Pakistan believes that nuclear weapons are its "crown jewels" and a deterrent against India, a top US military official has said, even as he expressed deep concern over the safety of the nukes in the country. "These (nuclear weapons) are their crown jewels," Admiral Mike Mullen Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The Bharatiya Janata party on Saturday cautioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against India holding talks with Pakistan in the wake of a top United States Army Commander's statement that Inter-Services Intelligence was working in "close coordination" with terror groups.
Pakistan on Friday test fired nuclear-capable Hatf-7 cruise missile with a range of 700 km that can hit targets in India. The test of the "indigenously developed multi-tube" cruise missile system was successful, said a statement issued by the military. The Hatf-7 or Babur missile has stealth capabilities and can carry nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said. The test was witnessed by Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Khalid Shameem Wyne.
United States President Barack Obama on Thursday evaded a question about whether he would be willing to cut off all assistance to Pakistan in the wake of allegations by recently retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen that the Haqqani network is a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.
The United States has ruled out a military coup in Pakistan in the wake of the political chaos saying Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani is a staunch supporter of democracy and doesn't want to take over like his predecessor Pervez Musharraf did in 1999.
'At school, on August 15, the Indian flag was raised. There was no national anthem at that time and we sang Rise India Thy Millions Lead,' recalls military legend Major General Ian Cardozo (retd).
In an interview to CBS Face the Nation, Chairman of America's Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said Pakistan Army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is focused on both -- the threat from India and that from internal insurgency.
The meeting was conducted over a period of two days from February 24 to 25.
Pakistan and its leaders consider India as an existential threat to them not terrorism or Afghanistan, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said, noting that Islamabad needs to do more in the war against terrorism.
The abduction and the subsequent murder of noted Pakistani journalist, Syed Saleem Shahzad might have been approved by the Pakistan government, a top United States military leader said on Friday.
Manifesting the mindset of the Pakistan military and its intelligence arm, the Inter Services Intelligence, Retired General Ehsan Ul Haq, erstwhile chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee of Pakistan and former ISI director, has said that the Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue, now in limbo was 'a charade'.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, who was scheduled to travel to the US on May 22, had called off his visit, unnamed military officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels. Wynne contacted his US counterpart, Admiral Mike Mullen, and informed him that the visit could not go ahead under the prevailing circumstances, the military officials were quoted as saying
'With the extension issue settled clearly in his favour, Gen Bajwa would be free to fashion a more hardline policy against India. 'We could, therefore, expect a raising of the ante in Kashmir,' says Rana Banerji.
The 'double-dealing' of the U.S. and Pakistani army - all with the ambition of military dominance - has significantly aided various terrorist groups. After 26/11, there is no place to hide for the Mike Mullens and countless others who have been apologists for the Pakistan army and the state it controls.
The United States will not stop its drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, President Barack Obama's top military officer has said, according to a report.
While a section of Pakistani media has termed the visit of Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Pakistan as an effort to revive the complex relations between the two countries, the US official further put Pakistan into trouble when he blamed the latter's intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence for contacts with the Haqqani Network.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that Washington's leverage with Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network, which has been killing US soldiers and is responsible for the attack on the US embassy in Kabul, was limited.
In a bid to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan, United States on Monday rushed its top Army official to Islamabad, to hold discussions with the country's political leadership. US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen arrived in Islamabad today on an unscheduled visit, second after the November 26 terror strikes in Mumbai that killed more than 180 people. Mullen met Pakistani national security advisor Mehmood Ali Durrani shortly after his arrival.
The test, conducted at an undisclosed location, was witnessed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Shamim Hyder Wyyne.
Top US military commander has said that any links, if they exist, between Pakistan's military intelligence and militant outfits were "completely unacceptable".
Pakistan military has told a parliamentary committee that India is the only external threat to the country and the situation with regard to ties was volatile in the wake of the suspended Indo-Pak dialogue.
Senior general refuses to retire, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Ananlysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The retention of an essential nuclear capability is a "compulsion" for Pakistan because of the growing imbalance created by India's massive military build-up and "assertive posturing", a top Pakistani military commander has said.
While officials of the two allies offered few details on Wednesday about what was decided or even discussed at the meeting -- including any new strategies, tactics, weapons or troop deployment -- the star-studded list of participants and an extreme secrecy surrounding the talks, New York Times said the talks underscored how gravely the two nations regarded the growing militant threat.
The US-Pak military ties are going through a 'very difficult time,' a top Pentagon official has conceded, but Washington is nowhere close to severing its ties with its longstanding ally.
No prime minister in Pakistan's recent history has survived long in office after appointing an ISI chief who did not have the army chief's confidence. Imran may be no exception, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
Four-star General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is expected to succeed chairman Admiral Mike Mullen as the top military man in Pentagon next year, has admitted that the terrorist safe havens that exist in Pakistan are a major strategic vulnerability in achieving success in Afghanistan against the Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
South Asia is likely to remain unstable as long as the Kashmir issue remains unresolved and Pakistan must continue its efforts to find a "just" solution to it, a top Pakistani general has said.
An ISIS suicide bomber was responsible for the explosion outside the Kabul airport, Politico reported citing US officials.
Pakistan's new Army Chief has begun setting the stage to act against groups like LeT and JeM
A new bill passed by the Pakistani parliament may snatch the remote control of the country's nuclear bombs from President Asif Ali Zardari.
The defence ministry has amended rules to allow the Chief of Defence Staff to serve up to a maximum age limit of 65 years. The changes have been made in the services rules of the army, navy and the Indian Air Force for extension of retirement age of the Chief of Defence Staff to a maximum of 65 years if a service chief is appointed to the post.
United States special envoy Richard Holbrooke on Wednesday met National Security Adviser M K Narayanan in New Delhi. According to reports, the two discussed how India could help Washington's strategy aimed at ending terror threats emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan.Holbrooke, the special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was accompanied by Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.Holbrooke is also meeting Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, on Friday said that there can be no solution to the conflict in Afghanistan without Pakistan.
Holding that there was every possibility of recent US military aid to Pakistan being used against India, the government said on Monday that it would provide all assistance to the armed forces to protect every inch of its territory.
The United States on Friday said China's aggressive posturing over territorial claims in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions was a matter of concern that America shared with India.
Voicing concern over the misuse of United States' military aid by Pakistan, India on Friday asked America to set up a "monitoring mechanism" as a remedial measure, but got no clear assurance in this regard.
India conveyed its serious concerns over the US military aid to Pakistan being misused against it and asked America to establish a "monitoring mechanism" to ensure that this does not happen on Friday.
A media report about the US and Pakistan negotiating secret understandings on allowing American troops to provide security to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the event of a crisis are "absurd and plain mischievous", a top military official said here today.
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