Wednesday, June 14, 2006
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Indian girlâs Internet wedding to Pakistani:
Ayeshaâs Pakistani visa subject to security clearance
* Marriage between Indian woman and Pakistani man could spell trouble, says Interior Ministry official
By Hina Butt
LAHORE: Khalid Mumtaz and Ayeshaâs (an Indian Hindu who converted to Islam recently) could spell trouble for Hindus and Muslims because of the difference in tradition and culture of India and Pakistan, said Maqsood Akhtar, an Interior Ministry section officer.
Maqsood, who deals with citizenship at the Interior Ministry, told Daily Times that the Foreign Office had no objection to issuing Ayesha a visa to Pakistan if security agencies agreed. Commenting on the marriage sarcastically, he said that Mughal Emperor Akbar had made a âsimilar errorâ by marrying Hindu women who disclosed his secrets.
Criticising Indian movies, the officer said there was no love between the couple, in fact the marriage was a result of the âfeverâ spread by Indian movies. Telling Daily Times to refer to history before printing such stories, he said Muslims and Hindus were poles apart and they could never live together.
When Maqsood was contacted later for details of agencies supposed to give the couple clearance, his colleague Iqbal Siddique said that Maqsood had been transferred to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Maqsood was contacted thrice at his new office, but he was not available for comment.
Allah Buksh Malik, deputy secretary of the Interior Ministry, said that if the coupleâs nikah had been registered in Pakistan, the Interior Ministry would have no objection to Ayesha entering Pakistan. He said security agencies could get involved in such cases, but the couple would not be bothered if their status was legal in Pakistan.
Explaining the citizenship law in Pakistan, senior advocate Asad Jamal told Daily Times that according to the Naturalisation Act 1926 (Clause C), Section 3, if a Pakistani man married a foreign woman, she wuld have to stay in Pakistan for four years, and not leave Pakistan in the last 12 months if she wanted to become a Pakistani national, he added.
Mumtaz and Asha Patel (now Ayesha Mumtaz) however said they would take action against Pakistani visa authorities if the bridegroomâs visa got rejected for a third time.
Mumtaz and Ayeshaâs love affair started five years ago over the Internet. They married recently over the telephone after Asha (a Bombay based girl) converted to Islam. âMy love for my wife made her change her religion,â Mumtaz said. âShe is now my wife and nobody can stop her from entering Pakistan,â Mumtaz told Daily Times on Monday.
He said his marriage should be seen as a people-to-people contact with India because he had never discussed politics with Ayesha over the five long years of chatting. Mumtaz said his marriage should be considered an effort to improve relations with India.
Ayeshaâs brother-in-law had threatened to divorce her sister because of her marriage, he said, adding that Ayeshaâs father was also pressing her not to convert to Islam.
He said the government had denied Ayesha a visa on the basis that she had no relatives in Pakistan. Huge iron gates divided the couple when they first saw each other at the Wagah Border. They decided to marry each other soon after the first meeting.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...4-6-2006_pg13_7
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Govt mulling incentive package for overseas Pakistanis
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Tuesday that the government was considering a package to increase the number of incentives for overseas Pakistanis.
Addressing a ceremony held for the distribution of financial aid to families of oversees Pakistanis and compensation to the Gulf war victims, the minister said that the package would be finalised after completing discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Revenue (CBR).
The federal minister said that government had presented a worker-friendly budget and announced various incentives and benefits for the workersâ community. He said that 7.5 million overseas Pakistanis, living in various countries of the world, were contributing to the foreign exchange reserves worth $4.25 billion, which, he said, strengthened the countryâs overall economy.
He said that the Oversees Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) had introduced a financial aid scheme for families of overseas Pakistanis, who had died or were physically disabled while working in foreign countries.
He said that OPF had so far distributed Rs 80 million among 3,756 families of Pakistani expatriates. He said that the amount of financial aid would be reviewed and increased as well. The minister said that OPF board of governors was being reconstituted to ensure the maximum participation of overseas Pakistanis in the board to make them part of the policy making process.
He said that restructuring of OPF was also underway, which, he said, would be finalised by the end of June 2006. He said that the government was also reactivating the Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council (OPAC) to get response from overseas Pakistanis for setting OPFâs objectives. He said that the ministry had proposed an investment conference of overseas Pakistanis that could be held in September-October 2006, adding that the moot would encourage the Pakistani business communities in foreign countries to invest in their own country. âHousing schemes of OPF in Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore are in development phase and work on them will start by the end of this year,â he said.
He said that a large number of late claims of Gulf war victims had been received after October 2003 and the United Nationâs Compensation Commission (UNCC) had approved 830 claims and issued $12.66 million for the affected people. He said that the government had made all efforts to make the process of distributing compensation transparent.
Addressing the ceremony, Mushtaq Ahmad, the OPF managing director, said that the foundation had received 44,498 claims from Pakistanis affected by the Kuwait-Iraq war before January 1996, which were forwarded to the UNCC. He said that out of 44,498 claims, the UNCC had approved 43,971 claims and transferred $316 million to the Pakistani government for their distribution among the affected people. He said that late claims filed by the people in 2003 were also sent to UNCC, but only 830 claims had met the required criteria and OPF had received the compensation amount. He said that OPF had so far distributed Rs 520 million to 586 people, while over Rs 20 million to 21 affected people would be distributed during the ceremony. He said that OPF was following the procedure set by the UNCC in distributing the compensation.
He briefed the audience about the OPFâs financial aid scheme that started in 1980 for the welfare of families of Pakistani expatriates in the country, adding that the OPF had allocated Rs 9 million in its 2005-06 budget for the scheme. He said that Rs 7.6 million were being distributed among 255 deserving families of overseas Pakistanis today (Tuesday).
Minister for overseas Pakistanis Division Raza Hayat Hiraj and Federal Secretary Muhammad Aslam Sanjrani were also present in the ceremony. online
<b>Taliban's call for jihad answered in Pakistan</b>
CHAMAN, Pakistan - The "Afghan" market of Chaman in Balochistan province is within walking distance of the checkpoint that marks the border with Afghanistan's Spin Boldek area. Many thousands of people criss-cross between the countries every day.
Electronic items such as new and used video-disc players, old Pentium laptop computers and second-hand digital cameras are on sale for throwaway prices.
But as dusk settles, much of the main activity takes place in small shops that rent laptop computers, which attract teenage boys like magnets.
This correspondent entered one of the shops, where an action movie with noisy background songs was playing. The scene showed some Middle Eastern-looking youths with long beards surrounding a convoy and firing bullets and rockets. They yelled for an ambulance when one of their colleagues was injured in crossfire.
"What are you watching?"
"Jihad," replied one of the kids.
"What?" (The reply was not immediately comprehensible.)
"Jihad, jihad. Do not you understand 'jihad'?" asked the shopkeeper incredulously.
No word could better sum up the situation in this volatile area than "jihad".
But it was not meant to be the case.
More than a decade ago, the area was the back yard of the Taliban movement, from where many of its second-tier leaders emerged to bolster the government in Kabul.
But as recently as a year ago, after concerted efforts by the Pakistan government as a partner in the US-led "war on terror", the region was said to have been won over, as was to serve as a hub for trade between South and Central Asia.
Billions of dollars were poured into infrastructure, notably highways, tunnels and railway tracks to connect Chaman with Gwadar port on the Balochistan coastline and Karachi port as the foundations for an international trade grid.
A town-planning blueprint was drawn up to transform Chaman into a modern commercial city in preparation for its new role as a gateway to Central Asia.
In one respect the plan worked. There are definite signs of prosperity in the town and its surrounds, manifested in flashy cars, abundant markets and lavish houses.
And it has become a hub - a hub for radicalism.
"All the districts near the Afghan border, whether it is Chaman or Pashin, have been heavily radicalized. We hear news every other day in our villages or nearby villages that the body of a youth has came back from Afghanistan," Abdul Rahman, a resident of Pashin who runs a non-governmental organization (NGO) for HIV/AIDS awareness, told Asia Times Online.
"We wander from village to village in Chaman and other districts and we see that youths do not have any other passion in life but to go to Afghanistan and kill Americans," Rahman said.
Asghar, a local trader, added: "Exactly the same trend exists on the other side of the border in Spin Boldek and Kandahar." Asghar, who frequently travels to Kandahar and Spin Boldek, continued: "It's the same tribes, the same people on the both side of the divide."
It's no surprise, therefore, that the favorite movies for young males are Jung hi Jung ("War and War" - a story of Taliban-led operations against the Americans) and Kelai Jungi, the story of the massacre of Taliban detainees in Mazar-i Sharif in 2001.
Also popular are old-stock videos of the Iraqi resistance and jihadi songs and films. Stores also sell new movie releases, whether they be Pashtu, Indian or Persian.
"All the CDs [compact discs] come from Afghanistan. We just cut and paste from the CD writer and make copies for sale," a store owner said. They sell for about 50 US cents each.
NGO worker Rahman blames the radicalization of the youths on the mullahs, who he says deliberately whip up the fever of jihad so that they can get their hands on the steady flow of jihadist funds from abroad.
"No, this is not the case," said cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. "This [radicalization] is [because of] America's worldwide oppressive policies, which generate this sort of reaction, and also what has been done by the government of Pakistan.
"They killed hundreds in the name of the 'war on terror' and handed over hundreds to the US. They carried out assaults in Waziristan [Pakistani tribal area]," Imran Khan told Asia Times Online in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. "Had I been a Waziristani, I would have been doing the same that the Waziristanis are doing against the Pakistani security forces."
Tellingly, the road from Quetta to Chaman reveals fresh wall chalkings lauding the Amirul Momineen ("commander of the faithful", Taliban leader Mullah Omar) and Quaidul Mujahideen ("leader of the mujahideen", Osama bin Laden), along with slogans wishing long life to the Taliban movement and the mujahideen.
<b>Jihad all over again</b>
As stated above, the Pakistani border area with Afghanistan was a fertile ground for the Taliban as it gained strength and eventually took power in Kabul in 1996. The numerous madrassas (seminaries) churned out thousands of sufficiently eager and ideologically programmed students (both Pakistani and Afghan) to join the movement.
The feeling on the ground is that once again the Pakistani border towns will fuel the Taliban fire. Here, the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) is the major power broker.
The JUI is the most influential component of the six-party opposition religious grouping, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).
The JUI has two factions, one led by Maulana Samiul Haq and the other by the leader of the opposition in the national parliament, Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Both factions were key patrons of the Taliban in the mid-1990s.
However, despite being a part of the MMA, Samiul Haq openly sides with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, while Rehman's JUI is believed to have some arrangement with Musharraf's government to allow it to dominate the provincial governments in North West Frontier and Balochistan provinces.
As such, the factions officially distance themselves from the Taliban and claim they will boot out any members with such affiliations.
However, it is not as simple as that. The JUI's election success was based on its unequivocal support for the mujahideen struggle in Afghanistan against foreign invaders.
Further, the hard core of the JUI still comprises former jihadi commanders who fought alongside the Taliban during their rise to power. Because of their immense popularity, they were given tickets for national elections, in which they scored sweeping victories.
<b>A call for action</b>
Now, as the Taliban's spring offensive gains unprecedented momentum, these contradictions within the JUI are becoming sharp, and forcing members to take a stand.
In the latest reports of violence, news wires said that 15 suspected militants, apparently including a relative of Mullah Omar, were killed on Monday by Afghan security forces. Further heavy casualties were reported in clashes on Wednesday. Over the past month, more than 550 people, mostly militants, have been reported killed.
More than 30,000 foreign troops will be in Afghanistan within the next few months, bolstered by a large North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence, which is strengthening its position in the south of the country, including 8,000 from Britain.
Hekmit Cetin, NATO's chief civilian representative in Iraq, as quoted by Conn Hallinan of Foreign Policy In Focus, said, "NATO can't afford to fail in Afghanistan. If we don't go to Afghanistan, Afghanistan will come to us, as terrorists, as narcotics traffickers."
The Taliban will be ready. Mullah Mohammed Kaseem Faroqi, the Taliban commander in Helmand province, recently told The Times of London, "My message to [Prime Minister] Tony Blair and the whole of Britain is, 'Do not send your children here. We will kill them.'"
One of the voices calling for the JUI to clarify its stance is that of Maulana Noor Mohammed, a member of the National Assembly in Islamabad from Quetta and a top leader of the JUI's Rehman faction. He recently urged the JUI to support the Taliban, no matter what the cost.
Asia Times Online met Noor, who is about 80, in his Quetta office.
<b>ATol:</b> You asked for complete support for the Taliban. What is the rationale behind this? Do you not think that this would be an intervention in the affairs of a neighboring country?
<b>Noor (Opening the constitution of the JUI):</b> The constitution of the JUI clearly states that when Muslim traditions and Muslim lands are under threat, the JUI must play a role [he cited many clauses backing this up]. It clearly speaks of supporting Muslim liberation movements across the globe, that is why we support Hamas [in Palestine], we support Bosnian Muslims. When the US invaded Afghanistan we formed a council for the defense of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which we later converted into the six-party religious alliance [MMA]. The Taliban are still fighting against a foreign presence, and we should support them.
<b>ATol:</b> Will such support not cost you and your party heavily?
<b>Noor:</b> You have to understand that the JUI is actually a movement which has strong traditions and history. Our first leader was Mujadid Alf-i-Thani [who stood up against the Mughal emperor Akber when he developed the religion Din-i-Illahi, which is a mix of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism].
Shah Waliullah Dehalvi [a renowned reformist during the Mughal era who is still followed throughout South, Central and Southwest Asia] was another one, and then came Shah Abdul Aziz Dehalvi, who further picked up the pace of the movement. [Noor then gave a long list of JUI leaders over the years who had resisted oppression.]
You can see the whole legacy of our leaders is jihad, the fight against oppression and support for Muslim movements. This is what the JUI constitution speaks for.
<b>ATol:</b> The whole movement was just for the Indian subcontinent. It did not go into other countries.
<b>Noor (once again reading from the JUI constitution):</b> "To strive for the [safeguarding] of Islam, Islamic tenets and the center of Islam ... to provide support to Muslims in occupied territories and to support Muslim minorities in non-Muslim majority areas." Where is it written that it has any territorial limits? It is a global agenda.
Now I will again go back to history.
When the British attacked Afghanistan, we supported the Afghan rulers and sent our leaders, like Ubaidullah Sindhi, who stayed there for seven years, and worked for the cause of the liberation of Afghanistan. The Ulema-i-Deoband [who graduated from the Deoband Islamic seminary in northern India] had a special status in Afghanistan and was admired by Afghan rulers.
... Similarly, we had a role when the former USSR invaded Afghanistan and our leader, Maulana Mufti Mehmood [a former chief minister of North West Frontier Province and father of Maulana Fazlur Rehman], issued a religious decree in favor of an Afghan jihad, and even when the Taliban emerged we supported them.
So the question is, why not now, when [President George W] Bush and his allies have launched a wicked crusade on Muslims? Should we not support the Taliban movement because a mean General Musharraf is our ruler and he turned the Pakistan army into a US force which caught 600 Muslim mujahideen and handed them over to the US? And Musharraf proudly says this, and he killed dozens of others and detained their families.
<b>ATol:</b> But the MMA rules in two provinces and is not sure what to do in the "war on terror".
<b>Noor:</b> The MMA should adopt a clear policy about the Taliban. Does it support the Taliban or not? When the Americans threatened to invade Afghanistan [2001], as I said, we formed the council for the defense of Pakistan and Afghanistan. So what is the point to retreat?
I spoke to the MMA leadership and asked for a debate at an upcoming session of the MMA. So why not announce clear support to mujahideen all over the world, including the Taliban?
The mujahideen are the opposition force of the day against Bush and his allies. Those who keep two opinions on the MMA's role, other than [being with the mujahideen], are just Bush's allies.
<i>Syed Saleem Shahzad is Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.co</i>
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Thursday, June 15, 2006
Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission meeting
Kabul imposes new tariff on Pak imports
By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: The Afghan government has imposed a new customs tariff to help reduce smuggling from Afghanistan to Pakistan, an adviser to the Afghan Finance Ministry has said.
Asad Sakhi Farhad told Pakistani officials at the sixth Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting on Wednesday that the Afghan government had also changed the status of âseveral finished products being imported into Afghanistan as raw material, to intermediate productsâ.
He said this in response to a request by the Pakistani authorities to control smuggling of goods from Afghanistan. Farhad said that the import duty on items coming into Afghanistan such as fabrics and vehicles had been increased manifold. The new customs tariff would help control the smuggling of these items into Pakistan because smuggling would no longer be as profitable, he said. The adviser said that the Afghan government would examine the effect of the enforcement of the new tariff in the coming months, and would continue to adopt such measures for the benefit of both countries.
He also requested the Pakistan government to take effective measures to control smuggling, as âthis illegal trade is depriving the Afghan government of a sizeable amount of taxes and dutiesâ.
Earlier, Central Board of Revenue official Shahid Rahim Sheikh informed the Afghan side that a large quantity of goods imported under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA) was being smuggled back to Pakistan, and asked the Afghan authorities to check this practice.
Afghanistan also demanded a land transit facility from Pakistan for its imports from India. However, Pakistani officials said that the issue was being discussed in bilateral trade talks with India, and suggested that the Afghan side wait for the outcome of the dialogue.
Afghanistan also asked Pakistan to remove all items from its negative list, and address âoperational difficultiesâ faced by Afghan importers in the transport of goods under the ATTA to attract more Afghan imports through Pakistan.
<b>FRESH AIR STRIKES IN BALOCHISTAN</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Government of India should at least have discussions with the overseas representatives of the Baloch freedom-fighters on this subject in order to find out their thinking.
10. The situation in Balochistan and the progress of the freedom struggle are attracting increasing attention abroad. It is learnt there were recently discussions on the subject at the International Institute For Strategic Studies (IISS), London, and the Congressionally-funded US Institute of Peace in Washington DC. Delhi-based think-tanks should invite the overseas Baloch leaders in order to educate Indian public opinion on the on-going freedom struggle in Balochistan. India should not hesitate to extend its political, diplomatic and moral support to the Baloch freedom-fighters.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Only freedom of Balochistan can help Afghanistan for ever. Being land locked and disconnected with India will never bring long term prosperity to Afghanistan. World community should join hands and give freedom to Balochistan and end long suffering. At the end it will help world community.
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A donkey cart owner chats on a mobile phone while his children eat kulfis on Canal Road. Iqtidar Zaidi
Friday, June 16, 2006
LATE NEWS: Differing perceptions stymie India-Pakistan talks
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: There is an asymmetry of perceptions and expectations between India and Pakistan, which could become the stumbling block in their bilateral dialogue, according to a new report.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) report released on Thursday concludes that Indian policymakers want to move slowly, hoping that an improved bilateral environment will help create the conditions for negotiating the most contentious issues, including Kashmir.
India and Pakistanâs leaders insist that the normalisation process is irreversible but while the two countries have stabilised their relationship, reducing the risk of war, many challenges lie ahead. One of the greatest to sustaining the process is an asymmetry of perceptions and expectations. Indian policymakers want to move slowly, hoping that an improved bilateral environment will help create the conditions for negotiating the most contentious issues, including Kashmir. Pakistanâs military government has made the expansion of ties on other equally vital areas of bilateral cooperation, such as trade, conditional on demonstrated progress on Kashmir. President Pervez Musharraf has repeatedly warned that the composite dialogueâs fate rests on movement towards resolving the Kashmir dispute.
The ICG believes that Pakistanâs militaryâs leadership should abandon its âunrealistic expectationsâ. It will take many more years of talks and the participation and support of elected governments in both states before the dialogue process can yield a Kashmir solution. Indeed, the two nuclear-armed states should focus efforts on stabilising their cold peace. Confidence-building measures (CBMs) on improved communication links and people-to-people contacts could help create the necessary environment but their impact largely depends on political will to implement them in both spirit and form. Kashmir-related CBMs such as the border crossings and trade would win India and Pakistan the goodwill of Kashmiris in the areas under their control but if these CBMs are subverted, the gain will be short lived.
The Brussels-based group advises that to prevent Pakistanâs âhardlinersâ from undermining the process and to deprive its military of an excuse to opt out of the talks, India would be best served and would itself benefit by reaching an agreement about the Siachen Glacier. The international community could aid in overcoming mistrust by providing technical assistance for verification and compliance. It notes that the ceasefire has held and the process survived thus far, even in the face of âgrave provocations,â should not lull the international community, in particular the US, into believing that a war is no longer possible. Constant engagement and encouragement are needed to ensure that the two sides remain committed to the process. The US and other influential international actors must also maintain pressure on Pakistan to end its support for the militants and to curb all cross-Line of Control (LoC) infiltration.
A reduction of infiltration and violence in Jammu and Kashmir would benefit all parties - India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris. âJihadi organisations are as much a threat to the Pakistani citizens and state as to India, and it would best serve Pakistan to eliminate their infrastructure. If violence and terrorist attacks recede in J&K, India will be in a position to reduce its troop presence in Kashmir, and Kashmiris can rebuild their lives in peace, no longer targeted by the militants or forced to live in a virtual state of siege,â ICG stresses.
The report says, âSince the large-scale presence of security forces and human rights violations fuel Kashmiri resentment and play into the hands of spoilers, India should reassess and recalibrate its extensive military deployment and reform its security agencies. Pakistan, too, needs to rein in its security agencies in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, reducing a presence that is resented by the local population. But improvement of the security environment alone will not reduce alienation unless Kashmiris have a political voice in a process that will determine their future. Representatives of Kashmiris on both sides of the LOC, regardless of their political affiliation, should be consulted in identifying, adopting and implementing Kashmir-related CBMs.â
The International Crisis Group advises India and Pakistan, as a first step, to hold parallel discussions with Kashmiri representatives, regardless of their political affiliation, and when feasible, include them into their dialogue process. Islamabad must not exclude those parties that reject Kashmirâs accession to Pakistan. And New Delhi must talk to all Kashmiri stakeholders, in government and opposition, including âhardlineâ as well as moderate APHC factions so long as they give up the gun. With international support, and by sustaining the dialogue process, India and Pakistan will, over time, build the necessary goodwill to tackle the most complex and contentious issues that divide them, including Kashmir. Until then, both should concentrate on stabilising their cold peace, countering the threats that could derail the normalisation process.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Pak-Turkish dialogue ponders global political scenario
By Zahid Hameed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey have long held exemplary relations in the political arena, however this harmonious level of interaction has yet to be found in trade and commerce. The following views were expressed at a programme titled âThe fourth Pakistan-Turkish bilateral dialogueâ, organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies in collaboration with the Turkish counterpart centre for strategic research on Thursday.
Ambassador Nezihi Ozkaya, Chairman for the Centre for Strategic Research, led the four-member Turkish delegation. Participants from both sides spoke on issues such as Pakistan-Turkey bilateral relations, Turkey and the EU, Pakistan and regional development in South Asia, the Iraq situation and its impact upon the region, as well as internal political developments in Pakistan.
The Turkish delegates, particularly the Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Kemal Gur, were critical of what they said was the discriminatory attitude of Pakistani officials towards Turkish business interests. He noted that despite the fact that Turkish construction companies were recognised world over, there was not a single Turkish project undertaken in Pakistan.
Senator Tariq Azim Khan, the state minister for Information and Broadcasting, apprised the Turkish delegates about recent internal political developments in Pakistan. The director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies Dr Shireen Mazari spoke on âPakistan and regional developments in South Asia.â Her presentation touched upon the Pakistan-India relationship, Pakistan-Afghanistan situation and the ongoing war on terror and the Iran-US nuclear standoff. On the Pakistan-India peace process, she said that notwithstanding the calm atmosphere, little substantive and concrete moves had been made to resolve conflict issues between both countries. âThe reason for this is that while Pakistan seeks conflict resolution, Indiaâs preferred course of action is conflict management,â she said. Speaking about Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, she criticised Afghan officials who, instead of appreciating Pakistanâs help, had increased their anti-Pakistan rhetoric.
The Turkish speaker, who spoke on âTurkey and the EUâ said that EU membership was one of the most important foreign policy priorities for Turkey. He conceded that it would take a long time before Turkey-EU negotiations succeeded or failed. However, he said that whatever the case, the issue had proved beneficial for Turkey as it had introduced many reforms in order to strengthen its case for EU membership. Sher Afghan Khan, the Special Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attended the meeting.
06-16-2006, 01:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-16-2006, 01:31 PM by Naresh.)
<b>Kashmir problem</b>
<b>CONGRATULATIONS to Mr Nasir Siddique for writing about the âKashmir problemâ (letter, June 6).
I agree with him, why should Pakistan commit suicide if Iran and Iraq want to.</b> Why canât we be wise like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. They are also Muslim countries like us. Turkey is a member of Nato and also will be part of the EU shortly.
Why should Pakistan be the sacrificial lamb, whether it is Afghanistan or Kashmir? Today Karzai is abusing us, <b>tomorrow some leader in Kashmir will curse us.</b> What did we get from Afghanistan? Only refugees and AK-47, which turned our beautiful country into the Wild West. Perhaps, something similar is in store from Kashmir in future.
We should be worried about our children, our infrastructure, our roads, our drinking water problems and not waste resources on these insolvable issues.
<b>NAZIR SHEIKH
London, UK</b>
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<b>Tarbela calling: eight days of water left!</b>
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is staring at another setback with massive cut in water supplies. Only eight days supply of water is left in the Tarbela dam, The News learnt on Thursday. âThe shortage in water supplies to the Punjab and Sindh will further surge over 50 per cent after eight days if the ongoing declining trend in water inflows continues in Indus River,â one of the Irsa members revealed.
According to daily water-sheet, released by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), the water level in Tarbela has alarmingly declined to just 0.791 million acre feet (MAF) which can cater to the irrigational needs of the federating units only for eight days as every day 0.1
MAF water is being released from the reservoir to the Punjab and Sindh. The Punjab and Sindh are already experiencing 19 per cent reduction in the existing water supplies that will jack up over 50 per cent if the mercury in the catchment area of Indus River does not rise.
In case 50 per cent cut in water supplies to the Punjab and Sindh is materialised then the rice sowing, which is currently at peak, will be in danger and the country will witness reduction in agriculture growth next time as the cotton sowing has already been affected in the early Kharif.
Pakistan has already witnessed the downfall in agriculture growth, which stands at 2.5 per cent. Irsa chairman Safqat Masud has also confirmed that situation is alarming, but he hoped Almighty Allah will shower His blessing. He said mercury level in catchment area of the Indus river slightly went up and if temperature continues to improve, then the country may survive massive water crisis.
He further said that had four federating units judiciously used the water, the impending crisis would have been averted. Member Sindh in Irsa Muhammad Khan Memon, when contacted, said the water situation has deteriorated as the level had climbed down in Tarbela dam to just 0.791 MAF. âOnly Allahâs blessing can save the country from water crisis.â
The cotton crop still needs first watering and the rice sowing has also been kicked off, but there is enough water to cater to these needs, Memon said. He said Met Office has also indicated the monsoon rains get momentum in July. Memon said the Met office has informed Irsa that there are chances that country may receive rain after June 15. However, he said if situation does not improve, then unprecedented water crisis would grip the country.
He said after seven to eight days, Tarbela would come to on the run of the river. The water-sheet says that inflows in Tarbela stand at 84,000 cusecs per day while the outflows stand a 135,000 cusecs.
About Mangla Dam, Memon said Irsa is trying to fill it up to 1,180ft by June 30 keeping in view the hydrology of the Jhelum River. He said in case Irsa fails to fill it by June 30 then it would not be able to fill after June 30 which will further aggravate the water situation as Punjab mainly depends on the Mangla water for its irrigational needs. According to the official, Irsa is storing just 4,000 cusecs per day in Mangla reservoir. The official said to fill the Mangla reservoir by June 30, 22,000 cusecs water per day is needed.
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Gem from Urdu press - FT
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Barelvis versus Deobandis</b>
In its 2006 annual issue Naya Zamana published an article by Amir Hussaini who stated that Sunni Tehreek was set up in 1990 to counter the rising Deobandi and Ahle Hadith dominance. Sunni Tehreek leader Salim Qadri was killed by Jaish-e-Muhammad. Salim had accused the Banuri Mosque Deobandi seminary in Karachi and the Akora Khattak Nowshehra seminary as two hiding places of terrorists. JUP leader Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani had stated in Lahore that the terrorist Muridke seminary of Lashkar-e-Tayba would be used against the Barelvis. He had also dubbed all the jihadis as terrorists. The Barelvis didnât take part in jihad.
<b>Allama Ehsan Elahi Zaheer and âAl Barelviyaâ</b>
In its annual 2006 Naya Zamana wrote that Allama Ehsan Elahi Zaheer under General Zia started a Wahhabi movement against the Barelvis and wrote a book in Arabic Al Barelviya which was published in Saudi Arabia. He was killed in a bombing after that but his task was then taken up by the founder of Sipah Sahaba in Jhang, Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, who began targeting the Shia community.Â
<b>General Zia and Barelvi mosques</b>
According to Naya Zamana General Zia backed the Wahhabi and Deobandi seminaries while the Barelvis supported the PPP. Because of this, by 1988 in Karachi alone he allowed the Deobandis and Ahle Hadith to grab 700 Barelvi mosques and more than 100 seminaries at gunpoint. In those days both Shia and Barelvis came under pressure as a ban was demanded over ashura procession and urs of Eid Miladun Nabi.
<b>Barelvis condemned under General Zia</b>
According to monthly Naya Zamana (May 2006) the publications of Jamaat Dawa/Lashkar-e-Tayba (Al Dawa) and Sipah Sahaba (Khilafat-e-Rashida) continued to criticise and condemn the Shias together with the Barelvis. The Barelvis were dubbed a moderate version of Shiism and both were together dubbed a version of Judaism. After General Zia, his Wahhabi Islam was used in Kashmir too and the state itself became more permeated with this hardline faith. It was in the face of this Wahhabi dominance that Sunni Tehreek was defensively created to protect the interests of the Barelvis with force. Its leader Salim Qadri was killed by Jaish-e-Muhammad after repeated accusations by him that Darul Ulum Banuri Masjid and Darul Ulum Akora Khattak were centres of terrorism. When JUP chief Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani attended a rare gathering of the Barelvis in Lahore in those days he made a speech in which he declared that there were one lakh kalashnikovs in the Muridke headquarters of Lashkar-e-Tayba which will not be used in Kashmir but against the Barelvis in Pakistan. Â
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<b>One dish again!</b>
Columnist Abdul Qadir Hasan wrote in Jang that all parties in parliament were agreed to lift the ban on serving of food on weddings and allow one dish. The hotels and wedding halls however say that one dish would make no difference because cost will be calculated on the basis of how much is consumed and not how many dishes are served. People will now end up eating quite a lot of just one dish. The idea was to prevent the Muslims from spending too much money (israf) on festivities which was against the tradition of the holy Prophet PBUH.
<b>Amir Cheema beautiful martyr</b>
Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt Irfan Siddiqi said that his pen was silent because of his fascination in describing the beauty of Amir Cheema the youthful lover of the Prophet PBUH who was killed in police custody after he stabbed a blasphemous German editor. Irfan Siddiqi wrote that standing in front of Amir Cheema the Martyr, even Bayazid and Junaid, the great mystical saints, would have become tongue-tied. A lover of the Prophet PBUH could not commit suicide, so it was wrong on the part of the Germans to say that he had committed suicide in jail.
<b>Amir Cheema wanted to kill many!</b>
Quoted in Khabrain the father of Amir Cheema, the boy who stabbed an editor in Germany (who supported the blaspheming cartoons) and was later found hanged in his cell by the German police, said that his son often thought of killing people who were wajibul qatl (deserving of death under Islam). He said his son was a true lover of the Prophet (Ashiq-e-Rasul). He had often told his son that killing people who were wajibul qatl was the job of the state. He advised him often to dissuade him from thinking in terms of killing. He said given these views, he did not want to send him to Europe but it was unavoidable because of the need for education. Amir Cheema was a textile engineer with a degree from Faisalabad. His uncle said he was fond of jihad.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>PAC wants engines scam packed up </b>
FT
Ahmed Rauf
<b>Was the deal struck in 'good faith' as some PAC members seem to think?
The Public Accounts Committee of National Assembly is under serious pressure to revive the otherwise âsettledâ issue of the financial loss of over US$100 million Pakistan had to face because of defective railway engines it purchased from China (see TFT stories: âGermans called in to fix Chinese problemâ; August 19-25, 2005 and âRailways minister holds former chairman responsible for bad deal;â September 30 - Oct 06, 2005).</b>
The deal, struck in 2000, involves three retired army generals, two of whom are serving in the present government set-up. Lt-Gen Qazi Javed Asharaf is minister for education and Lt- Gen Saeedul Zafar is working as chairman NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Pakistan).
<b>To recap, Pakistan railways and a Chinese manufacturing company struck a deal in 2000 for the supply of 69 locomotives to Pakistan at a cost of US$100milion. The 33 locomotives Pakistan received developed serious problems within a year of being employed on the tracks. They had to be withdrawn. The withdrawal of the engines from local routes caused substantial losses to the railways, forcing the ministry to suspend the import of the remaining locomotives from China</b>.
At the time the deal was struck, Lt-Gen Qazi was railways minister in Musharrafâs cabinet, Lt-Gen Saeed Zafar was chairman and secretary railways and Lt-Gen Butt was general manager Pakistan Railways.
The senate first took up the issue of the locomotives in mid 2005 after a PPPP (Pakistan Peopleâs Party Parliamentarians) Senator Dr Abdullah Riar pointed to it. After Riar brought up the issue and named Qazi as responsible for the deal, an inquiry report was compiled. The report said that Qazi had finalised the deal saying that the import of these new engines would revolutionise the railways system in Pakistan.
After a three-hour-long debate over the scam, the committee decided to form a sub-committee to further probe the issue and affix responsibility. Sources say the committee recently met and within half hour the issue was âsettled on very frivolous groundsâ, as a source privy to the committee meeting put it.
âPAC decided that although the deal was faulty and Pakistan had suffered losses, it [he deal] had been struck by the three former generals in âgood faithâ, something they could not be chided for. Hence the issue was settled once and for all,â said the source. However, other more conscientious PAC members are unhappy over the sub-committeeâs strange logic of settling a million dollar scam with such haste and nonchalance. These members want to press the issue.
âIâm wondering why this allowance to make decisions out of âgood faithâ was not available to politicians and civilians who are languishing in jails for misusing an official car while others get away for causing losses in millions?â asked a PPPP MNA.
MNAs Qurban Ali Shah and Qamar Zaman Kaira, members of the special sub-committee formed to review the matter, have confirmed that they will re-open the issue and get to the bottom of it. However, this has led to a sharp division within PAC: some members want the case to be forgotten while others are determined to follow it to its conclusion and restore PACâs credibility.
Strangely, the Auditor General of Pakistan has been silent and disinterested in the issue. At the recent subcommittee meeting, auditors sat around tight-lipped, not joining in the discussions. It was the federal secretary railways Shakeel Durrani who raised the most scathing questions. âLt-Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi was then minister of railways, Lt-Gen Saeed Zafar was secretary railways and General Butt was GM Railways. If you are serious in probing this issue, these three generals needs to be summoned and grilled,â said Durrani. Other PAC members did not follow up on this demand and remained quiet.
However, Durrani then contradicted himself by saying: âIf I were secretary at the time the deal was made, I would have re-advertised the tender to get more viable bids for the import of engines for Pakistani railways. This deal was struck because there was only one bid from China and we took it. This was the time right after the 9/11 attacks and no one was ready to offer Islamabad a loan. Given that, the only option left was to seek a loan from China and buy these engines.â
Surprisingly, this line of argument had everyone convinced; no one considered the fact that the deal with China was struck in 2000, much before the 9/11 attacks in 2001! Also, after the attacks, things began to improve for Pakistan: economic sanctions were lifted and financial aid started pouring in from Western countries and lending agencies.
Earlier, then-federal minister for railways Shamim Haider submitted the name of former chairman of Pakistan railways Lt-Gen (retd) Saeedul Zafar to the senate during a question-answer session on the scam. The question was raised by PML senator Kalsoom Perveen who wanted to know who was responsible for the purchase of engines from China on commercial and supplier credit. Her intervention was followed by a heated debate over the details of the deal, with most senators refusing to accept Haiderâs justifications for it.
Later, Haider, in a written reply to the senators, said that the deal, which has caused the country a major financial loss, was approved by Lt-Gen Zafar. However, observers say that being the railways minister himself, Haider should know that such deals cannot be finalised by the secretary or the chairman without the approval and consent of the minister.
âIt is unfair of Haider to hold Zafar accountable and not Javed Asharf Qazi who was the minister at the time. Obviously, the deal could not have been reached without Qaziâs knowledge,â said one observer. Expectedly, after the senate session was over, Zafar strongly disapproved of the official senate report in which he was singled out as being responsible for the deal with the Chinese manufacturers.
âThose accusing me of getting into a shady deal should not forget the circumstances in which the deal was finalised. At the time no country would lend a single penny to Pakistan. We were lucky that the Chinese were willing to get into such a deal with us and supply us with credit to buy the engines,â Zafar had told TFT. âI am shocked to see that the Railways minister has singled me out in this manner when he should know, as an incumbent minister himself, that multi-million dollar deals cannot be agreed upon without ministerial consent,â he added.
Zafar also pointed out that checking the reliability and durability of imported items was the job of the railways technicians and experts who visited China several times and returned satisfied with the quality of engines Pakistan was preparing to import.
âThe decision to import the engines was taken after several meetings were held and all aspects of the deal discussed,â Zafar said, adding: âAll sides, from the financial to the technical feasibility of the project, were discussed and debated by an entire team which is why I cant understand why Haider claims that I am solely responsible for the deal.â
Zafar, who is presently heading NEPRA, was chairman of Pakistan railways when the deal was cut with the Chinese firm. Even though he was granted a two-year extension in his contract as chairman Railways and secretary ministry of Railways by prime minister Zafraullah Khan Jamali on the orders of General Musharraf, within a few months, Jamali himself terminated Zafarâs contract.
<b>Insiders say Jamaliâs ouster of Zafar greatly annoyed Musharraf who has close personal ties with the former railways chairman. Jamali also showed the door to Farhat Hussain, another close family friend of General Musharrafâs. Hussain was then the secretary ministry of labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis. In fact, many observers believe that the ouster of these close friends of Musharrafâs was one of the causes of Jamaliâs fall</b>.
<b>A new development on this issue is that Pakistan will have to get German experts to fix the defective engines because the Chinese canât rectify their own machines. The help of Germans engineers has been sought to modify the exhausts of these engines in order to improve their performance. With US$100 million already spent on this project, insiders say a lot more money will be spent on this new contract with the German company. </b>
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What they will do with newly created station platform size?
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jun 16 2006, 08:17 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jun 16 2006, 08:17 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>PAC wants engines scam packed up </b>
FT
What they will do with newly created station platform size?
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
The Chinese Locomotives and Coaches are about Sixteen Inches wider than the Original Pakistan Railway Coaches which are identical in Width and Height to the Indian Coaches.
As such Pakistanis had to Knock-Off about 9-12 Inches from the Paltforms, Edge so that the Chinese Built Rolling Stock could enter the Platforms as well as pass non-stop from wayside stations.
Thus when the Non-Chinese Original PR Trains enter the Platform there is a 9-12 Inches Gap and as such the announcement <b>âGapoon Ko Maind Karoâ</b> is continuously made as there were a number of cases of the Pakistani Train Passengers âFallingâ in the Gap between the Platforms and the Original Coaches.
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Nareshji,
Here goes international funds for poverty reduction.
They need atleast 8 bricks layers to fill gap. New tenders for bricks, cement etc. Another opportunity for Fauji organization, to send family for long international vacation.
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jun 16 2006, 10:50 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jun 16 2006, 10:50 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nareshji,
Here goes international funds for poverty reduction.
They need atleast 8 bricks layers to fill gap. New tenders for bricks, cement etc. Another opportunity for Fauji organization, to send family for long international vacation.
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
You mean they will "Phirst Phill the Gap" then "Phind" that New rolling Stock cannot enter the "Platphorm" so they will again "trim the Platphorm" .... and so on and on i.e.
"Phill the Gap" and then "Trim the Platphorm" ..... Again and Again and Again...
You have sussed out the Pakistani Mind.
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Checkout - Pakistani celebrating Hindu festival Basant Bahar in Pakistan <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>India cannot rely on IPI gas pipeline</b>
<i>Seeks alternate energy sources</i>
KARACHI: India is seeking alternate sources of energy in the wake of petroleum and natural gas shortage as it has enough capital and resources to buy energy supplies.
This was stated by M N Chinai, Member Reliance Group of India and President Maharaj Economic Council, an apex think-thank of India, in an interview to The News.
âAfter failure of efforts and series of talks with Pakistan and Iran, India has decided to produce thermal, coal and bio-energy in order to meet domestic demand,â he said, adding âIndia cannot rely further on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.â
He said India was interested in cooperating with Pakistani industrialists and businessmen, but it would not focus on one specific sector. âWe (Indian businessmen) come to Pakistan and do business but we cannot disclose our deals to Pakistani government.â
India eyed Pakistani textile sector and would soon send a delegation in order to study the industry, he said. âIndian textile sector is also very strong and has the capability to compete with Pakistan.â
Regarding investment opportunities in Pakistan, Chinai said it would take a long time to build trust, but joint ventures could be possible.
He was of the view the World Trade Organisationâs rules did not provide a boost to the trade of developing countries, instead it bolstered the trade of big powers and developed countries of the world.
âWTO has discriminatory policies for the Third World countries, which create more problems instead of helping them.â
President Maharaj Economic Council said India lacked skilled professionals in industries. âIt is generating graduates and qualified people with zero professional skills and lack of confidence.â
He expressed dissatisfaction over efforts to reopen Indian and Pakistani consulates in Karachi and Mumbai, saying though measures were being taken, these would be difficult to bear fruits soon.
âWe (businessmen)Ã can only make demands to the government and state departments but do nothing else and the absence of consulates is the major hurdle in the way of improving trade ties between Pakistan and India.â
The representative of Reliance Group highlighted the importance of Pakistan as a corridor for trade with Middle Eastern countries, saying India could use Pakistan as a bridge for trade with landlocked countries. However, âit is too difficult to materialise.â
About small-scale industries of India, he said China gave a tough time to India after the implementation of WTO regime as many small-scale industries went bankrupt due to cheap Chinese products, adding ânow India is competing with its neighbour but it needs a lot of progress in this regard.â
Likewise many Asian countries, Indian investors shifted their industries to China, but Chinai disagreed the move would affect local industries, saying other investors appeared in local markets if some investors went to foreign countries.
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<b>Musharraf hopeful of China frigate deal</b>
SHANGHAI, June 16: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday expressed the hope that the deal under which China would provide four frigates to Pakistan by 2,013 with transfer of technology would be successfully accomplished. During his visit to Hudong shipyard where the frigates will be built, he said that the F-22P frigate project would prove an outstanding symbol of ever-green Sino-Pakistan friendship.
The president, who was here to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, availed the opportunity to visit the shipyard.
He was given a briefing on different phases of construction of the frigates, and told that the first frigate would be ready for delivery in three years.
Three frigates, to be equipped with latest helicopter and missile systems, would be built at the Hudong shipyard and, later, four at the Karachi shipyard, he was told.
In his brief remarks about the project, President Musharraf said that he was satisfied with the progress of the project, adding that it would enrich Pakistanâs experience to build modern warships.
He was informed that the design of the frigates was being prepared according to specific Pakistani requirements.
This is the first major collaboration between the two navies.
The frigates would be up to the level of highly advanced international standard, said President of the shipyard, Zhou Jian Neng, while introducing main features of the project.
Earlier, Chinese Minister for Science, Industry and Defence Zhang Yunchuan met President Musharraf and discussed with him the progress on the on-going projects in the field of science and technology.
The president was accompanied by Federal Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani and others.â-APP
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