The United States is all set to sell Pakistan weapons worth about one billion dollars. The Obama Administration, as per the US law, has notified the U.S. Congress about the sale, which includes sophisticated weapons and attack helicopters. “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Pakistan for AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters and AGM-114R Hellfire II Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $952 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale,” said the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The weapons will enhance Pakistani military’s capabilities in fighting the Taliban extremists in the country’s restive northwest, especially in the semiautonomous FATA tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. “We have a very close counterterrorism relationship with Pakistan for a very – for very good reasons.  There’s still a serious threat in Pakistan from terrorists who have either attacked the United States or American soldiers in Afghanistan, who have tried to plot and plan against the West, including the U.S.  Obviously, the remnants of core al-Qaida are in the – mainly in the tribal areas of Pakistan.  So the Pakistanis have a serious problem still, and that’s why we’re trying to help them.  This is in our national security interest to do so,” said State Department acting spokesperson Marie Harf during her daily press briefing in Washington DC. According to DSCA, Pakistan has requested possible sale of 15 AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters, 32 T-700 GE 401C Engines (30 installed and 2 spares), 1000 AGM-114 R Hellfire II Missiles in containers, 36 H-1 Technical Refresh Mission computers, 17 AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight Systems, 30 629F-23 Ultra High Frequency/Very High Frequency Communication Systems, 19 H-764 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems, 32 Helmet Mounted...

A government laboratory has declared that eight brands of mineral and bottled water – currently available on the open market – are “completely unsafe” for human consumption due to “chemical and microbiological contaminations”. “[A] comparison of analytical findings with the permissible limits set by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that eight brands are unsafe due to chemical or microbiological contamination,” says the quarterly report of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) for January-March 2015. According to PCRWR – which is a part of the Ministry of Science and Techonology – bottled water brands that were found to be unsafe for consumption include the brands Al-Haider, Noble, Drop Ice, Al-Sana, Days Pure, Effort, Aqua Safe and Butt. The PCRWR had collected samples of 71 commercially available bottled water brands from local markets in seven cities of the country, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Karachi, Tando Jam and Quetta. The report says that three of the unsafe brands – Al-Sana, Aqua Safe and Days Pure – have comparatively high arsenic levels, ranging from 11-35 parts per billion (ppb) as opposed to the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority’s definition, should be less than 10 ppb. Unsafe brands had high levels of sodium, potassium, arsenic and biological contaminants Excessive arsenic in the water can cause various disorders of the skin, diabetes, kidney problems, hypertension, heart ailments, birth defects, black foot and multiple cancers. Three other brands – Drop Ice, Effort and Butt – were found to be unsafe due to “microbiological contamination which may cause cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis and typhoid etc.” Noble, Days Pure, Aqua Safe also contain unusually high quantities of sodium, which the levels of potassium found in the Al-Haider brand are also alarmingly high, according to the report. The PCRWR has urged national quality control and...

Dr. T. C. A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, gave his observations and comments on India-Pakistan relations in a round table discussion at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) on April 7, 2015. Noting the dramatic events that took place in 1979, such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Revolution in Iran, and the hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Pakistan, Dr. Raghavan suggested that the cycle of events precipitated by these events seemed to have come full circle with the recent breakthrough in the Iran-US negotiations. He also referred to the changes taking place in South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dr. Raghavan recalled having been told in various conversations during his stay in Pakistan that the US-Canada relationship model could serve as a benchmark for the India-Pakistan partnership. He emphasized that care and caution is of utmost importance while dealing with India-Pakistan relations. Emphasizing the importance of resolving terrorism and extremism, Dr. Raghavan asked the audience to imagine the state of India-Pakistan bilateral relations in the contra-factual situations wherein the Kargil episode of 1999 and the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008 had not taken place. Being inquired on the approach of the present Indian Government towards India-Pakistan relations, Dr. Raghavan said that the approach was very clear, the Government wants good relations with all the neighboring countries; in this context, he also noted the invitation extended to all the SAARC leaders for attending the oath taking ceremony of the Council of Ministers of the present Government. Referring to the new areas having strong potential for bilateral cooperation, Dr. Raghavan specifically highlighted hydro-carbon sector, health sector and tourism sector.

A monthly update on the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) drone strikes in Afghanistan-Pakistan border region reveals that the strikes have been halved from the previous year, and the number of fatalities has also been reduced. The CIA drone strikes are being carried out in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where Pakistani armed forces are conducting an operation code named ‘Zarb-e-Azb since June 2014 to root out terrorist infrastructure. Last year Pakistan witnessed 25 such strikes, in which approximately 184 people got killed, with reported 4 civilians among the victims, while 40 people were injured. The Obama administration carried out more drone strikes than his predecessor George. W Bush. The CIA carried out 408 strikes since 2004, whereas the number of Obama strikes is crossing more than 360. Pakistan: CIA drone strikes   All strikes, March 2015 All strikes, 2015 to date All strikes, 2004 to date CIA drone Strikes 1 6 414 Total reported killed 3 29-41 2,445 - 3,945 Civilians reported killed 0 0 421- 960 Children reported killed 0 0 172- 207 Total reported injured 0 9-14 1,142- 1, 720   One CIA drone strike killed three people in Pakistan last month. The attack hit in Kurram agency just across the border from North Waziristan – the location of the overwhelming majority of strikes this year and in 2014. The attack hit in the Shabak area of the agency, which is close to the border with Afghanistan. Some reports had the strike hitting in Afghanistan however a Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) statement placed the attack on the Pakistan side of the border. This TTP press release was a eulogy for the three men killed in the attack. It said Khawrey Mehsud was a senior commander in the group and had been its former leader Baitullah Mehsud‘s bodyguard. Baituallah was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in 2009. This was the first strike in Pakistan since January 28 when six or seven people were killed in North Waziristan. There has...

At an EHAD workshop, organized in Peshawar in 2014, journalists were asked to produce one investigative report on child sexual abuse, infectious disease HIV/Aids, child marriages, and many other issues. Inam Ullah, veteran reporter for the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS/The Center), filed a radio report on HIV/Aids, a taboo topic in Pakistan. Inam's entry was one of nearly a hundred submitted for this competition. The report, focusing on treatment, prevention and risks of HIV/Aids, delved into Khyber Pukhtunkhwa government’s initiatives to provide free treatment and counseling at major public hospitals. The report also aimed to create awareness and sensitize the public about HIV/Aids, which is no longer a deadly disease, if an infected person starts treatment in time. This report was aired on September 23, 2014 in The Center's flagship radio show, Sabawoon and simultaneously submitted to EHAD for the award competition. CRSS is pleased to announce that Inam Ullah received the first prize in the radio category. The award ceremony washeld at Marriott Islamabad on March 27, 2015 where Inam was gifted a sum of Rs. 20,000 for his outstanding reporting. The Center offers heartiest felicitations to Inam Ullah, for this incredible accomplishment in the field of journalism.