NATO helicopters violate Pakistan's airspace

Air-borne troops from the US-led Nato forces intruded into the North Waziristan tribal region on Monday in pursuit of militants and took into custody five suspected militants from the Haqqani network.

The Haqqani network – the deadliest of all Taliban factions – has been blamed by the United States for most of the attacks against Nato troops in Afghanistan.

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The OBL episode: An open letter to Jon Stewart

Dear Jon Stewart,

I used to think of you as one of the good guys. It always seemed that you were a one-man rallying cry for peace and understanding in the US media. You had taken it upon yourself to stand up to the right-wing bigots in your midst when it came to the New York Islamic Cultural Centre, Guantanamo, the invasion of Iraq and countless other instances where US citizens and Governments have acted in a reckless and arrogant manner.

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Russia Snubs India

Indian and Russian soldiers during the Indra Joint exercise in Uttarakhand in 2010.

Russia has cancelled both its 'Indra' series of military exercises with India. Last month, a flotilla of five warships from the Indian navy's eastern fleet that went for joint naval exercises to Vladivostok in the Russian far-east, was turned back without any manoeuvres. The warships-which included the missile destroyers INS Delhi, INS Ranvir and INS Ranvijay-were warmly received by the Russian navy, but when asked about the exercises, they were told the Russians had no ships to spare. On a request from the Indian fleet, a face-saving 'table top exercise or a land-based simulation, was carried out.

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China ready to operate Pakistan’s Gwadar port

China has acceded to Pakistan’s request to take over operations at Gwadar port, while Islamabad also requested Beijing to build a naval base at the same port. Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani, however, expressed strong resentment over the deal and said his government was neither taken on board, nor does he agree with it.

“The Chinese government has acceded to Pakistan’s request to take over operations at Gwadar port as soon as the terms of agreement with the Singapore Port Authority (SPA) expire,” Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said after his visit to China with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

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Remembering Viet-Nam ((tag: Remembering Viet-Nam, Britain's former ambassador to Afghanistan, CIA, US commander, General David Petraeus, CIA chief's tactics as counter-productive, Vietnam war, killing Taliban commanders, special forces raids by Briti

--“Britain's former ambassador to Afghanistan has attacked the conduct of the war by the US commander, General David Petraeus, describing the future CIA chief's tactics as counter-productive and "profoundly wrong".----He has increased the violence, trebled the number of special forces raids by British, American, Dutch and Australian special forces going out killing Taliban commanders, and there has been a lot more rather regrettable boasting from the military about the body count," said Cowper-Coles. He added that the use of statistics was reminiscent of the Vietnam war. "It is profoundly wrong and it's not conducive to a stable political settlement."--- Of course it produces tactical success in cleansing insurgents out of particular areas, but it's essentially moving water around a puddle, and I think any general who boasts of the number of Pashtun insurgents he's killed should be ashamed of himself."

NY Times

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Lockheed says thwarted "tenacious" cyber attack

Lockheed Martin Corp, the U.S. government's top information technology provider, said on Saturday that it detected and thwarted "a significant and tenacious attack" on its information systems network one week ago.

"As a result of the swift and deliberate actions taken to protect the network and increase IT security, our systems remain secure," Jennifer Whitlow, a Lockheed spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. "No customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised."    

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Of Rehman Malik and Veena Malik ((ACT OF TERRORISM, NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM, NO RELATION OF VEENA MALIK, PAKISTANIS, STATEMENT AFTER BOMB BLAST, REHMAN MALIK, TOLERATES TERRORISM))

Who says we, the Pakistanis, are not consistent? We certainly are. Look at our national cricket team. It is consistently inconsistent. It never fails to surprise you.

Take Rehman Malik (no relation of Veena Malik, I hope – for her sake, of course). He consistently issues the same statement after each bomb blast: “We will not tolerate any act of terrorism”. Give the Interior Minister more than full marks, if you can, for his level of tolerance has reached dizzying heights. The awkward fact remains that he tolerates terrorism, not out of choice though.

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Pak-India Siachin talks from tomorrow

Two-day defence secretaries level talks between Pakistan and India on the outstanding issue of Siachin will begin in New Delhi from Monday, Geo News reported.

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Akhtar Ali will be leading the Pakistani delegation while the Indian side will be represented by Pradeep Kumar. 

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Schools in 12 more districts to get environment education

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD)aims to expand a programme to educate public school students about environmental issues to another 12 districts and 143 schools in the Punjab this year, officials said.

The programme, which began in 2006, is currently active in 126 schools, 18 each in Multan, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi and Lahore districts. It will be expanded to another 143 schools in Vehari, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal, Attock, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot and Jhelum by next year, said an EPD official. The department is also hoping to get a boost in its budget so it can introduce advanced environmental education in government colleges, the official added.

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Say no to drones: PTI sit-in a ‘success’ on second day

As on Saturday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) sit-in at Native Jetty Bridge was once again passionate yet peaceful on its second and concluding day on Sunday. Thousands of people flocked to the protest site in an orderly fashion to show their support.

And just as on the first day, supporters once again had to wait for PTI chief Imran Khan, who spoke later in the evening.

In the meantime, several important figures from the party as well as political leaders and celebrities addressed the gathering.

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