View from the other side – An open letter to Gen Kayani

Pakistan Chief of Army Staff - General Ashfaq KiyaniThis article appeared in The News yesterday 14th April 2009, a letter from an Indian Colonel to Pakistans COAS General Kiyani, it raises some very valid questions but more importantly the mere fact that the Signal Corps of the Pakistan Army cannot locate the broadcast center of Mullah Umar’s weekly radio transmission, broadcasted on a fixed FM frequency at a well established time. The mere fact that the Pakistan Army allows this broadcast to occur may make us believe that the Pakistan Army has deliberately allowed this insurgency to prosper.

by Col (r) Harish Puri
Published in The News: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Dear Gen Kayani,

Sir, let me begin by recounting that old army quip that did the rounds in the immediate aftermath of World war II: To guarantee victory, an army should ideally have German generals, British officers, Indian soldiers, American equipment and Italian enemies.

A Pakistani soldier that I met in Iraq in 2004 lamented the fact that the Pakistani soldier in Kargil had been badly let down firstly by Nawaz Sharif and then by the Pakistani officers’ cadre. Pakistani soldiers led by Indian officers, , he believed, would be the most fearsome combination possible. Pakistani officers, he went on to say, were more into real estate, defence housing colonies and the like.

As I look at two photographs of surrender that lie before me, I can’t help recalling his words. The first is the celebrated event at Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971, which now adorns most Army messes in Delhi and Calcutta. The second, sir, is the video of a teenage girl being flogged by the Taliban in Swat — not far, I am sure, from one of your Army check posts.

The surrender by any Army is always a sad and humiliating event. Gen Niazi surrendered in Dhaka to a professional army that had outnumbered and outfought him. No Pakistani has been able to get over that humiliation, and 16th December is remembered as a black day by the Pakistani Army and the Pakistani state. But battles are won and lost – armies know this, and having learnt their lessons, they move on.

But much more sadly, the video of the teenager being flogged represents an even more abject surrender by the Pakistani Army. The surrender in 1971, though humiliating, was not disgraceful. This time around, sir, what happened on your watch was something no Army commander should have to live through. The girl could have been your own daughter, or mine.

I have always maintained that the Pakistani Army, like its Indian counterpart, is a thoroughly professional outfit. It has fought valiantly in the three wars against India, and also accredited itself well in its UN missions abroad. It is, therefore, by no means a pushover. The instance of an Infantry unit, led by a lieutenant colonel, meekly laying down arms before 20-odd militants should have been an aberration. But this capitulation in Swat, that too so soon after your own visit to the area, is an assault on the sensibilities of any soldier. What did you tell your soldiers? What great inspirational speech did you make that made your troops back off without a murmur? Sir, I have fought insurgency in Kashmir as well as the North-East, but despite the occasional losses suffered (as is bound to be the case in counter-insurgency operations), such total surrender is unthinkable.

I have been a signaller, and it beats me how my counterparts in your Signal Corps could not locate or even jam a normal FM radio station broadcasting on a fixed frequency at fixed timings. Is there more than meets the eye?

I am told that it is difficult for your troops to “fight their own people.” But you never had that problem in East Pakistan in 1971, where the atrocities committed by your own troops are well documented in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report. Or is it that the Bengalis were never considered “your own” people, influenced as they were by the Hindus across the border? Or is that your troops are terrified by the ruthless barbarians of the Taliban?

Sir, it is imperative that we recognise our enemy without any delay. I use the word “our” advisedly – for the Taliban threat is not far from India’s borders. And the only force that can stop them from dragging Pakistan back into the Stone Age is the force that you command. In this historic moment, providence has placed a tremendous responsibility in your hands. Indeed, the fate of your nation, the future of humankind in the subcontinent rests with you. It doesn’t matter if it is “my war” or “your war” – it is a war that has to be won. A desperate Swati citizen’s desperate lament says it all – “Please drop an atom bomb on us and put us out of our misery!” Do not fail him, sir.

But in the gloom and the ignominy, the average Pakistani citizen has shown us that there is hope yet. The lawyers, the media, have all refused to buckle even under direct threats. It took the Taliban no less than 32 bullets to still the voice of a brave journalist. Yes, there is hope – but why don’t we hear the same language from you? Look to these brave hearts, sir – and maybe we shall see the tide turn. Our prayers are with you, and the hapless people of Swat.

The New York Times predicts that Pakistan will collapse in six months. Do you want to go down in history as the man who allowed that to happen?


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29 responses to “View from the other side – An open letter to Gen Kayani”

  1. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Dear Alvi Sahab,

    I wonder! How the hell they "succeed" in Jamming the Hostile TV Channels in Pakistan giving coverage to any important issue e.g. Long March Coverage of Restore the Judiciary Movement ????

    Jamming Mullah Radio: A Primer Chris Cork Tuesday, February 17, 2009

    http://www.yousufnazar.com/?p=835

    Much has been talked but little actually done in the matter of jamming the so-called “Mullah Radio” that has done much to inflame the situation in Swat. The government appears to take the position that this is an immensely complex and expensive task, requires vast resources and the import of foreign equipment – most of which is not necessarily the case.

    From The News International

  2. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Dear Alvi Sahab,

    I think that the Pakistani Establishment think that we are living in Devil Island and they also 'think' that they can easily hoodwink people easily. The USA had developed Satellite espionage way back in 60s and yet they are trying to give us impression that they couldn't track these deadly MILITANTS in FATA whereas the White House day in and day out hound Pakistan on Human Rights Abuses by these very Mullahs. Strange isn't it that scores of Pakistani TV Journalists regularly talk to the thousands of Militants on daily basis on their Mobile and Satellite telephones and relay their press conferences but what kind of War on Terror is this that the most Lethal and Deadly Security Services couldn't even trace the location????

    I had read an interesting and very informative book on CIA way back in early 90s,

    The Invisible Government by David Wise and Thomas B. Ross

    [The Invisible Government. New York: Vintage Books, 1974. Reprint of the 1964 Random House edition. 379 pages.]

    http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Government-David-

    the book was first published in as you read above in 1964 and that book had a complete chapter of Satellite Tracking and Espionage. The glimpse of truth is as under:

    U.S. Intelligence and the Indian Bomb

    Documents Show U.S. Intelligence Failed to Warn of India's Nuclear Tests Despite Tracking Nuclear Weapons Potential Since 1950s

    National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 187

    For more information contact: Jeffrey Richelson, Editor

    202/994-7000

    Posted – April 13, 2006

    Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea By Jeffrey T. Richelson

    Related postings

    Eyes on the Bomb: U-2, CORONA, and KH-7 Imagery of Foreign Nuclear Installations New Images Illustrate U.S. Overhead Reconnaissance Targeting of Allied and Adversary Nuclear Facilities

    U.S. Intelligence and the French Nuclear Weapons Program

    Documents Show U.S. Intelligence Targeted French Nuclear Program as Early as 1946

    U.S. Intelligence and the South African Bomb

    Documents Show U.S. Unable to Penetrate Apartheid Regime's Nuclear Weapons Program

    North Korea and Nuclear Weapons

    The Declassified U.S. Record

    The United States and the Chinese Nuclear Program, 1960-1964

    Companion documents to Winter 2000/2001 edition of International Security

    Israel and the Bomb

    Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Washington, DC, April 13, 2006 – Long before India detonated a nuclear device in May 1974, the U.S. Intelligence Community was monitoring and analyzing Indian civilian and military nuclear energy activities, according to documents released today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. Those activities are at the core of the current controversy over the Bush administration's proposed legislation that would alter U.S. nonproliferation and export control laws and policies so as to allow full nuclear cooperation with India.

    Trombay, the site of India's first reactor (Aspara) and a plutonium reprocessing facility, as photographed by a KH-7/GAMBIT satellite on February 19, 1966. (Click for larger view)

    http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB187/ind

  3. Afaque Avatar

    Well there is hardly any pertinent stuff in this article or letter whatever you may call it… and any serious reader will put it aside after reading it… but thoughts and views of someone with lil or average knowledge of actual stuff CAN be modified after reading it… plz refrain from publishing stuff like that… be more progressive 🙂

    (no offence thu)

  4. Sim Avatar
    Sim

    Lol. Another attempt to defame the military institutions. Every child knows the answer to these questions. Why would COAS waste his time in these questions? Have some national pride and wisdom not to fall in info-war traps.

    East Pakistan was a covert/overt Indian op. Atrocities werent caused by the Army, but they were Indian assets (muktibani in uniform) against what had been in the propaganda.

    Army didnt surrender, it did its job well. We brought them in the game too late, just so we can blame them. Go back a bit – the so called "defeat" is a result of the "people's rule" who had been sleeping when foreign elements were at play and we supported them sidelining the "alarms" raised by the military establishments.

    And, the radio eq are all modern and equipped with latest crypto frequency distributors the kind that are used in wars in hostile territories. Who supplied those modern equipments to them in the first place?

    Lots of counter questions can be posed and, Maestro, justice would be to post those counter questions as well. Hopefully someone would state them if not already been done so on various other blogs (AhmedQuraishi,etc).

  5. Abdul Sattar Avatar
    Abdul Sattar

    Wow! Is it just me or does this Indian Colonel have a much stronger command of the English language than most English-medium educated Pakistanis do?

    Proper grammar, coherent sentence structure, and spell checking is not something you see too often in Pakistan's English newspapers.

    He writes better than most Pakistani journalists. Are India's military officers all like this? If they are, the number of nuclear warheads India has is the least of Pakistan's worries.

  6. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Lol. Another attempt to defame the military institutions. [Sim]

    ===========

    Sir,

    Would you like to define this defamation in the light of continuous drone attack yet this latest visit????

    Mullen sees rise in Afghan violence: ISI chief arriving in US for talks By Our Correspondent

    http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-

  7. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    East Pakistan was a covert/overt Indian op. Atrocities werent caused by the Army, but they were Indian assets (muktibani in uniform) against what had been in the propaganda. Army didnt surrender, it did its job well. [sim]

    =================

    Then what's this????

    Please do note that the US Government Document are quoted below, these American can lie to us as per their National Interest but they dont lie to their people and that too after more than 30 years they declassify their government to educate their public.

    Read in a US Declassified Government Document as to how the US President Richard Nixon supported General Yahya Khan in 1971, when he was butchering the civilian population of the then East Pakistan [now Bangladesh]

    Handwritten note from President Richard M. Nixon on an April 28, 1971, National Security Council decision paper: "To all hands. Don't squeeze Yahya at this time – RMN"

    Richard Nixon and General Yahya before the Fall of Dhaka i.e. Pakistani Military Surrender to India in 1971.
    http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/

    http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB79/BEBB

    Way back in 1971 as per US Declassified Documents:

    "We have to avoid screwing Pakistan that outrageously. It could blow up everything," concurs Kissinger. And the solution according to him is: "we should start our god-damn lecturing on political structures, as much as we can and while there will eventually be a separate East Bengal in two years (he says it so very casually) but it must not happen in the next six months."

    When America looked the other way declassified documents on the US role in India-Pakistan's 1971 war by Anjum Niaz

    http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?Secti

    Kissinger's Back by David Corn

    http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?Secti

    US encouraged China to attack India: Nixon tapes

    Suman Guha Mozumder in New York | June 30, 2005 09:15 IST

    Volume E-7

    Foreign Relations, 1969-1976

    Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

    Editor: Louis J. Smith

    General Editor: Edward C. Keefer

    Office of the Historian Bureau of Public Affairs U.S. Department of State 2005

    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e7/

  8. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Lol. Another attempt to defame the military institutions. [Sim]

    ====================

    This may wake you up.

    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

    AI Index: ASA 04/001/2006 (Public) News Service No:

    221

    In Pakistan, the indifference shown to the enforced disappearance of terror suspects has contributed to its spread beyond "war on terror" related cases. The enforced disappearance of members of other groups such as Baloch and Sindhi nationalists are now also being reported. Courts are swamped with habeas corpus petitions to determine victims' whereabouts. State agents routinely deny holding the victims or knowing anything about their fate or whereabouts.

    "People should be arrested and detained according to the law, not forced into a van in the middle of the night and swept off to an anonymous detention centre where they risk torture and further abuses. Individuals have the right to challenge their detention, to see a lawyer of their choosing and talk to their families. Families have a right to know where their relatives are," said Catherine Baber.

    Notes to Editors

    Amnesty International will be releasing a report on enforced disappearances related to the "war on terror" in Pakistan later this year. If you would like to receive this report, please contact the press office.

    Amnesty International is lobbying for the draft International Convention for the Protection of All

    Persons from Enforced Disappearance to be adopted by consensus and without amendment at the 61st session of the UN General Assembly this year.

    http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA040012

    http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engact400132

    Soiled Hands:

    The Pakistan Army’s Repression of the Punjab Farmers’ Movement Human Rights Watch July 2004 Vol. 16, No. 10 (C)

    http://hrw.org/reports/2004/pakistan0704/pakistan

    HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, VOL. 16, NO. 10 (C) 4 I.

    Summary:

    We were produced before Major Tahir Malik. He asked why we had not made the contract payments. We answered that we had no money. They took us to the torture cell and Jallad [“tormentor”] Munir started thrashing us with a leather whip. He made us all strip naked and whipped us till we bled. Major Tahir Malik would personally supervise the whippings, abuse us, laugh at us, and punch us…. We were produced before officers again in the morning. They would insist that we pay the contract money. Upon our refusal, it would begin again. —Interview with Mohammad Iqbal, Okara, October 23, 2003 They snatched our milk and our bicycles. Gomi, the informer, took away the milk and bicycles. They blindfolded us and took us to Rangers Headquarters. As soon as we got there, they started beating us with sticks. After a while we even stopped crying or screaming… There were sixteen [adult] farmers [already present when] we

    arrived there. [We saw them being] beaten badly with a flat leather whip by Munir ”Jallad” and Inspector Aashiq Ali in the presence of Major Tahir Malik. The farmers were bleeding and crying in pain. Some were weeping out of fear and sitting with their heads bowed.

    The farmers were bleeding and crying in pain. Some were weeping out of fear and sitting with their heads bowed. —Interview with Abid Ali, age ten, Okara, October 24, 2003

    Without a trace by Declan Walsh Friday March 16, 2007 The Guardian

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,, 2035351,00.html

    Seven-year-old Saud Bugti's father was picked up by secret police on a street corner in Karachi last November. No one has heard from him since. He has joined the ranks of Pakistan's 'disappeared' – victims of the country's brutal attempts to wage war on both al-Qaida and those who fail to support the government. But how many innocent people are being caught up in this? And what is America's connection to the barbaric torture of suspects? Declan Walsh reports

    Please find attachment on "Reports on Human Rights Situation During Year 2006."

    Asian Human Rights Commission 19floor, go-up commercial building, 998-canton road. Mong Kok. Kowloon. Hong Kong – China

    http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2006/Pakistan… 6.pdf

  9. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    indian colonal is right in his argument that pakistani army deliberately allowed this transmission and hence this insurgency to nourish.also this observation is confirmed by other scientist that jamming fm radio is not the big deal for the army.

    if it is true and it seems to be true then the motives of pakistan army is incomprehensible for me.one logical explaination could be that even pakistan army including gen kiyani is taking part in american game.(which is harder for me to believe)

    the obvious american game seems to make pashtoon retaliated against the drone attacks,for islamic shariya and nizam e adal.

    some questions are still unanswered.

  10. noman Avatar
    noman

    some questions???????????????????

    dactar sahib all questions remain unanswered.

    u obviously would agree with the indian col as it is india who are the cheif sponsors of taliban both in fata and in swat.the militants in swat/fata have highly sophisticated weapons and they are funded through the raw. but obviously u know it.

    its not an american game its an indian american game. isolate pakistan , spread insurgency, take over the nuclear weapons just like kazakistan and make it a lackey of india and the taliban are following their agenda in a big manner.but hey, you wont ever call them wrong coz everything they do is sharaee.wether they wear burqa , sarhis like in lal masjid or kill innocent ppl thru suicide bombing .in all these things only pakisatan is a loser.india america etc are the cheif gainers. i find it sad that people like u openly criticize drone attacks but support suicide bombers who are indian sponsored drones .

    very bad!!!!!!!!!!

  11. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    noman!

    you are suffering from molana abdul aziz phobia.

    no matter where do you go you will end at molana abdul aziz.

    have an oppointment of psychiatrist immediately.

  12. Bharat Singh Avatar
    Bharat Singh

    Col. Puri purpose of writing this piece is quite obvious. He just wanted to publicly humiliate the Pakistani Army leaders. It is quite disingenuous of him to make the reader believe that his intent was noble. But that said, when you remove sly and not so sly insults, it is of quite concern that the Pak army is in such a situation of low morale because of the change in values the Army's leaders have imposed, from being patrons of so called 'mujahideen' to calling them 'terrorists'. That fact alone has probably put the foot soldiers in the Army in a state disillusionment. From being goaded as the soldiers of Islam, they are now being told to fight the very 'mujahideen' they were told to help and support. This is clearly a mess that has the Pak Army leaders have created and will have to sort out by first of all being honest of their true intentions to their soldiers. No one likes to be lied to, especially if they put their lives on the line on that lie. That is the key difference between the Indian Army leaders. Indian foot soldiers and higher command are straight on their values and objectives. As long as they both believe the same values for going to war, the morale and determinations will be strong.

  13. Sim Avatar
    Sim

    Drone attacks – as said before are a political issue and military personnels are on record stating that they will shoot them down should the "democratic leaders" give a green light. Why arent you blaming the democratic leaders per se?

    As for most sources quoted by different gentlemen – quote us some unbiased sources, will you. These sources you quoted also term the ones causing the gaza massacre as "justified" including AMNESTY that did technically nothing. Tomorrow you will be quoting Fox News, CNN and BBC? So be it, you will stay on your position no matter what.

    Besides, the point is before pointing at the credibility of the *ONLY* force which is keeping Pakistan safe – think of the consequences you will face once you take them out of the picture.

    Its simple math. Dont let your anti-pakistan / anti-military knowledge (coming from biased sources) confuse the equation. 🙂

  14. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Its simple math. Dont let your anti-pakistan / anti-military knowledge (coming from biased sources) confuse the equation. :)[Sim]

    ================

    Dear Sir,

    Human Rights Abuses in Palestine, Kashmir, Camp X Ray and all over the world are reported by http://www.hrw.org and http://www.amnesty.org and both of these organizations are based in Western Countries. Go through your own comment and you may find that many things you may quoted about would basically be of http://www.hrw.org and http://www.amnesty.org and buy thw way both these sources are shamelssly quoted by Zaid Hamid and PTV and Foreign Ministry as well on Indian Held Kashmir and on regular basis.

    Regards

  15. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Lol. Another attempt to defame the military institutions. [Sim]

    East Pakistan was a covert/overt Indian op. Atrocities werent caused by the Army, but they were Indian assets (muktibani in uniform) against what had been in the propaganda. Army didnt surrender, it did its job well. [sim]

    Its simple math. Dont let your anti-pakistan / anti-military knowledge (coming from biased sources) confuse the equation. :)[Sim]

    ====================

    Dear Sir,

    This is a report filed in Pakistani [MUSLIMS] Newspaper:

    CIA, ISI agree to develop working relations Friday, April 17, 2009

    http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?I

    NEW YORK: DG ISI Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has left Washington DC for Islamabad after a hectic 24 hours of meetings in the US after the CIA and the ISI agreed to develop working relations to fight terrorism.

    Gen Pasha, during his brief stay in the US, met various leaders of the intelligence community, according to sources aware of Gen Pasha’s meetings. Gen Pasha met with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair as well as CIA chief Leon Panetta, who visited Pakistan just a few weeks back, the sources said. These meetings were held to repair the strained relationship between the two spy agencies that have often had a rough relationship, they said. CIA head Leon Panneta and ISI head Gen Pasha agreed to develop a working relationship between the CIA and the ISI. A couple of weeks back, the ISI came under scathing criticism not only from the American media but also from Gen Petraus, who is now tasked with overseeing the operations in Afghanistan. In Washington, the sources said, Gen Pasha assured American officials that the ISI was doing all it could to combat terrorists and urged American officials to share intelligence they had with the ISI, instead of criticising it.

    Mullen sees rise in Afghan violence: ISI chief arriving in US for talks By Our Correspondent

    http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-

  16. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Its simple math. Dont let your anti-pakistan / anti-military knowledge (coming from biased sources) confuse the equation. :)[Sim]

    =====================

    Dear Sir,

    Sometimes it amazes me that how low Muslims can stoop. We don't even flinch to quote a Full Blooded Jewish Reporter Seymour M Hersh to exploit the Issue of Torture of Muslim Iraqis in Abu Gharib Prisoners [he broke that story that cost Rumsfeld his job] and when the same Non-Muslim Media quote something bad about Muslims suddenly we see "A Cosnpiracy Theory" and quoted Thousands of Quranic Verses. Let me give you an example of Anti-Muslim Media:

    Torture at Abu Ghraib American soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go? by Seymour M. Hersh May 10, 2004

    http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/04051

    http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/04051

    http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/04051

    http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/04051

  17. Mani Avatar
    Mani

    This all effort is to defame Pakistan and Military. Such views can be seen, heard or read from the Indian media/news papers. How can a person, ascertain the factual situation through which Pakistan is passsing whereas he has been involved in active role against Pakistan as an enemy. Infact the indians are waiting like Vultures to snap Pakistan.

    The Indian must answer as to :-

    1. What india is doing with its 17 conculates in AFGHANISTAN?

    2. What their army is doing by aiding militants in FATA?

    3. Why most wanted militant leaders of talibans have direct link with indian intelligence organization?

    Indeed this the most tetsable time for the Pakistani nation to open our eyes and to understand who is our enemy and what are their objectives. we must not get carried away with such stupid opinions and must think like Pakistani.

    It is my request to all media not to print such baseless stories to pollute our minds.

    I have an advise for all my respectable brother Pakistani's not to leave hope and must think and act Positively. Nothing will hapen to Pakistan "Insha Allah" and the enemies of Pakistan will get eliminated with our own hands and hands of our Pak Army.

  18. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    This all effort is to defame Pakistan and Military. [Mani]

    ================

    This too:

    Picture of Secret Detentions Emerges in Pakistan

    By CARLOTTA GALL Published: December 19, 2007

    Page:1

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/world/asia/19di

    Page: 2

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/world/asia/19di

    ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies, apparently trying to avoid acknowledging an elaborate secret detention system, have quietly set free nearly 100 men suspected of

    links to terrorism, few of whom were charged, human rights groups and lawyers here say.

    Skip to next paragraph

    Akhtar Soomro for The New York Times

    A Pakistani mother held a portrait of her missing son during a protest this month in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pressure has mounted to bring the cases of people detained in secret to the courts.

    Those released, they say, are some of the nearly 500 Pakistanis presumed to have disappeared into the hands of the Pakistani intelligence agencies cooperating with Washington’s fight against terrorism since 2001. No official reason has been given for the releases, but as pressure has mounted to bring the cases into

    the courts, the government has decided to jettison some suspects and spare itself the embarrassment of having to reveal that people have been held on flimsy evidence in the secret system, its opponents say. Interviews with lawyers and human rights officials here, a review of cases by The New York Times and court records made available by the lawyers show how scraps of information have accumulated over recent months into a body of evidence of the detention system.

  19. Mauryan Avatar

    Pakistan finds itself in the state it is in today because of wrong policies pursued over its 60 years of existence. Countries compete and try to out run each other all the time. This does not mean that they are trying to engage in a war for every small issue. Pakistani leaders did nothing to build a foundation for nation building. They let the feudal system intact which allowed the rich landlords to keep their wealth. The military which was literally a Western style institution got completely changed by Zia Ul Haq into an Islamic fundamentalist organization. This never allowed the country to build a proper government that cared for its people and development. All the money came from Gulf countries where Pakistanis worked and most of the money got siphoned off by the corrupt wealthy landlords and military generals. And Pakistan went overboard after the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan. It could have been a time when Pakistan turned around and used the American help to build fundamental institutions necessary for national progress. Instead, it engaged in jihadi enterprise and tried to spread all across the region. Its nukes gave the leaders a false sense of security. The ISI has literally become an institution with its own mind. There are many centrifugal forces that are tearing Pakistan from within. People are spending their time blaming India for all ills and have failed to look at the problems that have taken deep root inside. Now the tail spin is gathering momentum and it might lead to a collapse of Pakistan. This is not good for the region or the world itself. Pakistani leaders and its people must fight off the Islamic fundamentalists and confine them to their mosques. India should not be looked at as an equal. It is a much bigger country with its own set of problems. And it has moved on towards economic progress since 1991. Until then India too was staring at the abyss of disintegration and instability. But it has come out of it. Pakistan should do its best to avoid conflicts and spending its energy on Kashmir. After what is going on in Swat, No sensible Kashmiri would like to be a part of Pakistan or even stay independent. Times have changed. So it is important for Pakistanis to stand up against the villains within and come out of the problem it is facing.

  20. michaila Avatar
    michaila

    there are two things that need to be highlighted, first…..y does india always indulge in the private matters of pakistan and secondly if the pakistan army has failed to track down mullah omar and so and so…..is the pakistan army alone there….wat abt CIA and RAW and the american army…..y blame pakistan army alone. secondly the col forgot one thing abt signals that the signal catching equipment is fixed at one place and can only cover a specific sphere of its influence…..and wat the other camp do is tht they keep moving and the army cannot keep moving behind them on a vehicle to catch the signals….lets be practical its not possible and as far as the flogging is concerned……..it was a propaganda instrument of opponent groups to influence the peace deal in pakistan and thus to keep pakistan destabalized.and as far as the 1971 war of bangladesh is concerned….lets see someone being a rtd. col of indian army is forgetting or let me rephrase trying to cover the notorious role of RAW in the partition of east pakistan….in my opinion this is just another attempt of india towards deteriorating the image of pakistan pakistan…

  21. salman Avatar
    salman

    Not all the indians,but most of them specially fundamentill hindus do not know that a prosperious Pakistan is only option for them…..if pakistan collapse(as most of indians wish)the next target will be india.. only one orgnistaion LASHKAR E TOUBA trained at least 1.8 million youngsters to fight against india.All the time they pray for the war against India…paki muslims are not submisssive like indian muslim….they will be a grt problem for hindu exteermist..plz plz do not destabilze pakistan ..its not in faovour of any human in pak and india..plz join hands with pakistan democratic forces to eleminate the extreemism in region…extreemism of muslims and hindus

  22. Ajay Mishra Avatar
    Ajay Mishra

    Just saying that "This is another attempt by Indians to defame Pak military" wont make that happen now will it? Pak military is proving this to be correct by letting these monsters run free and even ruling a big chunk of ur country. Also to all fools asking Indian presence in FATA, what is u source? Pak news channels? Same news channels that told you SWAT was actually a peace deal, that the $5bn which Pak got in its begging bowl is actually a huge success for your foreign policy? Trust me if Indians were fuelling the Talibans in FATA (first of all they wont do it, bcos it will have a spill over effect on us and thts our worst nightmare), India has so many enemies especially China that they would exploit this in UN for sure! As far as Afghanistan is concerned, Richard Holbrooke acknowledged the part of India in building Afghanistan and laughed out to the idea of Indian consulates saying the strength of this consulate is 7 to 8 ppl!

    STOP LIVING IN UR FAIRYANDS!! STOP COMPETING WITH INDIA!! WE R FAR AHEAD OF U IN EVERY MATTER!! The sooner you fight these militants the better it is for you.

  23. Ajay Mishra Avatar
    Ajay Mishra

    1971 – East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh

    2009 – Swat ruled by Talibans.

    What next? Already loosing all ur land?

    No wonder haan! A land created on bloodshed of ppl just to stroke ego of certain ppl has to see its downfall! I am so glad Pak was cut off from India. Its better to cut off the cancer in its early stages!

  24. i love bjp Avatar
    i love bjp

    well said if we were together we would have gone down with them.

  25. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Why Baluchis do not get a similiar deal like Taliban got..

    to make their own laws and rule themselves as they wish ?

    After Baluchis, why not other minorities.

    They should give a corner of pakistan for Sikhs, Christians, Hindus to set their own lawa and life their life according to their religious teachings.

  26. Scaliper Avatar
    Scaliper

    Ok BJP dude u need to worry about why did you fail to win the election second time in a row

    Teeth you publish a letter by indian who begins by reminding you of your defeats and his victories and then pretends to be your friend by offering a shoulder to cry upon. What is with you people.

    This blog has become a troll blog teeth dont put up "flowery" letters just to increase traffic to your blog.

  27. farzana gillani Avatar
    farzana gillani

    Col Puri should first look into the atrocities committed by Indian Army on Kashmiris, the kind of surrender Indian Army has to made to kill innocent kashmiris. Taliban was bashing a girl whom they thought her to be a wrong doer but what about Indian Army who punish kashmiri girls knowing them to be innocent.

  28. Anoop Avatar
    Anoop

    Col.Puri article is hard to argue against. I can understand why Pakistanis are very pissed off at this article!

    He has hit right where is hurts. But, he does ask a genuine question. Why has army of Pak failed to locate the transmission of illegal FM station? Come oooon! this is 2nd world war technology! Engineering students from Bangalore can do it.!

  29. vewevoheD Avatar
    vewevoheD

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