Three Brothers-2021" Military Exercises By Mehmood Ul Hassan

Mehmood Ul Hassan

According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence (September 11, 2021) “Three Brothers-2021" military exercises will be started for the first time in Baku tomorrow in which  military units of three brotherly countries Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey having strategic partnerships will participate. It has great prospects showing the successful development of the close ties in the field of defense among three countries.

The main objective of the joint exercises is to improve the professional preparedness and tactical readiness of the Special Forces Units (SFUs) of brotherly countries during numerous combat operations, prepare for operations in peacetime and wartime, exchange knowledge and experience.

It has also regional as well as trans-regional signaling and gestures because rapidly changing geo-political and geo-strategic scenarios demand a close liaison among Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey to deter any external aggression or attack. It will definitely further strengthen their deterrence capabilities. It will further explore different avenues of joint ventures in terms of military training, education, research and of course production in the days to come. After its successful completion the regional as well as trans-regional war theater will be further modified and tilled in favour of Azerbaijan.

It is indeed continuation of famous “Shusha Declaration “SD”, highlighting close liaison in terms of economy, culture, education, and parliamentary cooperation and last but not least in the fields of defense and security. It will hopefully further strengthen bilateral and trilateral military cooperation among three countries.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry termed it important and first step to improve the combat interoperability of the Special Forces from the three countries, to "prepare for operations in peacetime and wartime," and to exchange "knowledge and experience. The nine-day exercise is due to begin on September 12.

In this context, earlier this year, troops from Turkey and Azerbaijan held joint military drills in Baku.

It hopes that the “Three Brothers-2021” International Exercises will play important role to create a favorable environment for the exchange of knowledge and experience, as well as for the training of the servicemen of friendly and partner countries for operations in peacetime and wartime.

In July 2021, the speakers of the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Baku Declaration following the first of its kind.

In September 2020, Armenian forces launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces in the 44 days long war during which Azerbaijan merged as victor and long conflict ended in an agreement on November 10.

During the war Azerbaijan’s better military preparedness, tactical and professional superiority, use of innovative and advanced technologies of warfare, effective and ideal combination of human as well as artificial intelligence mechanism and last but not least, “visionary leadership” of Ilham Aliyev ultimately achieved a “miracle” in the second war for the liberation of illegally occupied areas of Nagorno-Karabakh from fascist Armenia.

Furthermore, outstanding military formations of Azerbaijan armed forces drastically changed the concept of “war threat” history and moreover, excellent diplomatic maneuverings of incumbent president HE Ilham Aliyev regionally and globally left no options for Armenia and its supporters to accept defeat and leave the illegally occupied areas.

In this connection, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages in Karabakh from a nearly three decade occupation.

Turkey and Azerbaijan enjoy strong relations, as the two countries embrace the "one nation, two states" motto. During his presidency, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has visited Azerbaijan more than 20 times, while the number of delegation visits has reached more than 100.

Holding of “Three Brothers-2021” military exercises is a good omen for the further strengthening of trilateral strategic dialogue/partnership and military cooperation among Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey which will hopefully change the basic dynamics, directions and development concepts of the region in the days to come.

In the past, series of bilateral and trilateral military drills among Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey signaled the emergence of new defense partnership in the region. It will actually further strengthen bilateral and trilateral defense cooperation in terms of joint exercise, production, technical education and tactical preparedness.

Especially, after the visit of Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Baku the prospects of further strengthening of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan have been further brightened in terms of military cooperation.

On its part, Pakistan has been assisting Azerbaijan in terms of military, naval and air force training in Pakistan. Both the countries have been in serious negotiations for the sale of JF-17 Thunder with Azerbaijan which is now at advance stage. Both countries have been extending their expertise in modern warfare which proved terminal in the 2nd War of Karbakah.

Pakistan Chiefs of Air Forces, Naval and General Nadeem Raz paid personal visit to Baku and extended their experiences and expertise for the befitting propositions of resettlement, redevelopment, reinvestments, and reconstruction of all the newly liberated areas of Karabakh Region.

Even Azerbaijan Naval Commander visited Pakistan and met with Naval and armed Forces chiefs and discussed matters of mutual interest pertaining to regional peace and stability which has now further strengthened scope, domain and prospects of air force and naval cooperation between two the two countries. 

Director General of FWO also paid visit to Baku and explored various avenues of mutual cooperation in infrastructural projects, cleaning of deadly landmines and prospective cooperation in gold mining.

In the past, Pakistan and Azerbaijan signed the “Bilateral Military Cooperation Agreement” which consequently geared up military cooperation between two countries.

Azerbaijan and Pakistan hold relatively similar weaponry and military vehicle systems which would be common bench mark to proceed further. It is suggested that proposed military cooperation may also include regular military exercises between the comparable services of both armed forces. Exchange of valuable strategic information as well as common approaches towards the territorial armed conflict postures can be a natural extension in improving bilateral relations in defence.

Being prominent regional expert of Azerbaijan & South Caucasus I highly rate the holding of “Three Brothers-2021” Military Exercises and term it historic, positive and productive. It has numerous geopolitical and geostrategic benefits for Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey. The rapidly changing trends in the region encourage close ties in terms of economy, trade & commerce and of course military cooperation.

History and evolution of human civilization reveals that strong defense is the real guarantor of national pride and territorial sovereignty. Thus Three Brothers-2021 Military Exercise is a right step towards right direction.    

   

This article was written by Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, a professional researcher and expert on the region studies, especially the Middle East, Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Eastern Asia.

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COURTESY ednews

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"Cooperation among our youth should be strengthened" by Musawar Tanoli

• Pakistani International Relations Specialist and Journalist Musawar Tanoli said, "Our centuries-old ties need to be further strengthened by developing youth cooperation between Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey."

Musawar Tanoli

Pakistani International Relations and Foreign Relations Analyst Journalist Musawar Tanoli also served as the chairman of the youth diplomacy forum and the founder of the youth forum in Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"Pakistan and Turkey have strong cultural, military and historical relations that are getting stronger day by day and moving towards economic and commercial cooperation," said Tanoli, adding, "The multidimensional relations between both countries, especially the spirit of brotherhood, dominate the centuries-old ties between Indian Muslims and the Ottoman Empire. Bilateral relations between the two countries can be traced back to the period of British India.

During the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, religious services were held in Calcutta mosques and subscriptions were collected for the Turkish wounded. During the Balkan War, Muslims of the British Indian Subcontinent sent a medical delegation to Turkey.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, showed great appreciation to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Modern Turkey. Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Pakistan. Turkey and Pakistan were also part of the Baghdad Pact in 1955 for cooperation between security and defense members," he said.

Our Relations Should Be Developed In Every Area

Stating that the youth bond between Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey should be strengthened, Tanoli said: "As the founder of the Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey youth forum, I would like to convey my best wishes to the Turkish people, especially the Turkish youth.

The purpose of starting this initiative is to strengthen and develop youth cooperation. This is a virtual platform where we have more than 9 thousand members from Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey. We celebrate the national days and important days of these countries on our social media accounts. One of the main purposes is to develop cultural cooperation between these three countries.

There was the occasion of Turkish Victory Day in August. We commemorated and shared it on our social account.

As the head of the Youth Diplomacy Forum, we cooperate with the Turkish youth organization “International Workshop Platform” and discuss possible areas of cooperation between the “Youth Diplomacy Forum” and the “International workshop platform”.

The main aim is to involve the youth of both countries in understanding the culture, traditions, norms and values. Also, improve youth cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey. Our aim is to organize an exchange program between Pakistan and Turkey, especially between the Youth Diplomacy Forum and the International workshop platform, in order to further develop youth cooperation. 

To this end, we need the support of Pakistan and the Turkish government, as well as the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad and the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara. Finally to Turkey, I hope to expand my support to the Turkish people and to strengthen the social, political, economic, military and especially youth cooperation between the two countries.

I also convey my condolences for the precious lives lost due to forest fires and hurricanes that have occurred recently, and pray for the injured. Long live the "Pakistan-Azerbaijan-Turkey" Brotherhood and Friendship."

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COURTESY merhabahaber

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Afghanistan: what next? by Ex Foreign Secy of Pakistan

IN the last few weeks there have been several articles in the media worldwide on how the present state of affairs was arrived at in Afghanistan. 

Not one has touched, except cursorily, on what should be the principal question: how the architect and executor of 9/11, Osama bin Laden got to Afghanistan in 1996 in a chartered flight, carrying vast sums of money derived from his business activities in Sudan. And then, how, after 9/11 a beleaguered OBL, trapped in Tora Bora and surrounded by US forces escaped because the US military decided to entrust the shutting off of the escape route to Hazrat Ali and his cohorts from Jalalabad rather than letting US forces do what they were fully capable of doing.

Letting OBL move to Afghanistan, the one place where he was much admired for his role in the Afghan resistance to Soviet occupation was folly compounded by letting him escape from Tora Bora after 9/11.

Admittedly, in 1996 the US had no relations with Sudan but even the somewhat edited Wikipedia biography of OBL states that at that time (1996) the Sudanese had offered to transfer him to the US authorities or to Saudi Arabia. 

The Saudi rejection of the Sudanese offer was probably heavily influenced by the position the Bin Laden family had in Saudi Arabia. Was the US position also determined by the Bin Laden family’s association with American politicians? After OBL’s 2011 killing, the meticulous records he kept were all seized by the American SEALs, who carried out the attack on his Abbottabad house. 

Surely these records must have shown how his exit from Sudan in 1996 was arranged and how he escaped from Tora Bora post 9/11. The media should have made every effort through the freedom of information legislation to secure access to these papers. If it had not done so earlier it should do so now.

On a personal note, having learnt from newspaper reports of OBL’s arrival in Afghanistan I, as foreign secretary, asked our intelligence agencies to keep a sharp eye on his activities since they would not be in Pakistan’s interest.

As regards the emergence of the Taliban, again a personal note. The Americans having secured the withdrawal of the Soviet troops and the consequent disintegration of the Soviet Union left it to Pakistan to cope with the detritus of the war and the infighting among the mujahideen. America’s status as sole superpower had been confirmed and Pakistan’s pleas notwithstanding, they wanted nothing further to do with Afghanistan. For Pakistan they only wanted to and did impose sanctions because of our nuclear programme which they were well aware of and had turned a blind eye towards while the Soviets were in Afghanistan.

The media should have made every effort to secure access to OBL’s meticulous records.

The Taliban who emerged from the madressah in Kandahar were largely foot soldiers in the Nabi Muhammadi Mujahideen group. They had no officers among them. They were outraged by the crimes committed by these warlords, the last trigger being the killing of a young boy who had been sodomised by these predators. They were no doubt encouraged by the transporters but they emerged both because of this and because of the turmoil in all of Afghanistan occasioned by the infighting among mujahideen factions.

Late Maj-Gen Naseerullah Babar was a figure I long admired for his valour in the 1965 war and perhaps even more for bringing together in Peshawar all opponents (not just Tajiks) of the Sardar Daud regime in Kabul.

While this was yeoman work for Pakistan one must also state clearly that Naseerullah Babar did not create the Taliban nor did they, as Mullah Omar told me, even know who he was. They were followers of the Karachi-based Jamia Yusufia Binoria but to me this too seemed to be only token. Their base of support was, by my reckoning, expatriate Afghans and Saudi private philanthropists. They conquered virtually all of Afghanistan holding the Holy Quran in one hand and dollars in the other.

Pakistan did not create the Taliban. Our strategists climbed on the bandwagon but in this they were not alone. To the extent that American interest was aroused, they too supported the emergence of the Taliban as a force that was bringing peace to Afghanistan.

All this is of course a repetition of what Afghan watchers had long seen developing but does it help the stage for what to expect now?

One watched with horror the suicide attacks outside the Hamid Karzai airport that resulted in 13 US troops being killed along with several Taliban and ordinary Afghans. This was clearly a Daesh [IS] Khorasan chapter operation as claimed by the group. Would it lead to the Taliban agreeing to extend the deadline for the airport to be vacated?

My assessment was that the Taliban were eager to end the evacuation and keep as many Afghans and their expertise in Afghanistan so that they would have a pool of trained personnel to help govern the country. This was based on my assessment that the Taliban leaders are genuinely committed to reconciliation; whether this applies to all Taliban and whether the leadership can enforce this remains an open question.

One takes heart from the fact that this time no ceasefire was suggested by the Taliban for Eidul Fitr. Was this because even the most conservative among the Taliban were tired of war and the bonhomie that prevailed during the last such ceasefire may have caused the leadership to believe that a ceasefire would erode the fighting spirit at a time when it could ill afford it?

Perhaps one is being too optimistic but it behoves the US to forget the lessons of Vietnam where it took the US 20 years (1975-95) to re-establish relations with Vietnam or of Iran where the settlement process seems stalled and recognise that the stability of the region requires a more generous approach and a less suspicious view of what the Taliban represent.

Make no mistake. Russia, China, India and even Pakistan — the chosen scapegoat and home to fantasy creators — may want to play a part, but the decisive player is the US.

The writer is a former foreign secretary.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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Learning from the history and own experience by (R) Lt. Gen. of Pak Army

The US after 9/11 launched a major offensive named ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ against the Taliban forces as Mullah Omar refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden to them and by virtue of its military might was able to easily overthrow the Taliban regime 

One of the principal characteristics of a superpower is its ability to alter the behaviour of nations or a particular nation, in order to ensure the successful pursuit of its regional and global ambitions. The US after 9/11 launched a major offensive named ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ against the Taliban forces as Mullah Omar refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden to them and by virtue of its military might was able to easily overthrow the Taliban regime. 

And during the last twenty years, the US made massive investment along with its Nato allies to raise equip and train the 300,000-strong Afghan army to support the quasi-democratic government in Afghanistan and counter militant forces. But in reality, as the situation unfolded the Afghan army melted away without giving a fight and the government of Ashraf Ghani is all set to be replaced by a Taliban-led government which seems to enjoy support largely in the rural areas.

US interventions in different countries are well remembered more for their failures than successes. The pictures of US forces withdrawing from Vietnam in April 1975 still remain a memorable but tragic chapter of history. Despite the death and destruction that characterised the military adventure in Vietnam it failed to break the will of the Vietcong. 

During 1960s Cuba too under Fidel Castro and successive regimes have resisted US domination despite having to pay a heavy price. The irony is that generally countries such as Iran or Venezuela — where the US has brazenly intervened militarily or pressurised these through economic strangulation and strategic isolation for refusing to accept its dictates — have turned inwards and further tightened their hold on their people. So, it is essentially the people of these countries that are its worst sufferers and not the regimes per see. 

Pakistan too had a taste of US sanctions, not once but frequently, and here too our experience was that the thrust of the punitive measures was borne by the masses. Another aspect of it is that it generates ill will against the superpower and facilitates the challenger, be it China or Russia, to make inroads. 

A similar pattern is emerging in Afghanistan with China in the lead, and Russia, Iran and Pakistan likely to facilitate the regime’s acceptance followed by its recognition. For China, having good relations with the Afghan government is vital for the BRI programme. Besides, China is obviously not concerned about promoting democracy for it considers it to be an internal matter. 

A recent example of this was witnessed when Beijing rushed to assist Myanmar’s military-led government when the Western countries had imposed strict sanctions for overthrowing an elected government.

The US and Western countries too although keep harping on democracy and human rights are selective in pressing for its adherence. Pakistan has experienced this duality of approach frequently since its very inception. Gen Ziaul Haq was a pariah until the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Similarly, Gen Pervez Musharraf was treated with disdain until 9/11 when Pakistan sided with the US against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. One cannot forget those humiliating moments when Bill Clinton addressed the Pakistani nation on our television network in which he mostly sermonised while making sure that Musharraf is kept out. And as soon as 9/11 occurred, Musharraf’s fortune changed. 

These were some of the turns and twists of history that are firmly etched in our memories and are common knowledge. These examples only confirm that if a nation has to change course for the betterment of its people it is not a foreign country even be it a superpower that can alter the direction or transform its destiny.

History also bears witness that when outside powers have intervened, the process of positive change from within has not only been delayed but distorted. And as mentioned earlier, countries like Cuba and Iran turned inwards retarding their political and economic progress. 

In Syria, President Assad — fearing a regime change sponsored by the US and Western countries — has further tightened his grip on its people and increased their suffering beyond measure. Moreover, the people having suffered due to sanctions bear lasting grudge against the US. 

For example, in my country I have seldom heard any one blaming the government for inviting sanctions. It is always the US or the West that imposes it, however justified from their perspective these sanctions might be.

Of course, this is not to acknowledge that sanctions have worked occasionally and helped the country by improving governance for the betterment of its people. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), by placing Pakistan on its grey list, although troubling and one-sided, did force the government to take more effective measures against money laundering, leading to terror financing that led to investigating and prosecuting leaders involved in these activities.

Historical experience shows democratic nations that are accountable to their people are today leading the world in economic and social progress. They are also in the forefront in the race for technological and scientific progress. For these nations, education and health of their people have always been the highest priority. 

China too, although not a democracy, but only when it accorded the highest priority to education and cared for its people that it was able to make phenomenal progress. Learning from our own checkered past and from the successes and failures of others we need a similar focus. Even the PM whose efforts for a Green Pakistan are laudable should also be accompanied by sermons for an educated and healthy Pakistan. 

Green Pakistan will not be achievable until the people have a level of education that makes them realise the fallout from global warming on their lives, and successive governments address the curse of poverty that drives them to cut trees to cook their meals.

Our young political leadership has reached the top by virtue of inheritance rather than struggle. More the reason for them to establish their credibility by formulating and implementing policies that break the shackles of poverty and ignorance of our teeming millions.

The writer is a retired lieutenant general of Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board

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COURTESY Express Tribune

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Google bans 8 dangerous apps from Play Store; DELETE them from your phone now, check list

Google has banned as many as 8 dangerous apps from its Play Store including BitFunds, Bitcoin Miner, Bitcoin, Bitcoin (BTC) and more. You must delete them from your smartphone too; check the full list.

Cryptocurrency mining has been garnering everyone's interest especially over the span of the last couple of months. However, hackers are using this public interest in cryptocurrencies to trick innocent netizens into installing malicious apps on their smartphones containing dangerous malware and adware.

The good thing is that these malicious actors have been identified and Google has removed them. In fact, as many as 8 dangerous apps have been removed from Google Play Store that were masquerading as cryptocurrency mining apps - users were lured by promises of earning big profits by investing money in a cloud-mining operations.

Security firm Trend Micro reports that upon analysis it found that these eight malicious apps were tricking victims into watching ads, paying for subscription services that have an average monthly fee of $15 ( ₹1,115 approx.), and paying for increased mining capabilities without getting anything in return. The company reported its findings to Google Play, following which they were promptly removed by the company.

The point is that Google may have removed them from Play Store, but these apps may well have already been downloaded on your phone. So, what you need to do is check out your phone for them and delete quickly.

Here’s a list of the 8 malicious apps that Google has removed from the Play Store:

-- BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining

-- Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining

-- Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet

-- Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining

-- Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System

-- Bitcoin 2021

-- MineBit Pro - Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner

-- Ethereum (ETH) - Pool Mining Cloud

The research site says that two of these apps are paid apps that users need to purchase. While users had to pay $12.99 ( ₹966 approx.) to download Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining, they needed to pay $5.99 ( ₹445 approx.) to download Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System.

Furthermore, Trend Micro said that more than 120 fake cryptocurrency mining apps are still available online. “These apps, which do not have cryptocurrency mining capabilities and deceive users into watching in-app ads, have affected more than 4,500 users globally from July 2020 to July 2021,” the company wrote in a blog.

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COURTESY HT TECH

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