Saleem's Post

   How many times do we have to remind ourselves that during the 1960s Pakistan had the fastest growing economy in the whole of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; that the South Koreans borrowed Pakistan’s second five-year plan as a guideline for their own economic development. And would you believe that in 1963 the Ayub Khan-led government gave a $25 million (Compensating for Inflation that would be more than $250 million in 2018.) loan to Germany (West Germany) for a period of 20 years?  During this period a significant number of Pakistanis had migrated to the UK, the USA and some other European countries. There were a few thousand Pakistani immigrant workers in KSA, Bahrain, and Kuwait, but almost none in the Trucial States (Now UAE). The Trucial States was a British protectorate that existed from 1820 to 1971 before becoming the UAE. All these states were ruled by the British.  Kuwait was granted independence in 1961. Bahrain became independent in August and Qatar ...

  In the Kasur/Khem Karan sector BRB canal flows along a north-south alignment. Radcliffe Line runs to the east of BRB, almost parallel to the canal up to a place called Ballanwala. From there onward it takes a U-turn that forms the Indian Khem Karan enclave. Next to the enclave, an inverted U-turn forms the Pakistani Sehjra salient. Khem Karan-Amritsar railway line divides the area between Ballanwala and Khem Karan. Immediately to the east of the international border, the area of operations was like an inverted horseshoe, its apex pointing towards Pakistan. To the north of the railway line, the area is bounded by Kasur Drain which meanders northeast to southwest between Bhikkiwind and Ballanwala. To the south of the railway line Rohi Nullah, flowing in a southeasterly direction, finally drains into the Sutlej River. An all-weather road connects Khem Karan with Amritsar through Bhikkiwind. In 1965, Asal Uttar, Valtoha, and Dibbipura formed a major clutch of villages to the east of...

                         In September 1965, PAF had a total of  eleven combat  squadrons. One trainer squadron (T33) which was also utilized for reconnaissance and ground support during the war, and one reconnaissance squadron (RB-57). One squadron  F-86 aircraft (No 14) was located in East Pakistan. According to Fricker, the breakdown of PAF combat aircraft was as follows:- PAF Order of Battle   Squadron No. Aircraft 5 F-86 F 7 B-57B 8 B-57B 9 F-104A/B 11 F-86-F 14 F-86-F 15 F-86 F 16 F-86 F 17 F-86 F 18 F-86 F 19 F-86 F 2 T-33 (Trainer) ? RB-57 (Recce) Total:13   ...

  A Disease called Demrocratitis In the past, lawyers were unleashed to bite whoever comes in their way, pulling oxygen masks from the faces of patients in a Lahore hospital. They were provoked by the doctors, the media reports, who had mocked the lawyers earlier in scathing videos. We do not know the reason for the doctors taking offense though. Democracy, they say, is better than any other political system. And “the remedy for democratic mayhem is more democracy”. We have all the paraphernalia of a democratic system – parliament, judiciary, executive, and a thriving, conniving, and blackmailing Fourth Estate- the media. For the commoners, there is the freedom to block the roads, rape (especially the minors), loot the pedestrians (and occasionally some banks), attack hospitals (this is a recent sport), etc., etc. The elite class –media barons and their carpetbaggers, feudal lords, industrialists, politicians, and banking sharks, etc., have more sophisticated pastimes. They have th...

Jammu &Kashmir is not the Main Battleground   There is a general impression on both sides of the LoC that Pakistan could have done much more in the wake of India’s ham-handed actions against the Kashmiris. The people of Jammu and Kashmir now think that military action against India is the only option left to emancipate the Kashmiris reeling under the Indian occupation .    Pakistan, in the past, had exercised the military option twice, in 1947 and 1965, to liberate Jammu & Kashmir. The first Kashmir War resulted in Pakistan getting control of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Together, these two areas constitute one-third of the former princely state.  Azad Kashmir is a sliver of territory, a mountain barrier that separates IHK from West Punjab and thus provides a cushion between Pakistan and India in this sector. GB is like a huge plug that prevents India from expanding into Afghanistan and thence into Central Asia. It is a strategically important are...