US FREEZES HAQQANI ASSETS
In response to congressional pressure, the Obama administration froze the assets of three Pakistani-based militants allegedly linked to recent violence perpetrated by the Haqqani Group in Afghanistan. The injunction freezes any assets within U.S. jurisdiction and U.S. citizens are prohibited from commercial activity with the three suspects. As U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, the announcement is the latest in a series of last-ditch U.S. efforts to constrain and disrupt the most deadly and effective militant group operating in Af-Pak. (Times of India, February 6, 2014).
LAUNCH DATES SET FOR INS ARIHANT, AGNI-5
India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) officially announced that its first indigenously-developed nuclear submarine, the INS Arihant, will be field-tested and fully operational by the end of 2014. Additionally, the DRDO confirmed that the new SSBN and the 5,000-km range Angi-5 ICBM will be ready for military use by 2015. The Agni-5 is the first missile in the Indian arsenal that can reach any target inside China from virtually anywhere inside India. (The Diplomat, February 11, 2014; Defence News (India), February 12, 2014)
TALIBAN 15 DEMANDS FOR PEACE TALKS
The Tekreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s “political shura” met with the Pakistani's government’s negotiations committee near North Waziristan to present a list of 15 major demands as a prerequisite to a peace deal. The demands include: halting drone attacks and compensating all victims; promoting sharia law in courts; introducing Islamic education systems in both public and private schools; freeing all Taliban in custody; replacing the current democratic government with an Islamic system; and ending all relations with the U.S. (Daily Times, February 10, 2014)
PAKISTAN INVESTS IN JF-17
Despite financial constraints, the Pakistani Air Force is concentrating its resources on development of the JF-17 Thunder jet. Fifty JF-17s are already in service and Pakistan has begun work on the second fifty. A total of 250 are expected to be built to replace Pakistan's aging Mirage and F-7 fighter aircraft. The aircraft is jointly manufactured with China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, and financed in part by Chinese loans. Pakistan had hoped to find a robust export market for the JF-17 but the program "has yet to secure an order an become profitable." Production lines in both Pakistan and China are underutilized, producing only 18 aircraft a year with a 25 aircraft production capacity. (Defense News, February 10, 2014)