Pakistani and Russian armed forces launched joint maneuvers in a latest sign of the growing military ties between the two countries
Pakistani and Russian armed forces on Monday launched joint maneuvers in a latest sign of the growing military ties between the two countries.
A Russian army contingent has arrived in Pakistan to participate in the joint military exercise "Druzhba-III", Pakistan Army spokesperson Major Gen. Asif Ghafoor said in a statement.
The two-week-long drills will last through Nov. 4.
This is the third part of a series of military drills in the ongoing Pakistan-Russia military cooperation which was agreed on in a defense deal signed in 2014.
The first part of the exercises was held in Pakistan in 2016 and the second one was in Russia in 2017.
Islamabad and Moscow have accelerated defense cooperation in recent years following Pakistan's deteriorating ties with the U.S., mainly on Afghanistan.
Islamabad received four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Moscow last year for $153 million.
Russia, along with China, has appeared as an alternative to the U.S. in the face of Washington's burgeoning defense partnership with New Delhi.
Moscow has also shown interest in the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which is the part of Beijing’s most ambitious foreign economic initiative -- One Belt One Road.
The $64 billion project aims to connect northwest China to Pakistan's southwestern Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil, and gas.
The route will provide the shortest way to Chinese cargo destined for the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.
Pakistan has reportedly agreed to give Russia access to the Gwadar port for trade in return for a planned Russian railway track between the port and the northwestern Chaman border though details about the port-for-railway deal have yet to emerge.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States will exit the Cold-War era treaty that eliminated a class of nuclear weapons due to Russian violations, a move an official in Moscow called a dangerous attempt at blackmail.The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, required elimination of short-range and intermediate-range nuclear and conventional missiles by both countries."Russia has not, unfortunately, honored the agreement so we're going to terminate the agreement and we're going to pull out," Trump told reporters after a rally in Nevada.Washington believes Moscow is developing and has deployed a ground-launched system in breach of the INF treaty that could allow Moscow to launch a nuclear strike on Europe at short notice. Russia has consistently denied any such violation.Trump said the United States will develop the weapons unless Russia and China agree to a halt on development.China is not a party to the treaty and has invested heavily in conventional missiles as part of an anti-access/area denial strategy, while the INF has banned U.S possession of ground- launched ballistic missiles or cruise missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (311 and 3,418 miles).Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, will visit Moscow next week.Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, in comments reported by TASS news agency, said a unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the treaty "would be a very dangerous step."Ryabkov was also quoted as saying that it was Washington and not Moscow that was failing to comply with the treaty.He said the Trump administration was using the treaty in an attempt to blackmail the Kremlin, putting global security at risk."We see an attempt to, effectively, present Russian with an ultimatum," Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. "...We will, of course, accept no ultimatums or blackmail methods."Trump says US pulling out of Russian nuclear arms deal
Trump says US to exit nuclear treaty, Russia says dangerous move
A Russian military trainer aircraft on Saturday crashed in the Azov Sea, killing two pilots, the country’s Defense Ministry said.The incident happened when the L-39 trainer jet was carrying out an exercise flight, the ministry said in a statement.A technical malfunction has been named as a possible cause of accident.
Russian military jet crash kills two pilots
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will pull the country out of a nuclear arms agreement with Russia.The deal being referred to is the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, ratified in 1987 by the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union, which eliminated all nuclear missiles and launchers with a range of 310 - 3,420 miles (500 - 5,500 kilometers).Trump spoke to reporters after a campaign rally in Nevada, and said that "Russia has violated the agreement.""We’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out," Trump added.Trump's remarks come as National Security Adviser John Bolton prepares to travel to Moscow early next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.The pact has made it difficult for the U.S. to develop new weapons to combat China's attempt to impose nuclear dominance over the Western Pacific region.China is not a part of the agreement, and therefore is not restricted in the development of nuclear missiles.The president went further to criticize former President Barack Obama for staying in the agreement, noting that Russia has been developing weapons that had been banned as part of the deal.Trump did not give a timeline as to when the U.S. would officially remove themselves from the INF.Next summit for Trump, N.Korea's Kim likely after first of year: senior US officialTrump a reluctant critic of Saudi Arabia despite pressure to actTrump: Congress to be involved in Khashoggi responseTrump keen, Congress unswayed by Khashoggi explanation
Trump says US pulling out of Russian nuclear arms deal
Balance out
Security analysts view the joint exercises as an attempt by Moscow to "balance out" its missile deal with New Delhi.
India has inked a deal of $5 billion to purchase an S-400 air defense missile system during Russian President Vladimir Putin visit to the country on Oct. 5.
"Moscow is pursuing a balanced approach in the region. It [Russia] is still New Delhi's largest arms provider but simultaneously it wants to boost relations with Pakistan to protect its regional interests, mainly in
Afghanistan," Brigadier Mahmood Shah, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Anadolu Agency.
The two sides, Mahmood opined, shared some common interests in the region, especially in the war-stricken Afghanistan, behind their increasing partnership.
"Russia is worried about a possible fall out of the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan via the Central Asian States. That's why it [Moscow] is equally interested in peace in Afghanistan, for which Pakistan is a common denominator," he said.
For Pakistan, he agreed, Russia has emerged as another option in terms of defense cooperation following icy relations between Islamabad and Washington -- two former allies in the so-called war on terror.
Five Kashmiri civilians and three militants were killed in southern Kashmir, police said Sunday.The militants were killed in a gunbattle with the Indian forces and a civilian was also shot dead in Kulgam area, police spokesman Manoj Pandita said.Four more civilians were killed in a blast soon after the gunbattle ended when they entered the house from where the militants had been fighting.Indian forces use explosives to blow up the houses from which the militants fight during the gunbattles.Hospital authorities confirmed the death of five people.Over 43 civilians have been reportedly wounded in the protests and clashes between people and the Indian forces that are being reported from several areas across the south.The pro-independence leadership called for a complete shutdown to be observed on Monday against the killings.Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.
Three militants, five civilians killed in Kashmir
Yunus Emre Institute, a Turkish cultural center, on Saturday launched Turkish language program for orphans in Pakistan’s northeastern city of Lahore.Provincial Information Minister Fayyaz Ul Hassan Chohan, Turkey's Consul General Emir Ozbay, Yunus Emre Institute’s Director in Lahore Ulas Ertas and other officials were also present at the launching ceremony."This language program would help students study the very rich culture and history of Turkey,” Chohan told at the ceremony.Pakistan and Turkey enjoy historical, cultural, religious and economic relations and we want to further strengthen these ties, Chohan added.The minister assured the Turkish officials that his government would extend full support and cooperation to Turkish organizations operating in Pakistan.Ertas, for his part, said: "Turkey has launched several programs in education sector of Pakistan to support the students of our brotherly country."
Turkey starts language courses for orphans in Pakistan
Islamabad has closed two main crossing points with Afghanistan on eve of the Afghan parliamentary polls, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Friday."On request by the government of Afghanistan it has been decided to keep the friendship gates on Pakistan Afghanistan border crossing points at Chaman and Torkhan closed on Oct. 19 and 20," Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for the Foreign Office, said in a statement.The decision has been taken to support Afghanistan in smooth conduct of upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, Faisal said, adding both crossing points will remain closed for all kind of traffic except emergency cases.The parliamentary election in Afghanistan is going to be held tomorrow, on Oct. 20.More than 2,500 people, including 418 women, are competing for the 249 seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, lower house of the parliament.Election in Afghan province of Kandahar to be delayed a week
Pakistan closes border crossings ahead of Afghan polls