India's Stance at Nuclear Security Summit Highly Positive

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's US visit can be termed successful from various aspects. He had gone there to take part in the conference held at the initiative of US President Barack Obama. The conference objective was to prevent illegal exchange of nuclear technique and ensure that nuclear weapons and technique do not fall into terrorists' hands.

The conference attended by representatives of 47 countries raises the hope that a positive decision would be taken in the near future to make the world secure of nuclear weapons. Doubtless, the endeavors to wipe out all nuclear weapons from the earth should continue to be made between Russia and the United States. To bring about reduction in the nuclear arsenal in the two countries should be viewed in this very context.

Issue of Nuclear Disarmament
At present, the eyes of the world are set on Iran and North Korea that are engaged in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Other countries also can tread the same path in the times ahead, which may lead to the destruction of the entire world.

India adopted a highly positive stance at the conference. Even as the country is not among nations that have signed the agreement regarding nuclear disarmament, its viewpoint has been that the United States and other big countries should also destroy their nuclear weapons to a large extent and then only the target of making the world free of nuclear weapons can be realized.

Mumbai Mayhem
At the end of his US visit, Dr Singh referred to the India-Pakistan relationship and emphasized that Pakistan should clarify its policy on India and terrorism spreading all across the world. The mayhem created by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiyiba in Mumbai is by now a universally known fact. Yet, Pakistan's adamant attitude has made it evident that its intentions toward India are still mala fide.

In so far as the details of the Mumbai terrorist attack are concerned, India has conveyed all information through various dossiers given to the Pakistani Government. But when intentions are not without malice, how can the policy become clear-cut?

Conditions in Pakistan's Provinces
The way Pakistan now finds itself trapped in terrorism, its own future appears to be extremely unstable. In such conditions, if Pakistan tries to further complicate the situation rather than improving it, or if it sill, doesn't mend its approach through its actions then it will have to suffer a lot in the times ahead. Which is why while India's image is becoming strong at the international level, Pakistan can be reckoned among the world's extremely dangerous countries. Conditions in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan have worsened so much that it will become difficult for any government to control them.

India has so far been avoiding any big confrontation with Pakistan, which is a sign of maturity on India's part. For, the conflict between the countries can prove devastating for the regime. Doubtless, the Pakistani Government needs to rise to the reason with a sense of big responsibility. In this lies the welfare of billions of the people living in the two neighboring countries.

Pakistan Assembly Passes 18th Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2010

Pakistan National Assembly on 8 April passed the historic 18th Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2010 by two-thirds majority, to restore the 1973 Constitution to its original form and strengthen institutions. The house passed the bill containing 102 clauses, while rejecting a few amendments regarding concurrent list, renaming the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), intra-party elections and women seats in the house and within parties, proposed by a few members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid-e-Azam (PML-Q).

Strengthening Federation and Democracy
The passage of the 18th Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2010 would strengthen the Federation and democracy. The bill would serve as a landmark in the constitutional history of the country and the people would long remember this achievement of their elected representatives.

The Federal Cabinet carried one point agenda and later the bill was placed before the both Houses of the Parliament by the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms.

Unique Legislation
Explaining the salient features of the bill, Raza Rabbani, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reform, said that it was a unique piece of legislation in many ways. The most important feature is that an incumbent President himself has given away his powers to the Parliament and the people of Pakistan. Moreover, the bill will seek to repeal Legal Framework Order (LFO) as well as 17th Amendment that were the symbols of dictatorial regime.

This legislation has enjoyed maximum consensus of political parties on the issue of provincial autonomy. The Cabinet that the Federal Government will set up a committee to oversee the implementation and provide guidance in framing the rules that will be required for implementation of the provisions of the bill.

China Next Target for Terrorists

Terrorists have targeted the Pakistani people and security forces in different parts of Pakistan without a break, and it would prove to be quite upsetting if we were to present the facts and figures of these losses. It is apparent from these figures that Pakistan is facing a highly organized and dangerous enemy. A few days ago two reports were made public which honestly presented the financial and human losses suffered by the Pakistani people and our security forces over the past few years.

Investigating Report
The first report was prepared by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), and the second by a credible research institute, known as the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies. This report was based on the details of the events of the year 2009. According to the ISPR report, from 2009 to date a daily average of 10 security personnel were killed.

Without going into detail, the crux of the report is that, during the past few years, terrorists have martyred 2273 soldiers, 78 officers, and 21,672 civilians. The report also states that the total number of security personnel killed, including police personnel, comes to 8,785, while the total number of casualties, including civilians and security personnel, is 30,452. The report also said that 17,742 terrorists have been killed or arrested since 2002.

Increase in Terror Attacks
The increase in terrorist attacks during the year 2009 can be gauged from the fact that the number of civilian and security forces killed is ten thousand. The other report is called the Security Report, 2009. According to this report, terrorist attacks increased during the year 2009 compared to previous years, and 12,632 people were killed during the year. In 2009, 87 suicide attacks were carried out. At least 70 per cent of these attacks took place in the NWFP, where 1,137 were killed, destabilizing the province itself.

The report said that during the year 2008, around 963 persons were killed in a total of 63 suicide attacks, and during the year 2009, a total of 1300 persons were killed in 87 suicide attacks. Details of other attacks, including suicide attacks, were also given. In the NWFP (North West Frontier Province) there were 1,137 attacks, in the Tribal Areas there were 559, in Balochistan 792, in the Punjab 46, in Sind 36, in Islamabad 12, and in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir 5 attacks each were reported. The report said that during the year 2009, some 12,632 people were killed and 13,815 injured in suicide attacks, Drone attacks, target killings, and sectarian clashes.

The report also indicated that during this year, the city of Peshawar was targeted repeatedly, and reached a peak by early 2010. During the year 2009, Peshawar was targeted by 170 suicide attacks and bomb blasts, which killed 450 people in the city of Peshawar alone. Most of the killed were common, helpless, unarmed civilians. The report also said that the centers of terrorism in Southern Punjab dominated the terrorist scene during the year 2009, and 50 per cent of the terrorists active throughout the country belonged to this region.

The said that terrorists were more trained and better equipped than the police and other security agencies, while a clear lack of effective coordination and collaboration between the police and other security and intelligence agencies was acutely obvious.

Facts and Figures
If we compare the facts and figures of the year 2009 with previous years, we discover that not only did the terrorists have an edge over security personnel, they also did not spare any area or city of Pakistan, including Islamabad. It was also confirmed that the number of casualties continued to increase, and an increasing number of civilians were targeted. These facts and figures should be a matter of concern for those people who have justified the actions of the terrorists through various arguments and justifications, and still continue to say that the attacks carried out within Pakistan are a reaction to the US presence.

However, February 2010 has been comparatively peaceful, but the latter half has been marred by almost daily attacks. Three days after an attack in the Khyber Agency, police personnel were targeted by two suicide attacks in the beautiful city of Mansehra, in Hazara region. This not only indicated the presence of terrorists throughout the country, but also revealed the dangerous strategy of local and foreign anti-Pakistan elements.

In addition to the Chaman and Torkham routes, terrorists planned to target the Silk Road as well since it is the major trade route between China and Pakistan. In other words, these terrorists have decided to apply the same formula against China which they have been using against the United States. There is a need to look at the Mansehra attack in the background of the Silk Route, instead of considering it as a typical attack.

Threat to Silk Route
The people who consider it to be a normal attack must keep in mind that there have been attacks in this beautiful valley in the past as well. Mansehra has been a training center of two Jihadi groups in the past. And the roads and routes in the hills of this area can easily provide access to Kashmir, China, the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and Swat. Therefore, such elements will not ignore the geographical location of the region, given that they have plans to further their hostile agendas in order to become a part of some international agenda in the backdrop of Pak-China relations.

This background should also be kept in view considering that just a few kilometers from this region is the area of Kala Dhaka, which has been used as a main route by Jihadi and militant forces in the recent past. Not far from this area is the military academy of Kakul, from where the borders of Kashmir and Swat are quite near.

It is the duty of the policymaking institutions of Pakistan to begin work on a plan to secure the major trade routes between Pakistan and China against terrorists. Otherwise, this belt will not only be occupied by anti-Chinese forces, but Pak-China friendship itself will be endangered, and the future of the Silk Route seriously threatened.

Emergence of Blackwater in Pakistan

According to some information, an infamous organization "Blackwater" has started taking buildings on rent in prosperous areas of Islamabad in the garb of different social organizations. It has also started appointments of former military officers and soldiers on extremely high remuneration. These retired soldiers are getting daily remuneration from $1200 to $2200. This amount is five times more than the remuneration given to the US soldiers.

Expanding Areas
The Blackwater has now reached to Karachi, in addition to tribal areas and North West Frontier Province, including Peshawar. The important objectives of the Spider Group, a subordinate organization of the Blackwater, are to target important personalities in Pakistan, to get its national secrets at all costs, abolish Al-Qa'ida, and to find out its assets and monitor its sources of funding and accounts, and the protection of the officials of important international organization, including the USAID. According to the sources, the Blackwater operates in coordination with the US secret institutions, FBI and CIA.

Citizens are surprised over the government silence with regard to the Blackwater, and the suspicious social organizations that work under it. According to the informed sources, the Blackwater distributed the weapons, which are recovered from the militants in Pakistan.

Objective of the Organization
At present, former US Vice President Dick Cheney, is the head of the organization. Famous US writer Jeremy Scahill, has clearly written in her book, Blackwater that the real objective of this organization is to promote Christianity throughout the world and abolish Islam. The media are providing information about the Blackwater's activities consistently. News is also rife about the expansion of the US Embassy in Islamabad and the arrival of 1,000 marines.

With the change in program, the Blackwater is now recruiting retired Pakistani soldiers for achieving its heinous objectives. For this, 200 houses have been hired in the posh areas of Islamabad on very high rent, which are being used for secret activities. After coming in existence, the Blackwater is continuing its activities with different names. This has caused extreme concern to people at large who see it a conspiracy like the East India Company.

The incidents that have been reported to the police and the way the US personnel are misbehaving, remain a serious cause of concern. It is necessary that the relevant organizations and the government should end the silence that they have maintained about the activities of this organization (Blackwater). The government should take action against the activities of Blackwater, so that the citizens could be saved from the fear and intimidation. The government also needs to take a clear position in this regard.