01-10 APRIL 2018
AT LEAST four members of a Christian family were killed and a girl was wounded when gunmen opened fire targeting a residence in Shah Zaman neighborhood in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 2 April, Al-Jazeera reported. The Islamic State’s Wilayat Khorasan claimed responsibility for the attack.
In Akkakhel, Tirah, Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) suspected militants detonated explosives around a school under construction, wounding three laborers.
AT LEAST four members of a Christian family were killed and a girl was wounded when gunmen opened fire targeting a residence in Shah Zaman neighborhood in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on 2 April, Al-Jazeera reported. The Islamic State’s Wilayat Khorasan claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement on its Amaq News Agency outlet.
Pakistan has conducted another test-firing of its Babur-3 nuclear-capable, submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM), according to a 29 March statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military.
A still taken from a video released by Pakistan’s ISPR on 29 March showing the country’s Babur-3 SLCM in flight. (ISPR )
The locally built SLCM was fired to a range of 450 km from an underwater, mobile platform at an undisclosed location, and “successfully engaged its target with precise accuracy, meeting all the flight parameters,” said ISPR, adding that “Pakistan eyes this landmark development as a step towards reinforcing [a] policy of credible minimum deterrence through indigenization and self-reliance”.
The Babur-3 is a sea-based variant of the Babur-2 ground-launched cruise missile, which was successfully tested in December 2016, according to ISPR. The first known test firing of the SLCM was announced on 9 January 2017.
“SLCM Babur is capable of delivering various types of payloads and incorporates state-of-the-art technologies, including underwater controlled propulsion and advanced guidance and navigation features,” said ISPR.
The missile reportedly features terrain-hugging and sea-skimming flight capabilities to evade hostile radars and air defenses, in addition to stealth technologies.
According to ISPR, the missile provides Pakistan with a “credible second strike capability”, augmenting the existing deterrence regime.
“Development of this capability also reflects Pakistan’s response to provocative nuclear strategies and posture being pursued in the neighborhood through induction of nuclear submarines and ship-borne nuclear missiles,” said ISPR in an apparent reference to neighboring India, which recently test-fired Dhanush, Prithvi, and Agni-series ballistic missiles.
Analysis: Pakistan sees its ballistic and cruise missile programs as key to its strategy to deliver nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s undeclared doctrine is to use of unconventional weapons, as it’s last resort against country’s disintegration, therefore, first use is part of the doctrine. It continues to balance against India’s conventional superiority, and follows a high-frequency testing schedule. Pakistan considers its nuclear weapons to be national “crown jewels” and likely holds missile delivery systems in a similar regard. Barring substantial changes in South Asian geopolitics, a change in attitude seems unlikely. Like it’s nuclear weaponization program, Pakistan had developed nuclear bombs in the 1980s, but required missile system with improved range and delivery. There has been diligent effort by various state owned organization to independent work on various missile systems. China has always been the main source of missile technology along with some help from South Africa and Ukraine. In 2001 Pakistan merged the activities of the Pakistan Missile Organization, Air Weapons Complex, National Development Complex, and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission into the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) to develop advanced military systems. It is believed that the Babur design and development programme was known as Project 828. In August 1998, two US RGM/UGM-109 Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missiles were recovered almost intact in southern Pakistan (the missiles had been fired by US combat operations over Afghanistan), and may have been used for reverse engineering or to provide vital technologies for the Babur project. Pakistan currently has three cruise missiles in development with land, air, and sea launch capabilities.
The Babur (Hatf-VII) is a mobile land-based missile unveiled in September 2012. The Hatf-VII is designed to fly at low altitudes to avoid radar detection and can carry conventional and nonconventional warheads. The ground launch Babur’s official range is 750Km, however, with missile dimensions since it is pretty similar with Tomahawk this range is depressed and some sources familiar with this program have stated that the missiles final range could between 900 and 1,100 km.
Pakistan also tested the Ra’ad (Hatf VIII) air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), armed with conventional and nonconventional warheads and capable of hitting targets at a range of 350 km, in January 2016. This missile has a lot of similarities with South African TORGOS air launched cruise missile. It should be noted that South Africa did transfer technologies related to “Multi-Purpose Stand Off Weapon (MUPSOW)” in the 90’s. Ra’ad (Hatf-VII) development project is called Project 289.
FOUR suspected militants – identified as ‘commander’ Jamil Ahmed, Safar Khan, and Rais Khan – were killed during armed clashes with security forces in the Shadi Kour and Paidarak areas of Kech district in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, Daily Dawn reported. Reports added that the clashes broke out following a search operation.
In Quetta, Baluchistan, security forces arrested a suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander – identified as Fazal Haq Ghaibzai – who was allegedly involved in the killing of at least 16 police officers in the preceding three months.
In Pinsin Kaur, Kech, Baluchistan, two unidentified militants and a security officer were killed in an armed clash during a counter-terrorism operation.
FOUR suspected militants – identified as ‘commander’ Jamil Ahmed, Safar Khan, and Rais Khan – were killed during armed clashes with security forces in the Shadi Kour and Paidarak areas of Kech district in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 3 April, Daily Dawn reported. Reports added that the clashes broke out following a search operation.
In Dera Murad Jamali, Baluchistan, the son of the chief of Shar tribe was shot dead by unidentified assailants.
FOUR suspected Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants were arrested by security forces in unspecified areas of Karachi in Pakistan’s Sindh province on 8 April for allegedly financing militancy through robberies, extortion, and kidnapping for ransom since 2014, Dawn reported.
AT LEAST five Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were wounded when an unidentified suicide bomber detonated their explosives in the Belili area of Quetta in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on 9 April, Dawn reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The attacker detonated between 8 and 10 kilograms of explosives near the FC vehicle.
On 8 April, Pakistan’s foreign ministry revealed details of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).
The plan set seven objectives to revive strained bilateral relations, including a commitment by both sides that neither would allow its territory to be used by militant groups that threaten the other.
The APAPPS was finalized during a meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on 6 April. The two sides also announced an intention to develop connectivity projects between the two countries, including a motorway between Kabul and Peshawar and a railway line between Chaman and Herat, and Pakistan also lifted customs duties on Afghan imports.
Increased bilateral activity between Afghanistan and Pakistan since December 2017 is probably driven by Pakistan’s concerns about growing Indian influence in Afghanistan – as underlined by the operationalization of the India-Iran-Afghanistan trade route in 2017 – while Afghanistan is eager for Pakistan to push the Taliban towards negotiations with the Kabul government.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) is a Rohingya Muslim militant group based in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The group emerged in 2013 as Harakat al-Yaqin, or Faith Movement, before rebranding as the ARSA. The group came to wider prominence in October 2016 when ARSA militants attacked three border guard stations in Rakhine, killing nine personnel and seizing 60 firearms.
Although the ARSA has no official links with other militant groups, the Myanmar government has frequently alleged links between the group and regional and international Islamist militant groups. Groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have all expressed solidarity with the ARSA and the Rohingya population, although there is no information in open sources to suggest that this has expanded beyond rhetorical support.
There is no evidence in open sources to suggest that the ARSA receives any state funding.
TWO Christians were killed and eight others were wounded when militants belonging to Islamic State’s Wilayat Khorasan opened fire targeting worshippers after they left a church in Isa Nagri neighborhood in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 15 April, Reuters reported. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
A new fleet tanker on order for the Pakistan Navy has completed its first sea trials.
The 158 m vessel sailed towards the Indian Ocean from the Port of Karachi under its own power in late-March 2018 as part of the trials, and the ship is undergoing further tests to validate its performance parameters ahead of an expected delivery in 2018.
Keel for the tanker was laid down in March 2014 and the platform was subsequently launched by Pakistan’s state-owned company, Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW), in August 2016.
The project is a collaboration between the Pakistani Ministry of Defence Production, which has appointed KSEW as the country’s build partner, and Turkish technology and systems engineering house Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret (STM).
The vessel, which will be in service as PNS Moawin with pennant number 39 once commissioned, has an overall length of 158.4 m and displaces approximately 16,400 tonnes at full load. Moawin has a top speed of 20 kt and will be in service as Pakistan’s largest-ever indigenously built naval ship.
The platform has two deck cranes and two replenishment-at-sea (RAS) masts, one each on the port and starboard sides, which allows it to refuel two vessels simultaneously via the alongside connected replenishment (CONREP) method.
The vessel also features a flight deck to support vertical replenishment (VERTREP) operations, and this can accommodate a single aircraft such as the Sea King helicopter to facilitate the transfer of stores between ships. For improved visibility, at-sea replenishment operations can be co-ordinated from a separate superstructure built amidships.
The tanker’s defences against aircraft and precision-guided weapons are provided by two close-in weapon system (CIWS) turrets, which are located one each on the forecastle and on the main superstructure facing the flight deck.
Moawin is expected to replace an older ex-Royal Netherlands Navy ship of the same name, which is currently in service with the Pakistan Navy’s 9th Auxiliary and Mine Warfare Squadron.
Pakistan continues helicopter fleet renewal with order for additional AW139s
Leonardo announced on April 16 that the Government of Pakistan will introduce into service an undisclosed number of additional AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopters.
The aircraft will be used to perform utility, passenger transport and emergency medical service operations across the nation. The helicopters will be delivered in early 2019.
This latest fleet expansion is a further step towards the completion of a fleet renewal program spread over several batches and highlights the success of the AW139.
Leonardo is also delivering logistic support and training services for the growing fleet of AW139s in Pakistan. A significant number of AW139s are already in service in Pakistan, with several operated by the Pakistan Government for EMS/SAR, relief and transport duties.
The AW139 is the perfect fit to Pakistan’s challenging operational environment, delivering outstanding capabilities and hot and high performance unmatched by any other helicopter type in the same class.
The new-generation AW139 sets new standards in the market with advanced technology and class leading performance, reliability, safety, versatility and cabin space.
The AW139 delivers significant power index margins in the most demanding conditions, demonstrated flights up to 20,000 feet, high cruise speed (165 knots), and is able to carry up to 15 passengers or a mix of dedicated mission equipment, litters and medical attendants in its spacious unobstructed cabin for transport and rescue operations.
Pakistan and Malaysia are in preliminary discussions about the potential export of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft, an official from PAC has confirmed.
Speaking at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2018 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on 16 April, the PAC official – who did not want to be identified – said the two governments have had “primary level talks” about a potential sale of the single-engine fighter in order to meet the air combat requirements of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
“We are aware of the potential requirements in Malaysia for cost-effective fighter aircraft,” he said. “There have been no serious talks but through government-to-government channels there have been what we can describe as primary level talks about the JF-17 program.”
In supporting a potential deal for Malaysia, the official said that PAC is willing to enter collaborative partnerships with local industry through which technologies could be transferred to facilitate either localized component manufacturing or maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). “Of course, the industrial engagement would depend on the sale of the Malaysian requirement,” he said.
Malaysia’s requirement stems from continuing delays in the RMAF’s program to procure a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft. This program, which was announced more than a decade ago, has been hindered largely due to a lack of funds.
If the MRCA does not proceed, RMAF is likely to consider a single-engine aircraft such as the JF-17 or Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 light strike fighter, which is a version of KAI’s T-50 trainer. Another alternative might be second-hand fighters from the United States, perhaps additional Boeing Hornets to augment the eight of the same type that were acquired in the 1990s.
In promoting the JF-17 to Malaysia, PAC is buoyed by its programme to supply the aircraft to the Myanmar Air Force (MAF). This export contract was signed in 2015 and features the supply of 16 aircraft at a unit cost of $16 million.
The PAC official denied reports that Myanmar is seeking to build the JF-17 fighter locally if orders expand, although he did confirm that both Pakistan and joint developer China are collaborating on providing Myanmar with the technologies and know-how that will enable localized MRO. He also confirmed that aircraft for Myanmar are being sourced from PAC production facilities, with final testing carried out by China.
Analysis: Malaysia has a habit of expressing interest in something dragging it out for years and then never buying. Procuring JF-17 to replace their depleted MiG-29 would be viable rather then buying some expensive new platform.
Pakistan successfully test-fired what it described as an enhanced-range version of its indigenously developed Babur cruise missile on 14 April, according to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR): the media wing of the Pakistani military.
Pakistan test-fires enhanced version of Babur cruise missile
A still taken from a video released by Pakistan’s ISPR on 14 April showing the country’s Babur-1B cruise missile in flight. (ISPR)
Called the Babur Weapon System-1 (B), or Babur-1B, the missile was shown in video footage released by ISPR being launched from a transport-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle, cruising and later hitting a target at an undisclosed location.
While the range to which the missile was tested was not revealed, ISPR said that the weapon “can strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy at a range of 700 km”.
The Pakistani military described the Babur as a low-flying, terrain-hugging missile, capable of carrying various types of warheads, and equipped with state-of-the-art navigation technologies of terrain contour matching (TERCOM) and all-time digital scene matching area correlates (DSMAC), which enable the weapon to engage “various type of targets with pinpoint accuracy even in the absence of GPS navigation”.
The ISPR has repeatedly referred to the Babur series of missiles, which are capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads, as “important force multipliers” for Pakistan’s policy of strategic deterrence.
The latest development came some two weeks after ISPR announced that Pakistan had conducted a test-firing of its Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM).
The locally built SLCM was fired to a range of 450 km from an underwater, mobile platform at an undisclosed location, and “successfully engaged its target with precise accuracy, meeting all the flight parameters,” said ISPR at the time.
A SOLDIER was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated as he attempted to defuse it in the town of Datta Khel in North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on 18 April, Express Tribune reported.
THREE security forces personnel were killed in cross-border attacks by suspected Pakistan-based militants in Mirjaveh in Sistan-Baluchestan province on 17 April, Reuters reported. One police officer was killed in an attack on a police post and two soldiers were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack targeting their vehicle. Three militants were killed in retaliatory fire by security forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
AT LEAST five unidentified militants were killed by security forces during a counter-terrorism operation in a militant camp in the Bamboor area of Dera Bugti in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 21 April, the Express Tribune reported. Reports stated that the militants in the camp opened fire on security forces, leading to an armed clash. Reports added that the security forces also seized a weapons and explosives cache during the operation.
MEDIA reports on 21 April stated that a militant commander – identified as Bojla Mugti – and 10 members of his group had surrendered their weapons to local officials in Dera Bugti in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on an earlier unspecified date, the Express Tribune reported.
AN UNSPECIFIED explosive device, emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated in Miramshah in North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on 22 April, Geo News reported. No casualties were reported, and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
TWO ethnic Hazara men were shot dead and one other was wounded when two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on them in a sectarian attack in the Western Bypass area on the outskirts of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 22 April, Dawn reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Pakistan Navy (PN) has released one of the first images of its Zarb land-based anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) system (also known as the Zarb Weapon System) being test-launched.
In the April issue of its Navy News magazine, the PN published a photograph of the Zarb ASCM being fired from an 8×8 transport-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle at the Jinnah Naval Base in Ormara, Baluchistan Province, as part of the recently conducted naval exercise ‘Sealion III’.
The missile, which was fired by the PN’s Naval Missile Regiment under the Naval Strategic Force Command, successfully hit its intended target, said the publication without providing further details about the test or the system.
Other than the color scheme, the missile shown in the images appears to be a Chinese C-602, which is the export variant of the domestic YJ-62. The C-602 is a medium-range anti-ship/land-attack missile, which has a stated maximum range of 280 km and is armed with a 300 kg high-explosive semi-armor-piercing (SAP) warhead.
The TEL vehicle used to fire the Zarb ASCM features three container launch units (CLUs) and is also almost identical to that used by the YJ-62 mobile coastal defense system operated by China’s People’s Liberation Army.
The TEL vehicle has a main front cab, a separate rear command cab, a power-generation system, and an elevating launch platform holding the three CLUs.
This image shows the TEL vehicle (background) used to fire Pakistan’s Zarb ASCM (Pakistan Navy )
Although arranged differently and of a different coloration, the CLUs also appear to be exactly the same as those used by the Chinese Navy’s Luyang II (Type 052C)-class destroyers.
A standard battery is thought to comprise multiple vehicles, including three 8×8 TEL vehicles; an 8×8 battery command post vehicle; and other support vehicles.
Analysis: From looking at Zarb and Harb ASCM it is clear that these missiles are not so called indigenous rather than modified Chinese versions YJ-62. These missiles have been modified by NESCOM to carry non-conventional warheads since they are launched under the auspicious of Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC) which is a part of Strategic Plans Division (SPD).
SIX police officers were killed and seven others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated their explosives near a police truck in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 24 April, Dawn and Reuters reported. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group Hizbul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. Half an hour earlier, two other suicide bombers had wounded eight paramilitary personnel during an attack on a paramilitary base in Quetta.
EIGHT paramilitary personnel were wounded when two suicide bombers attacked a paramilitary checkpoint in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on 24 April, Dawn and Reuters reported. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group Hizbul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. Half an hour later, another suicide bomber detonated their explosives near a police truck, killing six officers and wounding seven others.
Analysis: IN A VIDEO statement released on 12 November, a senior Jamaat-ul-Ahrar militant , identified as Mukkaram Khan (alias Omar Khurasani) from Mohmand Agency in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) announced that Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had been involved in anti-Islamic acts, thus compelling him to establish his own militant group called Hizbul Ahrar, Pakistan Today reported. Khurasani cited the 29 November 2015 attack on the National Database and Registration Authority office in Mardan in Khyber Puktoonkhwa province that killed at least 26 people as an example of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s transgressions. He claimed that such attacks had killed innocent people, and that he had previously attempted to enact reform in the group, but had failed. He also alleged that another Jamaat-ul-Ahrar militant, Khalid Khurasani, had attacked him in the preceding week, wounding him. There are also reports that indicate that these groups like Ahrar and Daesh main object is to fight the growing presence of Iran supported militant groups like Liwa Zainebiyoun based in Parachinar.
Damen begins work on first of two OPVs for Pakistan Navy
Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards has begun work on the first of two 1,900 tonne multipurpose offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Pakistan Navy (PN).
A computer-generated image of the OPVs being built by Damen Shipyards for the Pakistan Navy (Pakistan Navy )
An article published in the April issue of the PN’s Navy News magazine revealed that a steel-cutting ceremony for the first ship was held at Damen’s shipyard in Galati, Romania, where the second ship will also be built.
Images have also emerged of a keel-laying ceremony recently held at the same yard showing that the vessel class is being designated the OPV 1900. The ceremony was attended by PN Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (Projects), Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad.
The contract for the OPVs was signed in June 2017.
The 90 m-long vessels will have a full-load displacement of about 1,900 tones, and a top speed of 22 kt. The OPVs have been described by the PN as “state-of-the-art vessels” especially suited for anti-surface, anti-air, and maritime security operations.
They are also expected to carry out helicopter operations such as search-and-rescue missions, as well as surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations.
Analysis: Contrary to a 12 June 2017 announcement by Pakistan’s Press Information Department, the two OPVs will be constructed by Damen in Romania and not locally by Pakistan’s Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Limited (KSEW). The reason for this has not been publicly disclosed. Pakistan’s deal with Damen highlights the country’s drive to expand and modernize its naval capabilities.The acquisition also further diversifies Pakistan’s supplier base for warships, which now includes submarines and patrol vessels from and in co-operation with China (plus a past frigate program), fleet tankers and potentially corvettes in partnership with Turkey, and now armed OPVs in partnership with Damen from the Netherlands. The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) is also acquiring OPVs based on a Chinese design.
SIX police officers were killed and seven others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated their explosives near a police truck in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on 24 April, Dawn and Reuters reported. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group Hizbul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. Half an hour earlier, two other suicide bombers had wounded eight paramilitary personnel during an attack on a paramilitary base in Quetta.
AT LEAST four people were killed and 32 others, including seven children, were wounded when unidentified militants threw a grenade targeting a wedding ceremony at a residence in Dandai area in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas on 27 April, Express Tribune reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.