addressing the three day International Seminar on “Nuclear Safety and Security Challenges of the 21st Century”, 21 to 23 April, 2011, arranged by Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) and IAEA.  More >>>

South Asia’s many crises

SOUTH Asia experienced two crises with the advent of covert nuclear weapon capabilities and three more after India and Pakistan carried out underground tests of nuclear weapon designs. 

The first nuclear-tinged crisis in South Asia, sparked by Operation Brasstacks in 1986-87, was initiated by decisions made in India. The four crises that followed can all be traced to decisions made in Pakistan: in 1990 over Kashmir; in 1999, when Northern Light Infantry troops occupied the heights across the Kashmir divide, sparking a limited war; in 2001-2002, during the ‘Twin Peaks’ crisis initiated by an attack by militants based in Pakistan on India’s parliament building; and in 2008, when Pakistani-based militants struck iconic targets in Mumbai. More >>>

The Deal Undone: Pakistan, its Army and the Americans

Threat of Extremism & Terrorist Syndicate beyond FATA

The extremism in FATA has been shaped by historical events of the recent and distant past. 

In the aftermath of 9/11, it facilitated in the formation of transnational terrorist syndicate, which has severe internal and external repercussions for Pakistan’s national interest. The law enforcement agencies have been failing to combat the menace of terrorism effectively due to local and foreign Taliban; Al Qaeda, the Islamic Jihad Union, etc, radicalized recruits popular, political and physical sanctuaries in FATA. This necessitates that Islamabad ought to revise its counterterrorism strategy according to the demands of the asymmetrical warfare. More >>>