The international community, including India, must offer the Pakistan government all the help and encouragement that it needs to fight and root out the menace of radical extremism, or else the terrorists will spread their tentacles far and wide -- including, eventually, into India.
Gen Rawat will be able to serve as CDS for a period of up to three years after the government amended the rules extending the age of retirement to 65 years.
Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor on Monday said that India would give a befitting reply to the Taliban if they indulge in sabotage in the country. "I would just like to say that what the Taliban has done in Pakistan is their internal issue. As far as we are concerned, we don't have any doubt that if the Taliban indulges in sabotage in our country, we will give them a befitting reply," said General Kapoor.
This will be the first instance since Independence that two of the three service chiefs will be the government's chosen men.
The army chief's visit comes a week after protests against alleged molestation of a girl by a soldier in Handwara and subsequent firing by security forces that left three persons dead.
In a startling revelation, an Army intelligence report had recently claimed that Jammu and Kashmir was facing a clear threat from groups of Kashmiri youths, who have been trained by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir to carry out terror activities on Indian soil.
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
General Qamar Bajwa, his colleagues say, is a firm opponent of extremism and terrorism. He may prove even more forceful in the fight against terrorism than his predecessor, who is credited with launching Operation Zarb-i-Azb, which helped lower the frequency of terrorist attacks.
'A brief statement was made by the Army on the sensitive issue. But no questions were taken,' a member said.
There were rumours of the army going for a coup, but for now it does not appear to be so. But the conditions for a civil war exist. If the Maoists decide to take to the streets to counter the rallies and demonstrations of the opposition parties there will be violence. If violence escalates, the army could intervene.
'While in the past elements within the Pakistani security establishment viewed Afghanistan as an essential part of its strategic depth vis-a-vis India, the rapprochement between New Delhi and Islamabad in recent years has made such a policy obsolete.'
General Bajwa and the outgoing DG, ISI Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, had a long meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Discussions were held on India's response to the Uri attack, in which New Delhi has held Islamabad responsible.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar gave this information to the Parliamentary Committee on Exernal Affairs.
China believes that issues must be resolved politically and the two countries must move forward step by step to develop mutual understanding and trust.
The question of whether General Musharraf will remain army chief for another five years or take off his uniform then will have to be settled by the new parliament in 2008 as happened in 2003.
President Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, the state run PTV reported on Saturday evening. He issued the provisional constitutional ordinance in his capacity as the chief of the army staff. Immediately after the announcement, army troops entered the Supreme Court building in Islamabad. Reports said that, Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry is likely to be removed from his post. Reports also suggested that Chaudhry has been detained.
Kiyani is a non-controversial officer, who had in the past not come to notice for any dubious association with the Taliban or Al Qaeda or any of Pakistan's fundamentalist organisations.
General Naravane's UAE and Saudi Arabia visits communicate India's long awaited arrival in the domain of integrated foreign policy where the diplomatic and the military domains both complement each other much more substantially, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Gen Kiyani has already withdrawn regular army troops from South Waziristan as demanded by Baitullah and has lifted the economic blocade imposed against the Mehsuds.
China is now the most significant strategic concern in Washington, as in most of the world's capitals, especially the democracies. Today, strategic autonomy has acquired a sharper definition: To ward off the Chinese challenge to India's territorial integrity, sovereignty and regional stature, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Army sources have confirmed the deaths of three jawans during their two-month long exercise.
'For the moment in Eastern Ladakh, it is unlikely there will be any more escalation of this conflict,' observes Colonel S Dinny (retd) who served as Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion deployed in the Pangong Tso area.
The conversion facilitated range enhancement and improvement in Pinaka's accuracy.
"These elements profess no ideology or respect for civil norms and no quarter should be shown to them as they represent the face of gun-and-violence culture," it says.
The defence ministry on Monday decided to go ahead with the process of appointing the next army chief as it recommended the name of Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag for the top post.
Inclement weather on Thursday forced Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag to cancel their scheduled visit to Drass for paying homage to the martyrs of the 1999 Kargil war.
Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor on Friday said an upsurge in terrorist violence was a matter of concern and wanted nations and governments to come together to fight the menace.
The army chief said Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI was active in the region. He said ISI may be involved in the recent bomb blasts in Guwahati and other places of Assam.
The experts said adequate care must be taken before implementing what is being touted as a "game-changer".
Increased duration of leave for personnel working in "difficult areas" was one of the measures.
Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor on Thursday said that Haryana was a badly affected state as far as female foeticide was concerned."The sex ratio has slightly increased in the state recently. However, it is still adverse and more efforts are needed to improve the sex ratio," he said.There could not be stability in a society that did not have a balanced sex ratio, he added.The General was addressing the NCC cadets of Haryana.
From ice-capped Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, to the warships off South Korea, Indian armed forces on Tuesday joined the International Yoga Day celebrations.
The Defence Ministry on Wednesday announced a major reshuffle in the top echelons of the force, naming Lieutenant General Milan Lalitkumar Naidu as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
Cricket legend-turned politician Imran Khan on Friday said that Pakistan is doomed for the next five years of dictatorship if President Pervez Musharraf comes back to power after the election slated for February 18.
He will replace the present incumbent General Joginder Jaswant Singh, who retires on September 30.
'There is a clear plan being followed by the Indian government.' With these attacks, we are trying to dispel the myth that the Pakistani army can cause problems.'
'They know that India is no pushover.' 'We have to be extremely vigilant, remain ready and keep strengthening our positions.' 'We have to be militarily strong, whatever be the cost.'
"Each violation of any kind must be responded to with full force in the most effective manner," he said during a visit to the 10 Corps Rawalpindi and troops at forward locations along the Line of Control.
Will Kiyani be able to deliver, if not bin Laden and Zawahiri, at least others such as Mulla Mohammad Omar, the amir of the neo Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, who is the de facto ruler of South Waziristan, and Maulana FM Radio Fazlullah, the de facto ruler of the Swat Valley?
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