Picked up from GoatMilk, first printed in the South Asia Tribune in May of 2003. This same report was removed from the US CentCom website and reposted on the US Information Clearinghouse Website:

This is the first official estimate of losses suffered by Pakistan, given by the US military high command and analysts say these figures could now be used extensively by the anti-American political forces in Pakistan to pressurize General Pervez Musharraf and his Government to explain his Taliban U-Turn and justify what Pakistan received in return.

The Centcom figures are far in excess of what Pakistani Government officials and experts have been claiming, the highest claim being US$ 2-3 billion. In contrast, what the US has offered to Pakistan so far, a US$ 1 billion write-off of loans, looks like as spoon of tomato ketchup in place of a full fledged state banquet.

“This is a goldmine of political ammunition for the religious right wing forces, like the MMA, to blast the US and the Musharraf Government,” one analyst said.

These figures have been revealed in a detailed review of Pakistan’s role in the operation and are specifically mentioned under the title “Effects of Operation Enduring Freedom on Economy of Pakistan” at the US Centcom web site, a huge resource about the US and coalition activities under the Command.

“Operation Enduring Freedom adversely affected the already fragile economy of Pakistan. Major losses were caused to the civil aviation, tourism, investment and shipping due to rise in the rates of insurance,” the Centcom site data says.

But more mind boggling are the other stats revealed by the Centcom about use of Pakistani air and ground space and facilities provided for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). For instance, the CentCom data reveals that:

• Pakistan provided five air bases/airfields. However in emergency planes could land anywhere in Pakistan.
• On the average 400,000 liters of fuel per day was provided to US.
• A total of 57,800 sorties were generated from Pakistan’s air space/soil.
• In order to facilitate launching of air ops into Afghanistan, Pakistan provided 2/3rd of its air space as air corridor to the US/Coalition Forces. By so doing, Pakistan had to reschedule/ redirect many of its commercial flights.
• Pakistan Navy provided landing facility to the US/Coalition ships at Pasni.
• At sea, Pakistan Navy operations/training were curtailed in order to accommodate and facilitate the operations of US/Coalition Naval Forces.
• According to the US Marine Corps Gazette of June 2002, the Coalition Naval Operations at Pasni were the largest amphibious operations in size, duration and depth that the Marine Corps had conducted since the Korean War.
• In all, 8,000 Marines, 330 vehicles and over 1350 tons of equipment/logistic were off loaded at the beach and later flown to Kandahar from Pasni.

Besides these, in the War against Terrorism, according to the Centcom data, up to October 2002, the US side made 2,160 requests (of different nature) to Pakistan of which action on 2,008 was completed. Likewise 99 raids were conducted, 420 foreign nationals were apprehended of which 332 were handed over to the US, 34 were sent to other countries, 38 were released and 16 were under interrogation.

Read more »

The United States and Pakistan reached tacit agreement in September on a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy that allows unmanned Predator aircraft to attack suspected terrorist targets in rugged western Pakistan, according to senior officials in both countries. In recent months, the U.S. drones have fired missiles at Pakistani soil at an average rate of once every four or five days.

The officials described the deal as one in which the U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan’s government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes.

The arrangement coincided with a suspension of ground assaults into Pakistan by helicopter-borne U.S. commandos. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview last week that he was aware of no ground attacks since one on Sept. 3 that his government vigorously protested.

Officials described the attacks, using new technology and improved intelligence, as a significant improvement in the fight against Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. Officials confirmed the deaths of at least three senior al-Qaeda figures in strikes last month.

Zardari said that he receives “no prior notice” of the airstrikes and that he disapproves of them. But he said he gives the Americans “the benefit of the doubt” that their intention is to target the Afghan side of the ill-defined, mountainous border of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), even if that is not where the missiles land.

Civilian deaths remain a problem, Zardari said. “If the damage is women and children, then the sensitivity of its effect increases,” he said. The U.S. “point of view,” he said, is that the attacks are “good for everybody. Our point of view is that it is not good for our position of winning the hearts and minds of people.”

A senior Pakistani official said that although the attacks contribute to widespread public anger in Pakistan, anti-Americanism there is closely associated with President Bush. Citing a potentially more favorable popular view of President-elect Barack Obama, he said that “maybe with a new administration, public opinion will be more pro-American and we can start acknowledging” more cooperation.

The official, one of several who discussed the sensitive military and intelligence relationship only on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S-Pakistani understanding over the airstrikes is “the smart middle way for the moment.” Contrasting Zardari with his predecessor, retired Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the official said Musharraf “gave lip service but not effective support” to the Americans. “This government is delivering but not taking the credit.” Read more »

The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) which makes tall claims about upholding building control laws and clamping down on violations in its area, does not hesitate breaking its own rules when it comes to the authority’s interests. This is evident in the case of the newly opened Floating Ship restaurant which has been allowed a parking space by blocking a service road of the Beach Avenue.

When contacted by The News, Brigadier Iftikhar Haider, Director, Special Projects, said that no law has been broken with the Floating Ship restaurant blocking off the service lane on Main Seaview Road (Beach Avenue) to make a parking area for the restaurant.

The controversial restaurant, in which DHA also has a stake, has been making the news for all the wrong reasons. In the past, there have been public protests over the manner in which the DHA has allowed the restaurant to be built on a public beach.

The “Sahil Bachao Tehreek” claimed that by allowing the restaurant to be built on a portion of the beach, the passage of beach visitors was being cut off at high tide by the restaurant that juts out onto the public beach area.

With the opening of the restaurant, the DHA has allowed a service lane of the Beach Avenue to be converted into a parking area for the restaurant. Brigadier Haider claims that the permission to build a parking area by closing off a service lane is allowed in the Master Plan approved by the DHA’s higher-ups in 2007. Read more »

While the domestic media continues to sing the praises of Mustafa Kamal (and he deserves a lot of praise) for his #2 ranking by Foreign Policy magazine, bad reporting is in play.

If you check the ratings that were issued by Foreign Policy magazine, you will find that Syed Mustafa Kamal, Mayor of the great City of Karachi is #57, not number #2. I can however see how someone would think that he was number #2 based on a profile page that was included, but it clearly says next to his name #57.

Can the media please correct this information for the general public or are they too busy gaining favors from the MQM for this propaganda?

Screen shots for your review: