"Random Campus Humour"
From the Blog Occasional Diary: "Random Campus Humour" - “Random Campus Humour” . Read Full Post
Capital suggestion
From the Blog PkColumnist.com: Capital suggestion - On December 16 1971, Pakistan lost 143,998 square kilometres (land and water) of her area. Pakistan's National Security Doctrine (NSD), a country's strategy to survive as a nation-state, was never to be the same again. In Multan, on January 20 1972, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid the foundation of Project-706, Pakistan's equivalent of America's Manhattan Project that produced the first atomic bombs. President Bhutto authorised project costs of US $450 million and by 1985 Pakistan had crossed the 'threshold of weapons-grade uranium production'. Within two years of crossing the threshold Pakistan had acquired the ability to test a nuclear device. On May 28 1998, Pakistan conducted a total of five nuclear tests with the largest reported yield of 25-36 kT. In 2009, Pakistan's peak stockpile was estimated to be 70-90 warheads with a maximum missile range of 2,500 km. Pakistan has to survive as a nation-state and Pakistan's NSD must therefore cater to at least two potential threats. First threat (rated high): a 2,912 km border on the east with the massing up of the Indian army's Corps XV, IX, XVI, X, XI, II and I plus the 3rd Armoured Division, 4th Rapid Division and 2nd Armoured Brigade plus air force stations at Jaisalmer, Utarlai and Bhuj. Second threat (rated low): a 2,430 km border on the west. Since 1998, Pakistan has had a tri-podal National Security Doctrine. First leg: Corps I, II, IV, X, XXX and XXXI headquartered in Managla, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur, respectively. Second leg: Non-state actors plus FATA as a buffer-zone plus projection of power into Afghanistan. Third leg: Nuclear deterrent. Pakistan's tri-podal NSD has successfully catered to threats both in the east as well as the west. Then came September 11. Pakistan's NSD has since been turned upside-down. NATO-ISAF has amassed 150,000 troops just west of us (Soviet troops in the area peaked at 120,000) plus India has penetrated Afghanistan just to encircle Pakistan plus some of the non-state actors that Pakistan thought were part of her NSD have now turned against the Pakistani state itself. Pakistan's NSD, with very little input from civilian governments, is now in a state of disarray with little or no consensus on how to counter terrorism. Pakistan's civil society – particularly the political parties and the media – also lacks the required consensus. And consensus, to be sure, is the principal prerequisite to a successful counter-terrorism drive. The PPP finds fighting terrorism in its political interest while the PML-N does not. The PPP has rightly identified primary drivers behind terrorism as being indigenous while the other continues to be in a state of total denial. Then came the floods. With Pakistan's political class making itself completely irrelevant, the Pakistani army was left to fight terrorism plus provide flood relief. With a $9.7 billion flood-tag plus a budget in high deficit, the Pakistani army largely depends on American aid for flood relief. But, American aid – any foreign aid for that matter – comes with strings attached. With an absolute lack of consensus within the Pakistani state and society on how to counter terrorism the bloodbath continues. Furthermore, a strike in the West traced back to Pakistan will have serious repercussions for us. . Read Full Post
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