PAF jet flies over NWA as US drone reappears

Tribesmen stand by Kayani, threaten to retaliate
 
A Pakistani jet fighter was seen flying in the skies of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Saturday soon after a US drone flew over the border areas but there was no untoward incident.
Tribal sources said a PAF jet fighter appeared at around 1:30pm in the border towns of NWA, minutes after a drone was seen inside the Pakistani territory and hovered over the area for more than 40 minutes. Neither the CIA-operated Predator nor the Pakistani jet fighter took any offensive action as the two planes didn’t encounter each other.

Meanwhile, a representative Jirga of the tribal elders in the NWA threatened the US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan with attacks in Kabul, Bagram and Kandahar, if it failed to stop attacks on innocent tribesmen across the border and announced to raise a tribal Lashkar (force) for the purpose.

The Jirga comprising Malik Nasrullah, Malik Qadar Khan, Malik Mamoor, Malik Muhammad Afzal Khan, Malik Mumtaz and Malik Habibullah welcomed the statement of Pakistan’s Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and vowed to defend the country’s frontiers against foreign aggression alongside the security forces.

“Statement of the Army chief is the voice of eight million tribesmen and that of the 160 million Pakistanis and has served as healing sources for the heirs of those innocent women and children, who were killed in the attacks,” they said.

The elders believed that the US attacks in Pakistan were providing reasons to the tribesmen to fight alongside their brethren in Afghanistan against the occupation of their land by foreign forces.

Malik Afzal Khan Darpakhel on the occasion said history of tribesmen is replete with the stories of bravery, valour and courage, which would definitely be repeated at this critical juncture of time, adding, “In Parvez Kayani, we see that leadership and we offer him our all-out support against the aggressors, who deserve a befitting reply for their cowardly acts against innocent population,” he said.

He also urged the government to come forward and represent its own people by safeguarding their interests instead of looking towards others for country’s safety. “The government should not turn its back to the tribesmen in this hour of need,” he said.

 

Zardari in China

President Asif Ali Zardari’s trip to China will be significant because it proves Zardari intends to play an active national role, and also because of the attempt he seems likely to make to strike a nuclear deal with Beijing. Based along almost precisely the same lines as India’s agreement with the US, Zardari will attempt to persuade China to provide Pakistan with nuclear raw materials to enable it to meet its energy shortfall. With Pakistan facing renewed allegations of failing to tackle militancy, the issue will inevitably give rise to controversy. This is all the more true given the new strains in relations with New Delhi, with allegations certain to come in of the risks such exports pose. Nuclear energy is a proven way to generate relatively cheap energy. Pakistan and India’s mutual concerns about increased nuclear capability revolve around fears that raw materials brought in will be covertly diverted towards manufacturing weapons.

But successful talks in Beijing will obviously mark a significant triumph for Zardari on his first outing. The signing of an MoU on nuclear materials will also of course offer some hope that the crippling energy crisis we face may indeed be solved. So far, there has been little evidence that we are moving towards improvement. Industries, smaller factories and workshops have quite literally been paralyzed. Closures are reported to be taking place almost each day. The loss of productivity caused by the lack of energy also affects offices and indeed all work places. Reports that the crisis could yet worsen, due to water shortages, have created yet more panic.

Zardari’s visit to China will of course help strengthen unity with a country that has consistently stood by Pakistan through good times and bad. Many also hope that more than this will be achieved, and a nuclear agreement reached, raising the hope that, in time, machines will once more whirr through the day across the country and the waste of time caused by the lack of power will be staunched. The deal assumes still more significance given that no final oil facility accord appears to have been reached yet with Saudi Arabia, making it all the more essential that all available options be looked at.