Pakistan deploys fresh troops along LoC: Report

Amidst rising tensions with India, Pakistan has moved fresh Army troops to the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the international border with India to protect "vital points" along the frontier, a media report said on Friday.

The defence department declined to give details of fresh troop movements but did not deny reports that Pakistan was moving a number of new brigades to the frontier in the Lahore sector, the Daily Times newspaper reported quoting sources.

The forces were deployed along the LoC and the international border yesterday to protect vital points, the sources said.

The Pakistan Army's Brigade has been moved to forward areas in Lahore and army's 3rd Armoured Brigade, normally held in reserve, has been moved to Jhelum, the defence sources said claiming that there was a heavy concentration of Indian troops on the border.

The Pakistan Army's 10th and 11th Divisions have also been put on high alert and these forces have been stationed in areas facing Rajouri and Poonch sectors of Kashmir.

There have also been reports in the Pakistani media that the Pakistan Air Force is in a state of high alert and was conducting aerial surveillance of the Chashma power plant and other sensitive sites amidst fears of a possible surgical strike by India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

In recent public comments, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh have both ruled out a war between the two countries. India has been asking Pakistan to crack down on elements in the country which were linked to the Mumbai attacks that killed over 180 people.

Pakistan has said it is waiting for India to provide evidence to take forward its probe into the Mumbai incident.

Don't make the mistake of attacking us, Pak warns

India should not make the "mistake" of carrying out surgical strikes against Pakistan as such an action would provoke a strong response, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday.

Pakistan did not want war but is ready to defend its frontiers, Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan. If India made the "mistake of carrying out a surgical strike", Pakistan will deal sternly with such an eventuality, he said. "We will be compelled to respond if it happens," he said.

Asked if the possibility of war could be ruled out amidst escalating tensions in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, Qureshi said: "If you are asking me, I am not ruling out anything. But if war is imposed, we will respond to it like a brave and self-respecting nation."

He added, "I want to give a message to India that we are the torch-bearers of peace and remain committed to our desire for peace...Contrary to our reasonable, cooperative and non-aggressive attitude, some elements from India are issuing provocative statements."

Regional tensions have escalated after India blamed Pakistan-based elements for the Mumbai terror attacks that killed over 180 people. India has asked for action against these elements, but Pakistan has been insisting that it needs evidence from India to take forward its investigation into the incident.

Qureshi said Pakistan condemns terrorism and wants to expose those involved in such activities. It has already promised cooperation to India in this regard, he said.

"We will not resort to provocation while remaining committed to cooperation but at the same time, we will not tolerate any pressure," he remarked. Pakistan, he said, should "hope for the best but be prepared for the worst".

The country and the armed forces are vigilant and keeping a close watch on developments. "The situation keeps changing and we will prepare a strategy after examining any change," Qureshi underlined. "We are continuously monitoring the situation on the ground and in the air. Our air force and armed forces are on alert."

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said "some elements in both India and Pakistan" did not want peace between the two neighbours.

"As Pakistan-India relations were improving...Mumbai happened. There are elements on both sides who not want Pakistan-India relations to improve. The Mumbai incident has occurred at that very moment when relations were not only improving but I think a strategic advancement was being made," he told Dawn News channel.

The two countries now have to decide whether the Mumbai incident "should be allowed to derail the peace process or be viewed as an obvious challenge to the process".

He added, "The government of Pakistan is determined that the Mumbai incident should not be allowed to derail the peace process and this is what we also urge the Indian government."

Pakistan says ready to retaliate if India strikes

The Pakistan National Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution condemning the November 26 Mumbai terror attack but has also warned India against undertaking surgical strikes in any part of Pakistan.

Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said Pakistani armed forces would give an "equal" response within few minutes if India carried out any surgical strike inside their territory.

Kayani said this at a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.

The Army chief apprised the President of operational preparedness of the armed forces.

"The armed forces are fully prepared to meet any eventuality, as his men are ready to sacrifice for their country," Pakistan daily The News quoted Gen Kayani as telling the President.

Zardari believed in gearing up efforts for peace, which should otherwise not be taken as a sign of weakness, the paper said.

He said, "Pakistan wanted peaceful and cordial relations with all its neighbours, but the threatening statements of Indian leadership were creating an atmosphere of aggression and harming the regional environment."

The President added, "We are keeping a close watch on all the latest developments and threatening tones of Indian leadership."

He said all the national security agencies, the army, political leadership and public were completely united to befittingly meet any aggression against Pakistan.

"Islamabad is in touch with all friendly countries, which were being briefed about Pakistan's peace efforts and the hostility shown by India."

"We do not want any war with India, as that would prove detrimental to both our nations," the President was quoted as saying.

Zardari, however, expressed his satisfaction over the preparedness of the Army and said all necessary resources would be provided to the armed forces. He said, "We have the right to defend our borders in case of any aggression."

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani said he believed that Dr Manmohan Singh was under pressure, but that Pakistan now wants the international community to urge India to defuse the hostile environment.

"I think there is tremendous pressure of the public on him (Dr Manmohan Singh) otherwise we had good working relations with each other. We also urge the world to to convince India that they should diffuse the situation which is at the moment," Gilani stated.

Close terror cells in India: Pakistan parliament

Pakistan's parliament Wednesday asked the world community to press India for the closure of "terror cells and to stop anti-Pakistan propaganda", even as the president and the prime minister said that the armed forces were ready to defend any aggression against the country.

A strongly-worded resolution passed unanimously by the National Assembly urged the global community to press India to "close terror hubs and stop anti-Pakistan propaganda" through the media and at international forums.

The resolution, presented by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Amad Khan, stated that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region and end of tension with India.

President Asif Ali Zardari, while addressing a students gathering in his home province of Sindh, said: "We will defend the country till the last drop of our blood."

In an address at the Hyderabad Cadets College at Petaro, the president vowed there would no compromise on the independence and sovereignty of the country and maintained that the Pakistan armed forces were ready to defend the country against any aggression.

India should not underestimate our might: Pakistan

Amid a war of words with India over the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan has said its armed forces were fully capable of 'thwarting any aggression from the east' and New Delhi should not underestimate its military might.

India should not underestimate Pakistan's military power because it is 'capable of thwarting any aggression from the east', President Asif Ali Zardari said at a meeting with Gen Tariq Majid, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, in Islamabad on Tuesday night.

Majid told the President that the armed forces were fully capable of meeting any eventuality on the eastern front, Dawn News channel said.

Separately, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said while the operational preparedness of the armed forces was at an 'optimal level', both Pakistan and India cannot afford tension along their border.

'Nobody wants tensions on the borders and we are moving responsibly and with caution,' Gilani told media persons on the sidelines of an official ceremony in Islamabad.

The nation and the army are united to defend the country and its territorial integrity, he added.

'The government is aware of the situation in the region and will act as things move,' Gilani said.

During a meeting with Shahid Malik, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Zardari said Islamabad wants good relations with New Delhi but 'on the basis of sovereign equality'.

Pak soldier among three terrorists held in J&K

Jammu and Kashmir Police have averted a major terror strike with the arrest of three Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen (suicide bombers).

All the three terrorists belong to Pakistan and one of them, Gulam Fareed, is a serving Pakistani Army soldier. Fareed joined the infantry battalion of the Pakistan Army as a sepoy in 2001.

Fareed joined the 10 AK Regiment of Pakistani Army in 2001 and his belt number is 4319148.

He was selected from the Pakistani Army by Jaish to carry out terror strike in India and police claim say he is still serving in the Army.

Director General of Police, Jammu, Kuldeep Khoda confirmed that the three terrorists arrested were planning an attack in Jammu to disrupt the ongoing Assembly polls.

"Questioning has revealed that all three of them had come from Pakistan. They all belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit and they had been deputed here to launch fidayeen attack. One of them revealed that he had been trained to take a loaded vehicle to a target which would be subsequently identified and exploded,” said Khoda.

All the fidayeen were reportedly trained by Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar's younger brother Mufti Abdul Rauf.

Police also say a Jaish camp in Karachi has been operating under the patronage of Pakistani Army just outside the Cantonment in the cty.

They were in Rawalpindi with Mufti Abdul Rauf and from there the three terrorists went to Karachi from where they took a flight to Dhaka.

They infiltrated into India through West Bengal and then took a train from Kolkata and reached Jammu. They checked into a hotel near the railway station from there they moved to hotel in Jammu city to carry out their plans.

The guide for the terrorists was to come from Kashmir but he could not reach as the roads have been blocked due to heavy snowfall. The local terrorists were to give ammunition and specify a target for the attack.

Police sources say that four more terrorists are reported to have infiltrated with the three arrested terrorists.

The arrests come just two days after the Jammu police arrested four suspected terrorists including the commander of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami at the Jammu railway station on Sunday.

The final phase of elections is on December 24 in which 21 Assembly constituencies will vote.

Instrument of surrender by Pak- Original copy - IndoPak war 1971

India - Centre rushes Army chief to Siachen

In view of the heightening tension with Pakistan, the central government on Tuesday rushed Army chief General Deepak Kapoor to Siachen Glacier and forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir to check the operational preparedness of the troops.

Government sources told PTI in New Delhi that General Kapoor left for Siachen Glacier on Tuesday morning and will be there for a day to interact with unit commanders and senior officers before returning to New Delhi after taking stock of the situation.

Gen Kapoor would also visit some of the remote areas in Jammu and Kashmir along the borders with Pakistan to interact with the troops posted there, the sources said.

His sudden trip to the forward areas comes at a time when the government has stated that it is not ruling out any option in its fight against terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  and some senior ministers had deliberations with the armed forces' top brass at the PMO in South Block, following which it is believed that Defence Minister A K Antony directed that all leave to military personnel be cancelled till April next year in view of the situation along the borders.

Since the Mumbai carnage, Army units along the borders with Pakistan have been maintaining a close vigil.

Some of IAF fighter aircraft squadrons in bases in forward areas have been on a 'cockpit alert' under which the force remains ready for military operations.

Taliban pledges support to Pak in war against India

Hunted by the United States and NATO forces for committing acts of terror in Afghanistan, the Taliban on Tuesday said they would back the Pakistan Army by deploying hundreds of suicide bombers in case of any military action with India.

Claiming that 'thousands of our well-armed militants are ready to fight alongside the army if any war is imposed on Pakistan', chief of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, told The News daily by phone from an undisclosed location.

Hundreds of would-be bombers had been 'given suicide jackets and explosive-laden vehicles for protection of the border in case of any aggression by the Indian forces', he said.

'The time had come, to wage a real jihad that the Taliban had been waiting for,' Mehsud, for whom the Pakistani and US forces are on the look out claimed.

'We know very well that the visible and invisible enemies of the country have been planning to weaken this lone Islamic nuclear power. But the mujahideen will foil all such nefarious designs of our enemies,' he said.

This is for the first time Mehsud has admitted that Taliban has marshalled thousands of fighters close to the Afghan-Pak border and where Pakistani army has launched a major operation to flush them out. 

Mehsud said people might question how the Taliban would fight alongside the Pakistan Army when the militants had been fighting the force for a long time.

'Therefore, I want to make it clear that the army was acting otherwise (in the past). But now it would fight for the protection and survival of the country, which is why we will support them,' Mehsud said.

Mehsud, who was accused by former President Pervez Musharraf of masterminding the assassination of Pakistan People's Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto in December last year, significantly said the Taliban would defend the country's frontier with Afghanistan in the event of hostilities with India.

He said he wanted to 'assure the nation, government and army that they should not worry about Pakistan's western borders with Afghanistan' as 'thousands of his armed fighters had already been deployed to safeguard the strategically important frontier'.

Taliban fighters are ready to fight under the army's command, he said, but remarked it would be better for the military to 'give them a separate sector or specify special targets for the militants'.

Tensions have escalated in the region after India blamed Pakistan-elements for the Mumbai terror attacks, which killed over 180 people. India has asked Pakistan to take action against elements, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror group. 

Though India has said war is not an option, Pakistan's top leaders, including Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, have said the country is prepared to face any aggression on the eastern border. Several Taliban commanders have pledged their support to the Pakistan Army in the event of hostilities with India. 

Pak ups 'vigilance', air force jets fly low over cities

Pakistani fighter jets flew low near major cities Monday amid tensions with India triggered by last month's terror attacks on Mumbai.

The air force declined to comment on the flights but issued a statement saying that "in view of the current environment, the Pakistan Air Force has enhanced its vigilance".

The apparent exercises briefly delayed two Pakistan International Airlines flights, said a spokesman for the airline.

Several jets were seen flying close to Lahore and Islamabad, alarming some residents, witnesses said.

Last weekend, Pakistan said Indian jets violated its airspace in two parts of the country, but were chased back over the border. New Delhi said there was no violation.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the last 60 years.

India accuses Pakistani militants of planning and carrying out the attacks on Mumbai.

Pakistan has promised to cooperate, but the strikes have raised tensions nevertheless.

Banned LeT front Jamaat still active in cyberspace

Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the banned frontal organisation of Lashkar-e-Toiba, still has two websites running.

While one of the website is in English and the other is in Urdu and both are being hosted by American companies.

The websites have been unearthed by a Jewish group that fights terrorist groups using the Internet.

The website in English has received 14 posts in the last nine days and one of them is a poem titled 'Manmohan Singh and JuD in a Dream'.

It is illegal for American companies to provide services to Jamaat-ud-Dawa as it is a front for the LeT. But despite the ban, the websites have not been deactivated.

Jamaat was banned earlier in the month by the al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council after it was declared as a terrorist organisation.

The committee has added Jamaat and four Lashkar leaders to a list of firms and people facing sanctions for ties to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, the UN said.

The terrorists added to the sanctions list include Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, which the UN statement described as the leader of the group.

The others are Pakistan-born Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the chief of operations, Haji Muhammad Ashraf, the chief of finance, and India-born Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq, described as a financier for the group who served as its chief in Saudi Arabia.

The same four were hit with US Treasury Department sanctions in May. The UN sanctions, covered by Security Council resolution 1267 from 1999, include the mandatory freezing of assets and travel bans.

PM meets Indian envoys, to turn the heat on Pak

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting all the 120 heads of Indian missions from across the world in New Delhi on Tuesday and is expected to ask them to keep up building pressure on Pakistan.

The heads of Indian missions are in New Delhi to discuss Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan's role in instigating the attacks and India’s diplomatic options.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday had inaugurated the two-day meet and briefed envoys on the diplomatic offensive mounted against Pakistan by India following the Mumbai terror attacks.

Addressing the meet, Mukherjee has also warned Pakistan that India has kept all its options open if Islamabad does not act against terror groups based on its soil.

"Terrorist infrastructure has to be dismantled permanently. Terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is dangerous to peace and security of entire world," Mukherjee had said.

He had also demanded that the major powers of the world need to do more to tackle terrorism and said that the current effort by the global community is not enough.

Blaming Pakistan for supporting terror groups, the External Affairs Minister said, "Pakistan has unfortunately resorted to the policy of denial and is shifting the blame and responsibility. Elements within Pakistan still continue to use terrorists as an instrument of state policy."

Earlier, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had said Islamabad will have to fight terror or else terror will consume Pakistan.

"This really comes down to dealing with the problem, and that means Pakistan has got to do everything it can to help bring the perpetrators to justice," Rice said in an interview to Financial Times.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen is in Islamabad on Tuesday and is expected to meet Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari later in the day.

Dawn News Correspondent Mubashir Zaidi said that Mullen's visit to Islamabad is aimed at easing Indo-Pak tensions.

"Mike Mullen met the Army chief last night (Monday night). The statement after that was about Indo-Pak relations and nothing about Afghanistan. So it was more to cool off temper and US has asked Paksitan to do more. He appreciated the efforts made by Pakistan on the LeT crackdown but also asked for a judicial effort which was lacking in the previous cases. The sincerity of Pakistan will count if they book Jamaat leaders and take action in the court of law," said Zaidi.

Pakistan is still unconvinced about India's charges that all the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November were Pakistani saying there isn't enough proof.

According Pakistani media reports Pakistan Air Force is on a high alerts and has increased its surveillance.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani newspaper The Nation claims the Indian Air Force plans to hit targets in Lahore and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in the next 24 hours.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K Noble, too, is in Pakistan and is likely to raise the issue of terrorists and criminals demanded by India.

We will retort within minutes if India strikes: Pakistan

Pakistan's armed forces will mount an equal response "within minutes" if India carries out any surgical strike inside the country, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has reportedly assured the nation's leadership. During a meeting at the presidency on  Kayani informed President Asif Ali Zardari  about the operational preparedness of the military in the face of mounting tensions with India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. The armed forces were "fully prepared to meet any "eventuality" and the "men are ready to (make a) sacrifice for their country", Kayani was quoted as saying by pro-establishment The News daily. The report also quoted the army chief as saying that Pakistan would respond "within minutes" in the event of surgical strikes by India. The report further stated that the "crux of the meeting" between Zardari and Kayani "was that any further buckling under mounting Indian pressure would prove counter-productive in the sense that it would further encourage New Delhi to further build up pressure on Islamabad". The two leaders met hours after the Pakistan Air Force enhanced its vigilance and warplanes conducted sorties over key cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. Speaking in Karachi, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani too said the nation would stand united in the event of any aggression "on the eastern border". During a meeting last night with the visiting US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, Kayani said Pakistan reserved the right to defend itself in case of any aggression from India, Dawn News channel reported. In his hour-long meeting with Kayani, Zardari said he believed in gearing up efforts for peace, which should not be taken as a sign of weakness. Zardari also said Pakistan wanted peaceful and cordial relations with all its neighbours, but the "threatening statements" of the Indian leadership were creating an atmosphere of aggression and harming the regional environment, The News reported.He said all national security agencies, the army, political leadership and the people are united to meet any aggression against Pakistan. The country has the right to defend its borders in case of any aggression, Zardari added.

LTTE Rebels say 60 Sri Lankan soldiers killed, Government denies

Tamil Tiger rebels killed 60 Sri Lankan troops advancing towards their de facto capital, a pro-rebel report said, but the government denied on Sunday that many soldiers had died.

The insurgents struck as the soldiers were preparing an assault in Iranamadu village, just south of the guerrilla headquarters of Kilinochchi, and forced the troops to retreat from recently seized territory, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site reported late on Saturday.

The guerrillas recovered 12 bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers, and 150 other troops were wounded, the report said. It did not provide the number of rebel losses.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said there were a ``few'' deaths and some soldiers were reported missing. But he dismissed the casualty figures reported by TamilNet and said soldiers were not in retreat.

``We have not pulled back, we are in the same locations,'' Nanayakkara said.

It was not possible to verify the rebel report because journalists are not allowed in the war zone.

Government forces have seized a large area of rebel-held territory in recent months and forced the Tigers into territory in the northeast.

However, troops have been locked in heavy battles at the edge of Kilinochchi for nearly two months amid heavy monsoon rains and stiff resistance by the rebels.

The guerrillas have claimed at least three major battle successes in recent weeks, the last being the reported killing of 170 soldiers near Kilinochchi on Tuesday.