Article

2003-02-21 Afghanistan

Pak Arms Donation Signals Stake in Afghanistan

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Posted by Fred Pruitt 2003-02-21 08:53 am|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 they also donated several gunboats and a diesel sub

Posted by Frank G 2003-02-21 09:05:23|| 2003-02-21 09:05:23|| Front Page Top

#2 Plus some non-conventonal (and rather confused) forces in the NWFP (???).

Posted by Ptah 2003-02-21 09:58:21|| 2003-02-21 09:58:21|| Front Page Top

#3 gunboats&submarine.I know Murat considers Americans to be Geographically ignorant.But isn't
Afganistan land locked.
What are they going to do with them,patrol Kabul's sewers.

Posted by raptor 2003-02-21 10:17:31|| 2003-02-21 10:17:31|| Front Page Top

#4 Subtile humour, Raptor. Like the "p" in swimming...

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-02-21 10:31:14|| 2003-02-21 10:31:14|| Front Page Top

#5 Pakistan has realized that they lost big-time by backing the Taliban. Also India's been making lots of friendly gestures towards the new Afghan government. Pakistan can't let Afghanistan become a Indian ally, hence this help.
Pretty good for Karzai and company if they play their cards right.

Posted by John Thacker 2003-02-21 12:16:33|| 2003-02-21 12:16:33|| Front Page Top

#6 thanks Paul - you got it

Posted by Frank G 2003-02-21 13:09:30|| 2003-02-21 13:09:30|| Front Page Top

#7 I was in Pakistan in '71 - '72 and back then our nations were friendly to each other. Even during the War for Bangladesh we stuck by them. It was only after Bhutto was overthrown by Zia followed by our arming of the mujahaden(sp) that things started going sour. We left all those Islamists around Peshawar fully armed and once the USSR left Afghanistan, these fundamentalists were "all dressed up with no place to go". Glad I'd moved on to greener pastures by then.

Posted by Fleck 2003-02-21 14:26:02|| 2003-02-21 14:26:02|| Front Page Top

#8 Pakistan has opted to mine copper in Afghanistan. They have also endorsed interest in establishing industries such as small-scale industries. Oddly enough, the Chinese mined the copper in Pakistan itself. I have read in several places that a delegation form Pakistan was there recently. Pakistan has also agreed to import iron ore from Afghanistan where the raw commodity is in abundance. Thereby providing some cheap ore to the steel plant (a Russian aided project); they have in South - a perpetual white elephant and bone of contention of every ruling group there. Presently Pakistan obtains ore from Australia

Pakistan does not want to be outmatched by the Indians, realizing that the former country has more to give in terms of both economic raw material and technical expertise.

Karzai himself is a graduate in Engineering from India and therefore familiar with that country. And the least to say that now Taliban (a group funded and sponsored by Pakistani intelligence agency the ISI)

Posted by ISHMAIL 2003-02-22 02:48:41|| 2003-02-22 02:48:41|| Front Page Top

#9 carried on previous comment....

have gone away. Pakistan is a self-styled leader Muslim groups of the world like those in Kashmir or Afghanistan . However, it never touches matters that are not in geographic vicinity like Muslims of Albania, Eritrea, Somalia, Myanmar, Philippines etc(a case of selective-myopia.) The arms aid,copper mining and establishing infrastructure in Afghanistan are all vestiges of a similar psyche and would also help safeguard future interests like the US$3.2-billion natural gas pipeline that will run from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and then into Pakistan.

Posted by ISHMAIL 2003-02-22 04:43:35|| 2003-02-22 04:43:35|| Front Page Top

10:13 Tom Roberts
06:54 raptor
06:49 raptor
06:32 raptor
06:32 raptor
06:32 raptor
04:43 ISHMAIL
04:15 ISHMAIL
02:48 ISHMAIL
00:46 Rex Mundi
00:31 Rex Mundi
00:02 aa
23:15 efwest
22:55 Anon
22:22 John
22:20 Fred
22:02 Anon
21:46 Dishman
21:30 John
21:29 Alaska Paul
21:22 Alaska Paul
21:22 mojo
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21:18 Fred