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Growing military ties between China and Pakistan are a serious concern to India, Defense Minister A.K. Antony said on Friday, in the latest display of a prickly rivalry between New Delhi and its neighbors.

Suspicions by Pakistan's powerful army that the country's civilian leadership is growing too close to the United States are fueling a political crisis that analysts here believe threatens the survival of the government and could divert attention from the battle against Islamic extremists. Military officials believe that secretly taped conversations between Pakistani President Asif Zardari and his ambassador in Washington, prove that it was at Zardari's insistence that a $1.5 billion U.S. aid package passed by Congress in September contained several provisions that angered the Pakistani military. The military publicly protested the aid package last month. "The reaction (from the...

NEW DELHI: Pakistani terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh was behind the hoax call made to Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari during the height of tensions between India and Pakistan after the 26/11 attacks. Investigators told Pakistani daily Dawan that Omar Sheikh, posing as former external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, had threatened Mr Zardari, in a bid to heighten tensions between the two countries. Pakistani investigators found that Omar Sheikh, in a Karachi jail since 2002 for the murder of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl, used a mobile phone with a UK-registered SIM to first place a call to Mr Mukherjee,...

ISLAMABAD: Omar Saeed Sheikh, a detained Pakistani militant, had made hoax calls to President Asif Ali Zardari and the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in a bid to heighten Pakistan-India tensions after last year’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai, investigators have told Dawn. ‘Omar Saeed Sheikh was the hoax caller. It was he who threatened the civilian and military leaderships of Pakistan over telephone. And he did so from inside Hyderabad jail,’ investigators said. The controversy came to light after Dawn broke the story, exactly one year ago, that a hoax caller claiming to be then Indian foreign...

DAWN.com: Rawalpindi - "SEVEN INDICTED FOR PLANNING, AIDING MUMBAI ATTACK" SNIPPET: "Anti-terrorism court judge Malik Mohammad Akram Awan charged Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Al-Qama, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum with planning, arranging weapons and providing training to the attackers." SNIPPET: "The court decided to take up the case of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving 'terrorist' being tried in India, separately under section 540-A of the criminal procedure code..."

Archaeologists warn that the Taliban are destroying Pakistan's ancient Gandhara heritage and rich Buddhist legacy as pilgrimage and foreign research dries up in the country's northwest. "Militants are the enemies of culture," said Abdul Nasir Khan, curator of Taxila Museum, one of the premier archeological collections in Pakistan. "It is very clear that if the situation carries on like this, it will destroy our culture and will destroy our cultural heritage," he told AFP. Taxila, a small town around 20 kilometres south of Islamabad, is one of Pakistan's foremost archeological attractions given its history as a centre of Buddhist learning...

'I have been warning Pakistan," announced Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Indian minister of home affairs, this month, "not to play games with us. If terrorists from Pakistan try to carry out any attacks in India, they will not only be defeated, but will be retaliated against very strongly." In the spectacular attacks in Mumbai a year ago tomorrow, 10 terrorists despatched by Lashkar-e-Taiba, an extremist Muslim organisation based in Pakistan, killed at least 173 people, including five British nationals. Ahead of the anniversary of the atrocities, Mr Chidambaram's words have been understood – both in New Delhi and Islamabad – to...

Mumbai: D. Sivanandan, Mumbai's police commissioner, was appointed to his position in June after his predecessor came under fire for mishandling the November attacks in which 173 people were killed. Sivanandan, who is credited with wiping out Mumbai's notorious underworld as head of the city's crime branch in the early 90s, taught economics for several years. Known for his iron hand, he was even depicted in a Bollywood movie on gang wars. At a recent interaction on security with business executives, Sivanandan spoke about measures taken to secure the city, the possibility of a new attack, and the need to...

A year ago tomorrow, as no one in India needs reminding, Urban Jihad set sail from hostile shores, came aground in Mumbai, flickered live on our TV screens, and purveyed death across the city. Recovering from the monstrous invasion, a wounded and incensed India that had had enough of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism seriously contemplated letting rip against terrorist targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But following entreaties to hold back in the interests of not diverting attention and military resources away from the larger goal of targeting jihadi forces in Afghanistan, it exercised tremendous restraint. A year later, look at where Pakistan stands....

The United States has started engaging the Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, highly-placed sources told Dawn on Monday. He said that four “major neutral players” were engaged with the Afghan Taliban on behalf of the Saudi leadership and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) of Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani leadership and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).The GID and ISI have been doing the job on behalf of the US government and CIA. The source said that one of the main objectives of the recent visit to Pakistan by CIA chief Leon Panetta was to assess progress in...

ISLAMABAD -- The Islamist militant group behind the deadly attack in Mumbai one year ago remains a potent force determined to strike India and the West, and a source of acrimony between South Asia's nuclear-armed rivals, say officials and members of the militant faction. Indian officials and experts say at least six new plots against Mumbai by the Pakistan-based group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been disrupted in the 12 months since 10 gunmen wrought three days of havoc on India's financial capital, killing 166 people. Lashkar's infiltration of India's part of Kashmir is again on the upswing, the officials say; and a...

Washington - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives at the White House Tuesday wondering if his country remains the US priority under President Obama that it became under President Bush. The Obama administration thought it had answered that question months ago when it announced that Mr. Singh's day of meetings would constitute the first state visit of Mr. Obama's presidency – a distinction meant to convey the importance of the occasion. But Obama's week-long trip to Asia that ended last Thursday has India questioning anew the value of a US partnership. In particular, the tenor of Obama's three days in...

Pakistan rolls out jet fighter produced with Chinese assistance Islamabad - Pakistan on Monday celebrated the rollout of a multi-purpose jet fighter manufactured in the country under a joint venture with China. The first locally produced JF-17 Thunder made its debut at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, a small garrison town some 65 kilometres north-west of Islamabad. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani described the launch as "a milestone" that placed Pakistan among an elite club of nations that manufacture fighter aircraft. Pakistan had signed a development contract with China's Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation in June 1999, and the co-produced...

Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targetted by US drones, Pakistan's ISI has helped him to flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, where he has established a new Shura council. One-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban recently found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) assistance, the Washington Times reported quoting US intelligence officials. "Mullah Omar travelled to Karachi last month after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi, a city that so...

SNIPPET: “In about less than a week, India will mark the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks. After the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Chicago breakthrough, now Italy has achieved some headway in the investigations relating to last year’s terror events(26/11). The Italian police have arrested, after almost a year long monitoring and surveillance, two Pakistani nationals (Father and Son duo) from Brescia city who are accused of sending funds from their money transfer agency and providing the logistical support to Pakistani terrorists. The suspects Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and Aamer Yaqub Janjua, owners of the Madina Trading telephone...

Come Friday prayers in Lahore, it is not hard to find the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. Hafiz Mohammed Saeed is neither in hiding nor in jail. The founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba is instead delivering a sermon to thousands of devoteees at the Jamia al-Qadsia mosque — one of the biggest in the city. “God has promised to make Muslims a superpower if we follow the right path,” Mr Saeed told his followers, who listened in rapt silence. Outside, policemen with machineguns stood guard and bearded security men frisked all those entering. “Our rulers are the slave of America and...

WASHINGTON: The United States has come perilously close to calling Pakistan a terrorist state by alleging that the country’s spy agency ISI recently spirited Taliban leader Mullah Omar to Karachi to save him from American drone attacks in Quetta. In the most direct charge of its kind, current and former US intelligence officers are saying on background that the one-eyed leader and illiterate leader of the Afghan Taliban, ''has fled a Pakistani city on the border with Afghanistan and found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with the assistance of Pakistan's intelligence service.'' Washington believes that Omar was in...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- CIA Director Leon Panetta arrived in Pakistan Friday to discuss the issue of the location of the leadership of the Taliban with security officials. Panetta was to meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and top military and intelligence officials, Pakistan's The National newspaper reported. He is expected to discuss issues related to the leadership of the Taliban believed to be hiding in the tribal border regions along the Afghan border. Pakistani officials denied claims the leadership is in the area, the report said.

A suspected US drone aircraft fired two missiles in North Waziristan on Friday, killing eight people, the second such attack this week. Eight militants were killed in a US missile strike in northwest Pakistan on Friday, officials said. The United States has carried out 45 attacks with its pilotless, missile-firing aircraft in northwest Pakistan this year as its forces in neighbouring Afghanistan have faced an intensifying Taliban insurgency.

Obama 'shocker' leaves New Delhi confused, suspicious Last updated on: November 20, 2009 09:22 IST A week before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] and United States President Barack Obama's [ Images ] first high-level talks in Washington, India [ Images ] got a 'shocker' from Obama via Beijing [ Images ]. The joint statement issued by US and China, after the talks between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, declared that both sides "support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan." This created much confusion and suspicion in New Delhi [ Images ]. "At a...

CHICAGO — One of two Chicago men accused of plotting an armed attack on a Danish newspaper may have been involved in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, authorities in that country say. The FBI for now is saying only that it has evidence David Coleman Headley was in contact with the Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba — which the Indian government blames for the Mumbai attacks that left 166 dead and 308 wounded — while he allegedly planned and carried out reconnaissance this year near the newspaper offices in Copenhagen. Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, were...

New Delhi: Angered by US President Barack Obama’s attempt to envisage a role for China in South Asia, India on Wednesday made it clear that it objects any move to give a wider footprint to China in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs said that it had objections to Obama giving China a greater role in South Asian affairs, adding a third country’s role cannot be envisaged in the bilateral relationships between countries of the region. The MEA further said a role for a third country in the region was not necessary and India was committed to resolving all...

The US has killed four Taliban fighters in just the second airstrike in Pakistan's tribal areas this month. Unmanned aircraft, likely remotely piloted Predator or Reaper drones, hit a Taliban compound in the village of Shanakhora, which lies six miles west of Miramshah in North Waziristan, with two Hellfire missiles. “It was a US drone attack which targeted a militant compound killing four militants and wounding five others,” a senior Pakistani security official in the region told AFP. “The compound was being used by Taliban militants, however it is not clear whether there were any foreign militants or high-value targets,”...

SARAROGHA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani forces have captured most main Taliban bases in their offensive in South Waziristan and will soon fan out into the rugged countryside to hunt for militants there, commanders said on Tuesday. Soldiers have advanced faster than expected in their month-long offensive, seizing main roads and Taliban bases but militant leaders have apparently melted away while their bombers have unleashed carnage in towns. The United States, weighing options for how to turn an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan, has welcomed the offensive but is keen to see Pakistan tackle Afghan Taliban factions based in lawless enclaves along...

One of the most wanted Taliban leaders in Pakistan has escaped to Afghanistan and is planning new attacks on Pakistani forces, he has told the BBC. Maulana Fazlullah founded the Swat Taliban to enforce a hardline version of Islamic law. The government at first accepted his demands, but later accused the militants of reneging on a peace deal and sent troops into the valley. Maulana Fazlullah was said by officials to have been wounded or killed in July. Threats "I have reached Afghanistan safely," Maulana Fazlullah told BBC Urdu. "We are soon going to launch full-fledged punitive raids against the...

The CIA has paid millions of dollars to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since 9/11, "accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget", says a media report. The ISI also collected "tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA programme", which pays for the capture or killing of wanted militants, a newspaper reported on Monday citing current and former US officials. An intense debate has been triggered within the US government due to "long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine US efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to Al Qaeda...

Washington: US President Barack Obama has written a letter to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, asking him to step up the offensive against the Taliban and al Qaeda. The New York Times reported on Sunday that the Obama administration was leaning on Pakistan to step up its fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda. Obama’s National Security Adviser General James L. Jones was sent to Islamabad with a letter for Zardari, The New York Times quoted sources, as saying. “His (President Obama’s) message, officials said, was that the new American strategy would work only if Pakistan broadened its fight...

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

In light of the Holder KSM move. You know showing the world how wonderful this administration is and how this administration uses due process. I was wondering why Obama/Holder thinks that the bombing of a sovereign country (Pakistan) is ok? What legal right does he think we are legally operating under? Or for that matter why the Attorney General doesn't shut this down. Shouldn't we be using diplomtic due process with Pakistan instead of this cowboy diplomacy? It seems to me if you were the uber-liberal your head would be exploding over this. I think it's probably the correct thing...

SNIPPET: "An Irish jihadist living in Pakistan’s Swat valley says he is preparing to wage war against British and allied troops in Afghanistan. Khalid Kelly, a former altar boy from the Liberties area of Dublin who used to be known as Terry, told The Sunday Times he is undergoing weapons training in Pakistan’s mountainous tribal region in order to fight jihad against the enemies of Islam. His dream is to face a British soldier in combat, although he would “settle” for an American, he said. “I’m already on the path to jihad. I’ve already picked up a gun and done...

No one should be surprised by this. But all the learned analysts who know how much we need Pakistan will be. Double Game Update: "Pakistani Army ran Muslim extremist training camps, says anti-terrorist expert," by Charles Bremner in the Times Online, November 14 (thanks to Kris): The Pakistani Army ran training camps for a Muslim extremist group, at least until recently, with the acceptance of the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to France's foremost anti-terrorist expert. Jean-Louis Bruguière, who retired in 2007 after 15 years as chief investigating judge for counter-terrorism, reached this conclusion after interrogating a French militant who...

"I decapitated with blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," Mohammed said in a written declaration submitted to a military tribunal at Guantanamo last weekend. "For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Iternet holding his head," KSM said in his statement. US officials had told ABC News that identifying marks on the hand of the masked man holding Pearl's head matched those of KSM.

Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a former French investigative magistrate who specialized on al Qaeda and investigated the terror group in Pakistan, has more damning information on al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the groups' ties to each other and the Pakistani state. From Reuters: In an interview, Bruguiere said he was convinced Lashkar-e-Taiba, first set up to fight India in its part of the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, had become part of an international network tied to al Qaeda. 'Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir political or military agenda. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al Qaeda. Lashkar-e-Taiba has...

How China gifted 50kg uranium for two bombs to Pakistan Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN 13 November 2009, WASHINGTON: China’s dirty little secret of nuclear proliferation to Pakistan, including virtually giving Islamabad two nuclear weapons on a platter while the US remained oblivious and smug, has exploded in Washington. Embarrassingly for President Barack Obama, the disclosures come on the eve of his much-anticipated visit to Beijing. The broad story is known to every Tom, Dinesh, and Hamid in strategic circles — that sometime in the early 1980s, China provided Pakistan with nuclear know-how and materials to enable it to make the bomb,...

A suicide car bomb devastated Pakistan's main spy agency building in the northwest city of Peshawar, striking at the heart of the institution overseeing much of the country's anti-terror campaign. At least 11 people have been confirmed dead and 39 injured in the blast, the police co-ordination officer Saebzada Anees confirmed. The attackers struck at the headquarters of the ISI intelligence agency, which was completely razed by the blast, in the city's most high security neighbourhood. The homes of the chief minister, provincial governor, the army corp commander and the American consultate are all close by.

President Barack Obama has demanded the inclusion of an exit plan in the new US strategy for Afghanistan. White House officials said that in a meeting with Pentagon chiefs Mr Obama had made clear he wants his decision on troop reinforcements to offer a strong suggestion of when and how responsibility for security would be turned over to the Afghans. After two months of discussions with his advisers he rejected all four options they had touted on the number of troops to be sent, in a surprise move that risked provoking further allegations of “dithering”. While he is still expected...

A nuclear power's act of proliferation Accounts by controversial scientist assert China gave Pakistan enough enriched uranium in '82 to make 2 bombs By R. Jeffrey Smith and Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 13, 2009 In 1982, a Pakistani military C-130 left the western Chinese city of Urumqi with a highly unusual cargo: enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic bombs, according to accounts written by the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and provided to The Washington Post. The uranium transfer in five stainless-steel boxes was part of a broad-ranging, secret nuclear deal approved...

A year after 26/11, no takers for bodies of nine slain terrorists IANS 12 November 2009 MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Almost a year after they were killed during the terror assault on Mumbai last November, the bodies of the nine terrorists continue to remain in Mumbai's J.J. Hospital morgue. There are no claimants and the authorities are clueless on what to do with them. They continue to remain in a room sealed with round-the-clock security and where the temperature is set at four degrees Celsius to prevent any decomposition. The 10 gunmen killed over 170 people in a series of coordinated attacks...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Authorities say seven people have been killed and 35 wounded in a bomb blast outside the headquarters of Pakistan's spy agency in the northwest. The attack Friday took place in the city of Peshawar.

And the evidence mounts: Authorities have been examining whether Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan wired money to Pakistan in recent months, an action that one senior lawmaker said would raise serious questions about Hasan's possible connections to militant Islamic groups. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said sources "outside of the [intelligence] community" learned about Hasan's possible connections to the Asian country, which faces a massive Islamist insurgency and is widely believed to be Osama bin Laden's hiding place. Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, would not identify the sources. But he said "they are trying to...

China has agreed to sell Pakistan it's domestically designed J-10 fighter. China and Pakistan have also jointly developed the JF-17, and Pakistan is buying up to 300 of these. The J-10 is, on paper, superior to the JF-17. Pakistan would like to buy up to a hundred J-10s, but that will depend on whether the cash will be available. The first 36 J-10s bought will cost close to $39 million each (with spare parts and maintenance support.) China only publicly announced the J-10s status in January, 2007. What was not mentioned in the press releases was that only one J-10...

Despite the rash of information connecting Fort Hood Jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan to terrorist entities, our POTUS and the mainstream media still refuse to call the shooting and act of Islamist Terror. Their version of the story is, he was upset at the pressures of being an Army Psychiatrist and the prospect of being sent overseas to fight against other Muslims. He faced horrible discrimination from other soldiers, Major Hasan asked the Army to let him out of his service as a conscientious objector. When the Army said no, he snapped, went crazy and started killing. Of Course the record...

Pakistan and China have been cooperating for a number of years on the JF-17/ FC-1 Thunder, a low-medium performance, low-cost aircraft that has attracted interest and orders from a number of 3rd World air forces. In November 2009, a long-rumored deal was announced for China’s Jian-10/ FC-20 4+ generation fighter, whose overall performance compares well with the F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft that Pakistan has ordered from the United States. The J-10 has been reported as a derivative of the 1980s Israeli Lavi project, and reportedly incorporates an Israeli fly-by-wire control base that was transferred in the project’s early years. The...

Authorities have been examining whether Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan wired money to Pakistan in recent months, an action that one senior lawmaker said would raise serious questions about Hasan's possible connections to militant Islamic groups. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said sources "outside of the [intelligence] community" learned about Hasan's possible connections to the Asian country, which faces a massive Islamist insurgency and is widely believed to be Osama bin Laden's hiding place. Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, would not identify the sources. But he said "they are trying to follow up on it...

The ISI has influence over every terrorist group and uses this to its “advantage”, Pervez Musharraf has said in a rare admission that corroborates India’s suspicions of Pakistani hand in attacks. The former President debunked Pakistan’s oft-repeated position that its ISI had no role in terror activities across the border and claimed that the intelligence agency was effective because of such influence — which he chose to describe by using the word “ingress”. “Always, in every group, there is an ingress of the ISI. And that is the efficiency, the effectiveness of the ISI. You must have ingress, so that...

Intel team returns home after US snub CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA, TNN 11 November 2009, 01:16am IST WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: In a show of miscommunication if not outright discord between Washington and New Delhi, an Indian intelligence team returned home on Tuesday after being denied access to question two Pakistani expatriates accused of plotting terrorist attacks in India. The Indian team had rushed to the US after the FBI last month apprehended Dave Headley alias Daood Gilani and Rana Tawassur in hopes of questioning them about their links to Pakistani terrorist organizations outlined in the FBI affidavit, and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks....

Report: Pakistani president suspected of graft in submarine sale South Asia News Nov 10, 2009, 10:56 GMT Paris - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is suspected of having received millions of dollars in kickbacks from the 1994 sale of three French submarines to the Pakistani Navy, the daily Liberation reported Tuesday. In addition, investigators believe that the non-payment of the full amount of the agreed kickbacks may have led to the deaths of 11 French nationals in a 2002 terror attack in the city of Karachi. In the report, Liberation says it acquired documents that allegedly show that Zardari received...

China set to take on Obama by selling advanced jets to Pakistan Saibal Dasgupta, TNN 11 November 2009, BEIJING: China has sent out an interesting signal ahead of US president Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Beijing by offering a set of advanced fighter jets to Pakistan. It has agreed to sell $1.4 billion worth of jets to Islamabad days ahead of the planned visit of the US president Barack Obama to Shanghai and Beijing on November 15-18. The move is expected to jolt the US administration as it works on notes and talking points for Obama's meetings with Chinese leaders....

China has agreed to sell Pakistan at least 36 advanced fighter jets in a deal worth as much as $1.4bn, according to Pakistani and western officials. Beijing will supply two squadrons of the J-10 fighter jet in a preliminary agreement that could lead to more sales, said a Pakistani official. The official said Pakistan might buy “larger numbers” of the multi-role aircraft in the future, but dismissed reports that Islamabad had signed a deal to purchase as many as 150 of the fighter jets. Defence experts described the agreement with China as a landmark event in Pakistan’s defence relationship with...