LONDON: The British government is planning to sell 60 Hawk jets to India worth 1.5 billion dollars, which could be adopted to carry nuclear weapons or used to train pilots to fly nuclear- capable aircraft.
The admission, in a series of written parliamentary answers, prompted angry reactions from members of the house who said the sale is in breach of the government’s commitment to stick to the guidelines of arms exports, and its pledge not to encourage nuclear proliferation.
The aircraft is the Hawk advanced jet trainer, which can be used in ground attack but it has been designed to train pilots to fly fast jets — including Jaguar.
Lewis Moonie, the junior British defence minister said, “any aircraft capable of delivering a bomb is capable of modification to enable it to deliver a nuclear weapon”.
The minister referred to the government’s pledges not to sell any equipment which could contribute to India’s nuclear programme, and that licences would be used only if there were “no end use concerns”.
Some media reports quoting the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute say, the licensing deal is for 126 Jaguar aircraft, and adds plans are under way to upgrade their performance with Israeli help.
So far there has not been a huge reaction from the British opposition parties to the planned sale. But the opposition Tory members of the parliament and Liberal Democrats are gathering information in this regard.
The news of the planned sale is indeed quite disturbing for Pakistan which is trying its best for de-escalation with India. The sale, if goes ahead, can also result in arms race in the region and lead to increased tension between the two nuclear neighbours of South Asia.
But the labour government seems to less bothered about the criticism within or outside as for as the planned sale of its fighter aircraft to India is concerned.
The main concentration of the government and as that of the United States is still focussed on Afghanistan where combat operations against the remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are going on.
Another new development in the Afghan war is the reported flight of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters to the tribal areas of Pakistan. The British and the US media is reporting that the UK and US military units have been conducting covert reconnaissance operations in Pakistan apparently to take part in combat operations to flush out the remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters on Pakistani side of the border.
The reports of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters crossing border into Pakistan are there for quite some time and now it seems that the war against Al Qaeda has been expanded to Pakistan.
In view of the present situation it seems quite logical that Pakistan would fully co-operate with the US-led coalition to flush out Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters from its side of the border, but it risks increasing political turmoil in the country, where President’s Musharraf’s support for the war has sparked considerable opposition from Islamic political parties.
With referendum only days away, the news of the US operations on its side of the border is indeed quite bothering for the Pakistani government.
Despite these concerns, the US and Britain seem to be fully committed to keep Al Qaeda fighters and the remnants of the Taliban on the run.
Though Pakistan would prefer the United States and its allies to be as quiet as possible about its activities inside the country, it seems quite unlikely that the news of the operations in the tribal areas of Pakistan would be blacked out.
Given its long porous border with Afghanistan, the crossing of the Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters to its side of the border is some thing not unpredicted, and both the Pakistani and the US governments knew that this could happen in the evolving Afghan conflict.
But some analysts are worried at the possibility of new recruits from the Middle East going to the region in wake of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If that happens, it would indeed be a new development in the Afghan war.
AS many young British soldiers are busy in peacekeeping and combat operations in Afghanistan, back home life for many young people is as full of joys as has been all along in the peace times.
The streets of London are full of mostly young people each night who go out for fun. A recent survey revealed that girls could be even more out-going than boys in London.
The survey reveals that across the country, the average spending by girls in one outing could be 107 pounds, and this includes a “trip to a Toni & Guy’s salon, a meal at the local pasta joint and club entrance. It also includes drinks and cigarettes, anti- indigestion pills, cabs and a throwaway camera”.
The survey says, “London is followed by Oxford and Bristol, with Liverpool and Newcastle further down the list”.