Rockets fired on Pakistan Aeronautical Complex

The rockets red glare.

Terrorists targeted the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) at Kamra in the Punjab province on January 17-morning, firing four rockets at short intervals, Dawn reported. One of rockets landed on the roof of the senior non-commissioned officers’ mess and two others hit airmen’s residences inside the Mirage Rebuilt Factory. The fourth rocket exploded in a field near the Qutba village, close to the Kamra Cantonment. However, no casualty was reported. District Police Officer Tariq Hanif Joya said the rockets had been fired from a place about five to eight kilometers north of the cantonment. He said that security agencies were looking for assailants in the nearby villages, including Jatyal, Samah and Nullah Chail. This is reportedly the second incident of terrorism targeting the Kamra cantonment in a little more than a month. On December 10, 2007, seven people, including four children, were injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a PAC school vehicle outside the Kamra facility.

About the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex:

The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra comprises of four factories which are spread over an area of 10 square kilometers. PAC has become a center of excellence in aviation engineering based on more than 30 years of experience in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of fighter aircraft, their components and engines.

But don't worry, those nukes are safe. Really.

President Pervez Musharraf said on January 17 that the nuclear assets have been dispersed and placed under multi-tiered security safeguard, dismissing reports about threats to country's nuclear programme, Associated Press of Pakistan reported. He said the National Command Authority was looking after the country's nuclear assets with a Strategic Planning Division fully capable of ensuring the safety of installations.

Musharraf also said the country currently faced three major challenges; terrorism and extremism, transition to democracy and need to sustain socio-economic growth. He said a few "misguided and lunatics" were attempting to force their way of life on the majority, but vowed that such elements will not succeed. "There is no place for al Qaeda in Pakistan... we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate and commit acts of terrorism here or elsewhere… neither can we allow Taliban's here or any support to them. No militants can be allowed here," he observed.