Comment by Riaz Haq on Monday

beidou pakistan

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQETE8OAi-umjUOm_o1-qWTGM9F..." width="240" height="240" alt="Goodbye to US GPS - China breaks its dependence after 20 ..." class="CToWUd"/>

Pakistan and China have a strong partnership in space technology, and this includes Pakistan's adoption and utilization of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.  

Key aspects of Pakistan's relationship with BeiDou:

• Early Adoption: Pakistan was one of the first countries to use BeiDou outside of China.
• Military Access: The Pakistan Armed Forces gained access to BeiDou for military purposes in 2018, which is significant because this allows for more precise guidance of missiles, ships, and aircraft and reduces reliance on other foreign GNSS like GPS.
• Civilian Applications: BeiDou is also used in Pakistan for a variety of civilian applications, including:
  • Agriculture and fishery
  • Rescue missions and disaster management
  • Hydrological monitoring and weather forecasting
  • Land mapping and urban planning
  • Public security
• Ground Stations: China has helped Pakistan establish ground stations (Continuously Operating Radar Stations or CORS) to enhance BeiDou's accuracy within the country. These ground stations improve the precision of geospatial applications like surveying and mapping.
• Reduced Dependence on GPS: Pakistan's use of BeiDou reduces its reliance on the US-based Global Positioning System (GPS), which is important for national security, as it prevents potential disruption or manipulation of navigation services by a foreign power.
• Enhancing Pakistan's Space Capabilities: The BeiDou system, combined with other forms of space cooperation with China, like the launch of remote sensing and communication satellites, helps to advance Pakistan's overall space program and technological capabilities.
• Strategic Cooperation: The partnership over BeiDou is part of the broader defense and strategic cooperation between Pakistan and China. 

In summary, Pakistan's adoption of the BeiDou system signifies a close strategic and technological partnership with China, providing benefits for both civilian and military applications while enhancing Pakistan's self-reliance in satellite navigation. 

Comment by Riaz Haq on Monday

New Delhi: After repeated denial, the Indian military has now indirectly acknowledged the deaths of several personnel, including Rafale fighter jet pilots, by announcing military honours for them.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the move, reportedly taken under internal pressure, has lifted the lid on what was previously kept under wraps–India suffered heavy losses during Operation Sindoor.

The Indian armed forces suffered a major loss during the operation, particularly along the Line of Control, where over 250 fatalities were reported.

https://kmsnews.org/kms/2025/07/07/after-repeated-denial-india-fina....

Comment by Riaz Haq yesterday

Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
Spoke to #PakistanAirForce Chief ACM Zaheer Ahmed Baber yesterday. The PAF brought down the IAF's entire kill chain on May 5-10. Satellite downlinks were scuttled, radars jammed and GPS killed. IAF was fortunate not to lose more than four , yes four, Rafales.

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1942769008589090858

-----------


Alan Warnes
@warnesyworld
It was no fault of the #Dassault #Rafale or #Thales #Spectra EW system that four were shot down. But the PAF's use of its new EW and cyber warfare ops in addition to the J-10/PL-15 combo. All part of a multi domain system created by the #PakistanAirForce CAS. I witnessed today.

https://x.com/warnesyworld/status/1942954111596384741

Comment by Riaz Haq yesterday

Can India stop Pakistan’s river water — and will it spark a new war? | India-Pakistan Tensions | Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/7/9/can-india-stop-pakistan...

Symbolism or substance?
Several water experts argue that India’s suspension of the IWT is more symbolic than immediately harmful to Pakistan.

Naseer Memon, an Islamabad-based environmental and water expert, called it a “political gimmick” designed to generate anxiety in Pakistan rather than alter water flows.

First, there’s international law, which Pakistan believes is on its side. “Modi is trying to portray that he would stop Pakistan’s water immediately. But legally, he cannot decide anything about the IWT unilaterally,” Memon told Al Jazeera.

Three weeks after India’s suspension of the treaty, Ajay Banga, the Indian-American president of the World Bank, also said that there is no provision in the IWT that allows a party to unilaterally suspend the treaty.

“There is no provision in the treaty to allow to be suspended. The way it was drawn up, it either needs to be gone or it needs to be replaced by another one. That requires the two countries to want to agree,” he said during a visit to New Delhi in May.

Geography and infrastructure also limit what India can do. Daanish Mustafa, professor of critical geography at King’s College London, argued that these factors protect Pakistan more than its policymakers on either side acknowledge. “The fanatic attachment to hydro-control in India and hydro-vulnerability in Pakistan is almost comical,” he told Al Jazeera.

Of the six rivers in the Indus Basin, the waters of three — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — are in any case only for India’s use, under the IWT.

Of the three rivers whose waters belong to Pakistan, the Indus passes briefly through Indian-administered Kashmir and Ladakh. But Memon, the Islamabad-based expert, said that topography in the region means that the river passes through areas that are snowy, with little space for any canal diversion or agricultural projects. “Plus, there is not enough quantum of water in the Indus in that area which would make it feasible for India to build any project,” he said.

Indian hydroelectric projects on the remaining two rivers — the Kishenganga dam on the Jhelum, and Baglihar dam and the under-construction Ratle dam on the Chenab — have sparked concerns in Pakistan, which has protested against them under the IWT.

Islamabad alleges that the projects could allow India to lower water levels into Pakistan, and that the Kishenganga dam could also change the course of the Jhelum. New Delhi rejects these allegations.

In reality, experts say that as with the Indus, India lacks the ability to divert water from the Jhelum, too. The river passes through populated areas of Indian-administered Kashmir such as Baramulla and Jammu, Memon said. Any plans to construct a dam there could put the population at risk of inundation.

The case of the Chenab is different. Its waters “could be disturbed” by India, Memon said, though not in all seasons.

The expert says that the river has several potential sites where dams could be built. But even if India built a dam, Memon said, it would not be able to store much water during the summer season, when the flow of water is at its peak, as that could risk flooding India’s own population living near the project. To avoid that, India would need to allow water to flow downstream — into Pakistan.

Anuttama Banerji, a New Delhi-based political analyst and water specialist, agreed that India cannot “stop” the river flow, only regulate its release.

“The flow of the Chenab River can be regulated through dams and storage facilities, but India would need serious capital investment [for that]”, she said. “The threat won’t materialise for Pakistan in the immediate term.”

Still, warn many experts, just because India cannot at the moment stop water flow into Pakistan does not reduce either the value of the IWT as a weapon for New Delhi, or Islamabad’s vulnerability in the future.

Comment by Riaz Haq yesterday

Modi Bhakts are fools if they believe India can just simply turn off the rivers like a tap.

It's no easy feat to stop raging western rivers down steep high mountains in the Indian territory. It's a massive undertaking to build dams and divert that water into canals in that mountainous terrain.

Indian geo-analytical expert Bhagat has said: “The topography of the region doesn’t allow big dams to be built The only river whose water can be diverted to an extent is Chenab that would need massive investments.”

An Indian environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar has said the risks of building dams on Chenab river are too high. “We already have the largest number of existing, under construction and planned projects in this very fragile, disaster-prone area. This is also a location where experts have warned about the major risks of landslides, floods, seismic activity and glacial lake outburst floods,” says Thakkar, the coordinator of non-profit South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People (SANDRP).

However, some experts say that if India begins controlling the flow with its existing and potential infrastructure, Pakistan could feel the impact during the dry season, when water availability is already at its lowest. One possibility is more frequent de-silting on dams on the Indian side in low water season.

To overcome the issue of water availability in dry season, Pakistan is accelerating its dam construction projects to store large amounts of water in the wet season, particularly Mohmand, Dasu and Diamer Bhasha dams.

There are other ways to exert pressure on India.

For example, India is a "middle riparian" state. The water in these rivers comes from Tibet in China, then flows through India to Pakistan.

For example, the Sutlej River originates in southwestern Tibet, which is part of China, and flows through India and Pakistan before eventually joining the Indus River. China's control over the river's source in Tibet, combined with its infrastructure development on the river, has raised concerns in India about potential water manipulation and its impact on downstream water availability.

And finally, Pakistan has warned India and the world that any attempt to divert water from the western rivers will be seen as an "act of war" and responded to by force.

Comment