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China to send large trade delegation for Expo Pakistan-2009
March 18, 2009

BEIJING: China has assured sending a large delegation of private entrepreneurs to participate in the upcoming Expo Pakistan-2009.

The assurance was given to Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan when he held meeting with Wang Jinzhen, Vice-Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) here.

The Expo Pakistan-2009 is being organized by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) from 23-25 October in Karachi.

It was also agreed that to hold single country exhibition in each other country, Khan told APP on Wednesday.

Ambassador Khan reciprocating the remarks from Wang said that “China’s success is our successâ€

PAF goes nuclear
March 18, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed on Tuesday said that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had been made nuclear for giving it the status of a real deterrent force.

He expressed these views while talking to the media after launching of a book, titled “A new dawn of PAFâ€

PAF capable of ensuring country’s strong defence - Prime Minister
March 19, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan Air Force has always played an important role in the defence of the country in addition to providing vital support to civil administration in relief and rehabilitation efforts during natural calamities. The Prime Minister was talking to newly appointed Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman who called on him at PM House this morning.

The Prime Minister expressed the confidence that under the new Air Chief’s able leadership, Pakistan Air Force would continue to achieve professional excellence.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman thanked the government for reposing confidence in his abilities.

- Associated Press Of Pakistan

U.S. may boost development, military aid to Pakistan
March 20, 2009

By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration may triple development aid to Pakistan while also boosting military assistance to secure more help in fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition that he not be named because President Barack Obama has yet to unveil his fresh strategy on Afghanistan, said non-military assistance could rise to three times the current roughly $450 million a year.

Military aid, now running at $300 million a year, could also rise, although by a lesser amount, the official added, saying that conditions could be attached to the defense funds but not to the development money.

The steps aim to win greater Pakistani cooperation to address what is seen as a major weakness of the current U.S. approach in Afghanistan: the existence of safe havens in Pakistan from which insurgents launch attacks in Afghanistan.

The fighting in Afghanistan is now at its most intense since a U.S. invasion seven years ago toppled the Taliban government that sheltered the al Qaeda group behind the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Obama made shifting resources to the war in Afghanistan a feature of his presidential campaign and he has ordered the deployment of 17,000 additional U.S. troops to the country on top of the 38,000 already serving there.

If it boosts development aid to Pakistan, the White House would embrace an approach laid out by Vice President Joe Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and by the panel's senior Republican, Senator Richard Lugar.

"YOU DON'T JUST LOVE THEM FOR THEIR TERRORISTS"

Legislation backed by the two, and by the panel's new chairman, Democratic Senator John Kerry, called for giving an extra $1.5 billion a year in non-military aid to Pakistan over five years, amounting to a total of $7.5 billion.

"The basic approach to Pakistan is the one that comes out of the ... legislation, and that is that the first thing that you have got to do with Pakistan is convince Pakistanis that you are there with them for the long term and that you don't just love them for their terrorists," said the official.

"The approach in the legislation was to increase the non-military assistance dramatically to help build a more stable modern Pakistani society and government and then provide military assistance that helps them fight terrorism," he said.

He said the military aid was likely to come with conditions to ensure it would be used against insurgents, but said this was "very complicated because you don't want to end up cutting off your nose to spite your face."

"You might call it a bargain, rather than conditions: If you are committed to transforming your army into a capable counter-insurgency force, these are the kind of things we can do for you," the official said, saying assistance could include helicopters or night vision goggles.

Britain's ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, said Washington could help Islamabad "bear down on the rise in extremism" in Pakistan by providing more aid.

"If there is a more broadly based program of assistance from this country to Pakistan, focusing on the building up of infrastructure and on economic development as well as on military assistance, I think that will help," he told Reuters.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan has a long history of political instability and has spent more than half its 61-year existence under military rule.

The year-old civilian government defused its latest crisis on Monday when it agreed to restore Pakistan's top judge, ending a confrontation between the country's two biggest political parties that looked set to spark street violence.

U.S. policymakers fear Pakistan's political turmoil could distract the country from fighting insurgents on its territory, further worsening the situation in Afghanistan.

"I feel like the real war on terror is not in Iraq, and it's not in Afghanistan," said David Kilcullen, an expert on guerrilla warfare and the author of "The Accidental Guerrilla," a study of counter-insurgency. "It's in Pakistan."

"The real conceptual issue, the real strategic decision that has to be made is: what the hell are we going to do about Pakistan? How are we going to support them? How are we going to stabilize them?" he said.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/joeBiden ... 2G20090321

PAF personnel awarded on Pakistan Day
March 22, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has awarded under mentioned PAF Officers with Non-Operational Military Awards on the auspicious occasion of “Pakistan Dayâ€

Change of guard ceremony held on Mazar-e-Iqbal
March 23, 2009

LAHORE: A change of guard ceremony was held here at the Mazar-e-Iqbal to mark the celebrations of Pakistan Day March 23.

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Vice Marshal Ateeq Rafiq was the chef guest of ceremony while PAF guards have been replaced by the soldiers of rangers.

PAF’s Air vice marshal Ateeq laid floral wreath on the grave of Iqbal and offered prays for the departed soul.

The change of guard ceremony was a routine affair. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a great poet-philosopher and active political leader, was born at Sialkot, Punjab, in 1877. He was descended from a family of Kashmiri Brahmins, who had embraced Islam about 300 years earlier. He died in 1938.

Pakistan marketing its new JF-17 fighter jet, developed with China
March 25, 2009

LONDON: Pakistan is making the rounds of Arab allies talking about its new fighter-jet.

Officials said Pakistan has briefed such countries as Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan on the new fighter, jointly developed with China.

Under an agreement with Beijing, a majority of the JF-17 could be produced and assembled in Pakistan.

"The airplane would reach close to the capabilities of existing U.S. and Russian aircraft, but for about half the price," an official said.

Pakistani Defense Secretary Shahid Siddiq said eight countries have expressed interest in JF-17. So far, no export sales have been announced.

In March 2009, Pakistan signed a contract for 42 JF-17s for the air force. The contract with China's state-owned CATIC, called for coproduction of the aircraft, with the expectation that 15 would be manufactured in the first year of the project by the state-owned Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

Pakistan has sought to become a significant military supplier to Gulf Cooperation Council and Middle East states. So far, Pakistan's leading military clients have been Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

The JF-17 program was launched in 1998 and the design was completed three years later. So far, eight prototypes have been sent to Pakistan for trials.

‘Operational preparedness of PAF top priority’

* Air chief says PAF’s strategy averted an imminent war after Mumbai attacks

SARGODHA: The top most priority will remain operational preparedness of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said, addressing airmen at the PAF base at Mushaf.

On his inaugural visit to the base, the new air chief was presented with a guard of honour. He will visit various PAF bases and unfold his vision for the air force to meet challenges of the 21st century.

Suleman said, "The cardinal points of my vision are integrity, professional excellence and teamwork. The air force is passing through a transit phase. We will be handling and operating old and new weapon systems of various capabilities, you are required to maintain these assets for their optimum performance. These systems will require knowledge-based training, thus my focus will be on modern training techniques and on flight safety. All measures and quality assurance procedures must be adopted for preserving these assets.â€

Air Marshal Hifazat Khan appointed VCOAS

ISLAMABAD: Air Marshal Hifazat Ullah Khan was appointed the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCOAS), according to an official announcement on Saturday. Hifazat was commissioned in General Duties (Pilot) Branch of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on October 26, 1974. He has served as a fighter pilot in various squadrons of the PAF. He has qualified Flying Instructors' Course, Combat Commanders' Course, PAF Air War Course and French War Course. He has also commanded a fighter squadron, a fighter wing, an operational PAF base and a regional air command. In his last assignment, he was serving as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel) at the PAF Air Headquarters in Islamabad. He has also served as air attaché in Saudi Arabia. He holds a master’s degree in war studies. He has also been awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military). staff report

India-Pak war after 26/11 seemed close: PAF Chief
March 29, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan had put its air force on high alert and planned "offensive operations" against India if it launched military strikes on its territory after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November, a top military officer has said.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, new chief of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), says the possibility of India launching surgical strikes was "about to cross the threshold".

"When the surgical strike threat was about to cross the threshold, I devised an air strategy plan and unfolded it to Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed (who was PAF chief then) and within four-five hours, the whole PAF was on red alert status and present everywhere to defend and launch offensive operations," a statement issued by PAF quoted Suleman as saying.

Suleman claimed the PAF "played a vital role in averting an imminent war" after the Mumbai attacks. The press statement says Suleman said this while visiting Sargodha airbase in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Suleman told pilots to maintain the highest level of standards for various aspects of air operations. He said the top-most priority of his vision for the force "will remain operational preparedness of the PAF".

"Today, the PAF is passing through a transit phase. We will be handling and operating old and new weapon systems of various capabilities (and) you are required to maintain these assets for their optimum performance," he said.