The Inspiration
1. How lethal are the current generations of Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missiles currently in the IAF inventory? When PAF also acquires a similar capability how radically will it alter the science and art of air combat and what will be their impact in the overall struggle for gaining/denying control of the air by the two adversary air forces in the Indian sub-continent? These questions have been vexing my mind for some time and eventually I decided to seek some answers.

2. Thus began my quest to research all pertinent aspects of BVR missiles that would help in arriving at some logical conclusions. The history of BVR missile development and their theoretical performance were easy to access; their effectiveness in actual combat was more difficult to determine. While BVR missiles of US origin had been used in the Vietnam War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the 1982 Lebanon Campaign and in Desert Storm 1991 and these were all the US AIM-7 versions of BVR missiles, there was little operational data available on the Russian BVR missiles which constitute a major portion of IAF's BVR missile inventory, as these have never been tested in combat to date. Similarly, while Mig-29's performance in the BVR firing role is no longer a mystery, the SU-30s has not yet been fully exposed outside the services that currently employ them. I am reluctant to base my findings on the manufacturer's performance data as these are seldom achievable under operational environment. This dilemma so far has prevented me from completing my research and I am still, what my younger and more computer literate fighter colleagues would refer to as, in the search mode.....more
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To achieve her desired aims in South Asia, United States has recently improved relations, both with Pakistan and India. Pakistan is an active partner in their war on terrorism and has recently been declared as a Major Non-Nato ally. India is a big beneficiary of latest and Lethal American equipment, and is being considered to be a member of PSI (Proliferation Security Initiative) which might give her the status of a policeman of the area, the blessings are obviously not without a price. America might also be willing to do many additional favours to these two countries, but Washington has made it clear that one favour must not be sought, and that is of being accepted as nuclear powers.

“We have taken steps recently with both countries (India and Pakistan) to strengthen relations in order to advance our regional goals, enhance the fight against terrorism, and to secure cooperation from both countries on export controls. These steps should not, however, be taken to suggest that we have accepted the status of either country as a nuclear weapon state under the NPT. We have not,” PTI quoted John S Wolf, US assistant secretary of state for Non-proliferation at the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Review Conference of the Treaty in New York....more
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Pakistan is putting up a bold face to India's unprecedented hike in its military spending; a whopping 770 billion Indian Rupees, nearly equal to Pakistan's total budget of 900 billion Pakistani Rupees. India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who presented Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's maiden budget on July 08, 2004, claimed that 'the rise to Rs. 770 billion (16.73 billion dollars) from Rs. 653 billion the year before had become 'necessary' because of low hikes in defence spending in the previous years and a massive military acquisition programme.”

This is the first time that India has increased its defence budget to this volume in the recent past. The Indian Defence Minister has tried to justify the record increase in the defence budget by blaming the previous regime. According to the daily Pioneer of July 11, 2004, “Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said recently the 22 percent hike in defence budget would have to be supplemented by the end of October as the Government had to honour contractual obligations for some major defence deals. Explaining the rationale for having an increased capital outlay in the Rs. 77,000 crore budget from Rs. 65,300 crores last year, Mr. Mukherjee said 'this is substantially due to committed liabilities, procurement and modernization of defence forces.' He said more than Rs. 26,000 crores out of the Rs. 33,000 crore capital outlay, forming part of the overall budget, would go for meeting contractual obligations for defence deals entered into by the previous government and ongoing modernization programmes.”....more
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As Pakistan-India normalization process moves ahead with discernible ease, substantive progress in dialogue to resolve outstanding issues is also being sought by the two sides. The normalization process has gone much beyond the pre-December 2001 period. All lines of communication have been restored, embassy strength will soon be back to normal, official visits abound, while unofficial visitors including artists, sports teams, media, academicians, activists, businessmen and politicians cross the border endlessly. Far beyond tension reduction, at the civilian level, there is a palpable 'connect' between the confident people of the two independent neighbouring countries. Citizens in the business of art, trade, media, academia seek areas of synergetic cooperation.

The Pakistani and the Indian States too grudgingly acknowledge that bilateral and regional cooperation in areas ranging from the economy to natural resource management and more can ensure greater peoples' progress. The two governments have also recognized the primacy, not exclusivity, of consolidating internal security, enhancing economic activity and ensuring distributive justice. The dominant thrust in the global discourse on genuine security and the post-9/11 response of many governments acknowledges and supports this primacy.....more
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The emotional, jingoistic and ultra religious fundamentalism, fanaticism and sectarianism existing environment is constantly damaging the very vitals of all spheres of our national life. A conscious and comprehensive view of the national interest within the integration of our goals, aspirations, values and beliefs has to be considered so that the right and timely decisions can be taken. The unity, coherence and security of the nation have to be the prime concern and must take precedence over all-else. Fundamentalism, fanaticism, sectarianism and the resultant prevailing terrorism is by far the most dangerous threat that the nation faces today. Law and order, the primary responsibility of any government has completely broken down with obscurantists running amok killing people at will. The diabolical fangs of religious terrorism are striking at our very existence, unity, harmony and well-being. Sectarian violence, fundamentalism, fanaticism and terrorist murders have torn the religious, social and political fabric of the country into shreds and is eating into the very vitals of our nationhood. Apart from its inherent dangers to national unity, cohesiveness and integration, it is responsible for the unnecessary, inhuman and senseless loss of precious human lives. The religious fanatical terrorists have unleashed an unchecked and almost unchallenged reign of terror and created a sense of fear and uncertainty in all segments of the population. Continued lack of government concern and action has led to the frequent disruption of our metronomic life, widening of the existing divisive tendencies, raising of tensions and increased sense of insecurity to bed-evil our daily life. The federal and provincial governments have in the past decades always indulged in great deal of rhetoric and avowed to take action to curb this curse but has always backtracked and been browbeaten by the fanatics into inaction. They must now, before it is too late, initiate strong and determined measures to extricate the nation from the abyss of bigotry and eliminate the curse of fanaticism, sectarianism, fundamentalism and terrorism, from our society, while at the same time ensuring freedom of worship for all its citizens. Some measures that the federal and provincial governments can initiate to help eradicate this great evil which has befallen our nation, especially Karachi are:-....more
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Perched along the slopes of the rugged mountains of Ziarat, sparsely covered by the largest juniper forests in the world, at an elevation of over 7000ft, the Ziarat Rest House, where the Father of the Nation spent the last few days of his life, during his fatal ailment, is a highly valued national monument. The building including its immediate environments is well maintained. The modesty of furniture and fixtures of the building are well preserved but also betray the financial straits the newly born state of Pakistan faced at the time. It also conveys the apathy of the district administration of the time, who could have done a lot to make the dwelling more comfortable for the ailing Father of the Nation. The poor quality of furniture and fixtures of the time, of the rest house, present a perpetual source of embarrassment to the republic while viewed by the visiting dignitaries and foreigners. The grim and melancholy impression that a visitor gathers during the visit of the place may partially be due to the preamble of the greatest national loss having been written over there but primarily it speaks of the paucity of veneration accorded to the invaluable national monument by the relevant powers that mattered at the time. A lot more could have been done to bring it up to the required standard of hallow it deserves.

Even a boundary wall has not been constructed around the building and the entry point to the rest house is as shabby as it could be. Some other buildings have also come up in the vicinity of the monument, like the Chief Minister House etc, causing congestion to the complex. The propriety demanded that a much larger area, befitting the importance of the monument, should have been reserved, properly landscaped and developed to reflect the national aspirations. It could have been developed on the lines of Quaid's Mausoleum in Karachi, though at a lesser scale....more
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Nation and State exist together. Nation is represented by national interest and State is a function of rationalizing and nationalizing interests of all kinds until from amongst these some are made symbol of national recognition. As far as the requirement of relationship between nation and state is concerned, there is intolerance of vision and visualization. While nation lives and prospers on the basis of character, State functions according to the characteristic of the State.

The inauguration of national interest and visualization of principles of consensus is coincided to ideological thinking. Voice of freedom and democracy is then pinpointed in expression highlighting progressivism and confession. One such confession that has been a source of concern is self-interest. It has repeatedly undermined national interests but before it begins to challenge moods it is contained and focused onto a point of common interest but only to rebounce as the main challenger to national interests.

Intellectual and social order influence the making of the national interest, but premeditated perceptions and ideological impression tend to make national interest unfamiliar. Common thinking is that those in the business of Power want Power as the researcher to investigate the inventiveness of national interests. They are of the view that between nation and State exists a margin of error of pragmatism and idealism. Needless to say, the whole purpose of their wheeling and dealing is to make the nation subservient to the State whose task is to promote pragmatism so that national interests are denied the support of fundamentalist thinking....more
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IDEAS has emerged as the most interactive exhibiting and networking platform in the region with an international focus on developments within the dynamic defence industry of today. This year, IDEAS is set to host an even bigger display of technology, combined with a significantly greater participation from the international industry.

Pakistan has been put on the armaments industry map by the successful holding of IDEAS.
Eversince the introduction of Pakistan's defence industry at IDEAS 2000, the country's defence exports have increased tremendously, providing an even greater opportunity for the international companies to render support and services leading to the manufacture of finished products. Continuing with the results achieved through IDEAS, Pakistan's export target for 2003-04 is US$ 147 million, which is expected to further rise to the level of at least US$ 500 million during the next five years.

IDEAS, now counted amongst the most established and prestigious international defence shows, provides an excellent opportunity for the manufacturers and trading concerns from far and wide to share expertise and technological achievements and enhance their global presence......more
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Glancing out of the window she thought to herself what a dismal and depressing picture the CHITTAGONG skyline presented - the dark and heavy clouds were overcast, the rain was drizzling down persistently and the windswept surroundings almost sent a chill down her spine in the humid atmosphere. This was a typical August monsoon day and even the sun had decided to observe a Sunday holiday. Occasionally an odd figure would dash to and fro under cover of a raincoat and umbrella.

Somebody else was wheeling a trolley which splashed through the puddles of rainwater, This young lady had an important journey to perform, but unlike so many others she could not postpone the journey. Besides, she had not the slightest intention of upsetting her pre-planned programme. Quite unknown to her this was the day when she had a crucial appointment to keep - it would prove to be an appointment with Fate. 3....more
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“If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.”
- Abraham Lincoln

The events of the past years have exposed deep divisions among members of the United Nations on fundamental questions of principle and policy. Questions like as to when is the use of force permissible? How much force is permissible? And who should decide? Is 'preventive war' justified? How can the United Nations take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace? What is really the role of United Nations, if any, in a unipolar world? Do we need to reform or scrap the organization? All these questions seek answers.

Following the American preemptive strike against the Iraqi people, the neo-cons celebrated the death of the United Nations. Time and again, the UN has failed to protect the innocent leave alone punish the aggressor. The organization simply failed to uphold the principles it stood for- to maintain peace and security: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes which might lead to a breach of the peace, to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; to develop friendly relations among nations; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining common goals. (Art 1of the UN Charter).....more
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