Srinagar, Feb. 3 -- Islamabad's Call to Arms Two things happened almost simultaneously in Beijing and Islamabad on November 19 last year. One, China's Defence Ministry announced that the People's Liberation Army [PLA] will participate in a joint military exercise in Pakistan "to enhance the capability for conducting joint counterterrorism operations," and two, Pakistan's Federal Apex Committee of the National Action Plan [NAP] approved a "comprehensive military operation" [Emphasis added] against armed groups in the restive Balochistan province. Was this a mere coincidence? Pakistan's Foreign Office [FO] spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch did try to quash media reports that the NAP was forced to take this decision due to pressure from Beijing, sa...