Month: March 2023

Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, sending a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West.

Although not unexpected and while Putin said the move would not violate nuclear non-proliferation promises, it is one of Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago.

The United States — the world’s other nuclear superpower — has reacted cautiously to Putin’s statement, with a senior administration official saying there were no signs Moscow planned to use its nuclear weapons.

Putin likened his plans to the US stationing its weapons in Europe and said that Russia would not be transferring control to Belarus. But this could be the first time since the mid-1990s that Russia were to base such weapons outside the country.

“There is nothing unusual here either: firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries,” Putin told state television.

“We agreed that we will do the same – without violating our obligations, I emphasise, without violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.”

Tensions have grown over the war in Ukraine after heavy supplies of Western weaponry to Kyiv and Moscow shifting its rhetoric on its military operation away from “demilitarisation” of its neighbour to fighting “the collective West” there.

Some hawkish Russian politicians and commentators have long speculated about nuclear strikes, saying Russia has the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits.

“Tactical” nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains on a battlefield rather than those with the capacity to wipe out cities. It is unclear how many such weapons Russia has, given it is an area still shrouded in Cold War secrecy.

Experts told Reuters the development was significant since Russia had until now been proud that unlike the United States, it did not deploy nuclear weapons outside its borders.

The senior US administration official noted that Russia and Belarus had been speaking about the transfer of nuclear weapons for some time.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defence of the NATO alliance,” the official said.

NATO’s threshold

Putin did not specify when the weapons would be transferred to Belarus, which has borders with three NATO members — Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. He said Russia would complete the construction of a storage facility there by July 1.

“This is part of Putin’s game to try to intimidate NATO … because there is no military utility from doing this in Belarus as Russia has so many of these weapons and forces inside Russia,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists.

It was also unclear where in Belarus the weapons would be stationed. The transfer would expand Russia’s nuclear strike ability along NATO’s eastern border.

Although the Kremlin has never publicly confirmed it, the West has long being saying that Russia keeps nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, its Baltic coast exclave between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin’s announcement an extremely dangerous escalation.

“In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” it said on Twitter.

Putin said that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had long requested the deployment. There was no immediate reaction from Lukashenko.

While the Belarusian army has not formally fought in Ukraine, Minsk and Moscow have a close military relationship. Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine last year and the two nations stepped up joint military training.

“We are not handing over (the weapons). And the US does not hand (them) over to its allies. We’re basically doing the same thing they’ve been doing for a decade,” Putin said.

“They have allies in certain countries and they train … their crews. We are going to do the same thing.”

Russia has stationed 10 aircraft in Belarus capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, Putin said, adding that it had already transferred to Belarus a number of Iskander tactical missile systems that can launch nuclear weapons.

“It’s a very significant move,” said Nikolai Sokol, a senior fellow at the Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

“Russia had always been very proud that it had no nuclear weapons outside its territory. So, now, yes, they are changing that and it’s a big change.

According to Canadian media reports, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Saturday over demands for an independent Sikh state, a simmering issue for decades recently triggered again.

Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab in India.

 

“It is expected that the Canadian government will take all steps which are required to ensure the safety of our diplomats and security of our diplomatic premises so that they are able to fulfill their normal diplomatic functions,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

 

The statement follows Indian police on March 21 launching a hunt for Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has revived talk of an independent Sikh homeland and stoked fears of a return to violence that killed tens of thousands of people in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Police have accused Singh and his supporters of attempted murder, obstruction of law enforcement, and creating disharmony and said he had been on the run since last week when officers tried to block his motorcade and arrest him.

 

Indian police also opened an investigation last week into a protest at its High Commission in London, where protesters with “Khalistan” banners took an Indian flag down from a first-floor balcony of the High Commission to denounce recent police action in India’s Punjab state. India summoned the top British diplomat in New Delhi last Sunday seeking an explanation.

Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh homeland that some members of that community aspire to, both at home in India and in countries where Sikhs have settled.

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday penned a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging him to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders in relation to the general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The move came days after the electoral watchdog had postponed the upcoming elections in Punjab — initially scheduled to be held on April 30 — citing security reasons as the major cause behind the change in plans.

In his letter, the president emphasised that all concerned executive authorities of the federal and provincial governments should be directed to refrain from abuse of human rights and also to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections in the two provinces, within the timeframe, in compliance of the apex court’s order, to avoid further complications including contempt of court.

The president said that the prime minister, being head of the government, was responsible for safeguarding human rights as well as the fundamental rights of every citizen of Pakistan as enshrined in the Constitution.

The president said that events that were highlighted by the print, electronic, and social media had taken place in the recent past about glaring violations of fundamental and human rights needed to be brought to the premier’s notice to ensure remedial measures and preventive action.

President Alvi maintained that elections of provincial assemblies, in case of their dissolution under Article 105 or Article 112, were required to be held within 90 days under Article 224 (2) of the Constitution.

The top court in its order dated March 1, had directed the electoral watchdog to propose date(s) to the president for holding the poll within 90 days or on a date that deviates to the barest minimum from the aforesaid deadline, he added.

The president said that KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali was also directed by the SC to appoint a date for holding the general election for the provincial assembly as per the time frame.

“Subsequently, ECP had proposed holding of general elections between 30th April – 7th May, 2023 and general elections for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab were announced to be held on 30th April, 2023 and the same was notified by the ECP,” read the letter.

Role in postponement of polls

The head of the state said that it appeared that federal and caretaker governments in Punjab and KP advised the heads of concerned departments to indicate their inability to provide the necessary support for holding general elections.

He referred to Article 220 of the Constitution which states that “it shall be the duty of all executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces to assist the Commissioner and the election commission in the discharge of his or their functions”.

The president underlined that in his opinion, flagrant violation of the Constitution had been committed by the executive authorities and government departments, adding that ECP had not implemented his announcement of holding general elections in Punjab on April 30 and also blatantly violated the Supreme Court’s order.

The ECP has announced the date of October 8, 2023, for holding general elections of provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP, he said.

He maintained that it was a matter of concern that the prime minister had undertaken no meaningful consultation with the president on policy issues in line with Article 46 of the Constitution, which provided that the PM shall keep the president informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy and on all legislative proposals the federal government intends to bring before the parliament.

He added that Rule 15(5) of Rules of Business, 1973 also highlighted the responsibility of the PM, inter-alia, to furnish such information relating to the administration of affairs of the Federation and proposals for legislation as the president may call for.

In his letter, the president also drew the attention of the PM towards the seriousness of incidents of human rights violations, atrocities of police and law enforcement agencies and grossly disproportionate use of force against the citizens.

He said multiple fake and frivolous cases had been registered against politicians, workers, journalists and media persons; houses of political workers had been raided, and citizens had been abducted without warrants and lawful justification.

The president termed the incidents of human rights violations and oppression by state machinery against innocent citizens as “clear breach and violations of fundamental rights” guaranteed by Article 4 of the Constitution, which provides for, and guarantees citizens to enjoy the protection of the law and to be treated in accordance with the law.

“This has tarnished the image of Pakistan in the international community and is casting negative repercussions on the future of democracy and state of Human Rights in Pakistan,” he added.

The president further highlighted that in the World Press Freedom Index of 2021, Pakistan ranked 145 out of 180 countries and dropped to 157 ie, 12 points downwards in the World Press Freedom Index, 2022, which reflected the sorry state of affairs and this year’s actions and images would further exacerbate Pakistan’s already dismal ranking.

He wrote that in recent months, media had been further suppressed and journalists had also been subjected to charges of sedition and terrorism to stifle dissent and criticism against the government. It appears that a reign of terror has been unleashed against the media persons who have independent opinions, he added.

India Today reported that the firing exercise was being held at the Pokhran field when the three surface-to-air missiles were misfired.

The missiles struck fields in different villages, causing loud explosions, however, there were no reports of any loss of life or property damage.

The misfire was attributed to a technical glitch that occurred during the exercise.

India Today quoted defence spokesperson Lt Col Amitabh Sharma as saying an investigation had been initiated and further action will be taken accordingly.

According to the report, the debris from two of the misfired missiles has been recovered, but the third missile has not yet been located. Police and Army teams are currently conducting a search for the missing missile.

It added that the Indian Army was conducting a firing exercise when three missiles with a range of 10 to 25 kilometres deviated from their path due to a technical fault.

The misfired missile caused significant damage to the field, creating large crater in its impact zone.

Last year in August, the Indian government sacked three officers for accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan, an incident that the two nuclear-armed rivals handled calmly as there were no casualties.

“A Court of Inquiry, set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile,” the Indian Air Force had said in a statement.

The BrahMos missile — a nuclear-capable, land-attack cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India — was fired on March 9, prompting Pakistan to seek answers from New Delhi on the safety mechanisms in place to prevent accidental launches.

After the incident was reported, the Pakistan Foreign Office had summoned the Indian envoy to register a protest over the unprovoked violation of its airspace, saying such “irresponsible incidents” reflected the neighbouring country’s “disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability”.