Pakistan News and Discussion-8

10-01-2006, 09:14 AM

QUOTE"Pakistan wants to destroy Hindu civilisation
By Aditya Pradhan in Mumbai
"Does India lack strategy to fight terrorism? Why is that countriesÂ like the US and the UK so effectively combat terrorism, and terrorist attacks have been few and far between in those countries? In the face of a soft state and ineffective combat mechanism is the country doomed?'' These are some of the questions that the youth in Mumbai have been asking after the spate of bombings in the city. There have been 110 bomb blasts in India in the last 10 years. But in the US,Â after the September 11 attacks, there has not been a single incident of any successful terrorist ploy.

"We always blamed Pakistan for all the terrorism here in India, now it has been conclusively proved that local Muslims have got involved. 

But why did it take so long for us to accept this,'' a student from Jamnalal Bajaj Management Institute sought to know. Almost every week since the bomb blasts in the western railway local train compartments there have been functions held in various colleges in Mumbai on the issue of terrorism. And the upswell of response in these meetings have come from unusual suspectsmanagement, engineering and law students. At one such meeting held at the KC College in south Mumbai almost all the answers to these nagging questions were given by former DG of Punjab police K.P.S. Gill.

"It is our civilization, our culture and our Hindu religion that Pakistan wants to destroy'', said Shri Gill. Hatred has been Pakistan's raison d'etre and it will never give up on India in any circumstances.

"When our politicians sought to hide under the facade of Pakistani abetment to terrorism, the US asked us: what are you doing about terrorism?'' , Gill pointed out. He stopped short of calling the Indian establishment impotent when it comes to tackling terrorism. He even scoffed at the idea of having peace talks with Pakistan on Kashmir." Pakistan's genesis itself bears testimony to the fact that it will not give up supporting terrorism in India. It is so full of hatred and malice.''

A country which has a state policy of inflicting a thousand wounds on India even while accepting that it cannot win a conventional war with India, is not going to change its policy with peace talks, he added.

Also, according to Shri Gill, the army is not supposed to take up the job of fighting domestic insurgents, but the police system has been completely corrupted and made ineffective by the politicians so that the government more often than not gets the army to do the job.

"The MLAs decide the transfer of police, so will the police work for the country or the politicians? '' He even quoted several instances where the police have not been given good legal support as the cost was high. Ultimately, the cases were lost and the TADA accused have been left free. The rot has spread to the core of the Indian police set-up. After the Punjab success in squelching terrorism, the police officers were forced to commit suicide as wild allegations were levelled against them by the civil and human rights organisations.

Shri Gill, emphatically said India is the only country where the army is subjected to human rights scrutiny. 

Some of the policemen in Punjab after retirement have spent all the time in the courts attending various summons. The point raised by several members of the audience was that: why should the police fight against terrorism if they are going to hauled over the coals by civil rights groups? The police in Punjab was demoralised systematically by the human rights groups and politicians, and that, Shri Gill feared, is happening in Kashmir now.

"The government talks of giving a human face to anti-terror laws. Is that not an oxymoron. How can terrorism be dealt with a human face? 

Is it going to be the face of the hunted, fear-filled face of the victims like you all saw in Mumbai recently?'' There was a collective gasp in the audience when Shri Gill uttered these words. The disease is within, and is spreading fast.

Indian securitymen lack training, weapons, financial support and even moral support from the government. 

"We have to fight against terrorists from as far away from the country as possible. Once he enters the country we have already lost the war'', he said, even as the allusion to bombing terrorist camps in Pakistan was not lost on the audience. There should be anti-terrorist squads in every police station. That has not happened even in Mumbai, which is the prime target of terrorists. It is also facile to think that some other country is going to fight our battles.

10-01-2006, 11:12 PM

QUOTE'Make Mullah Omar Hondaâs brand ambassador' 
New Delhi
After Taliban leader Mullah Omar escaped from advancing US forces on a Honda motorcycle, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf jokingly advised the Japanese Prime Minister that the terrorist should be made a brand ambassador for the automobile major. In his book In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf said the US started massive carpet-bombing of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and the Northern Alliance simultaneously launched a land offensive. This led to Taliban cadres fleeing from Afghanistan into the mountains. In the first week of Dec 2001, Mullah Omar, sensing defeat, escaped on a Honda motorcyle and went into hiding, Musharraf writes. Once when Japanese PM Koizumi asked me about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar, I told him that Omar had escaped on a Honda motorcyle, says Musharraf. He then suggested that the best advertisement for Honda would be an ad campaign showing Mullah Omar fleeing on one of its motorcyles

10-02-2006, 06:45 AM

Ex-ISI officials may be helping Taliban: MusharrafQUOTEWASHINGTON: Pakistan's intelligence service has not aided renegade Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, but retired intelligence officials could be involved in their support, President Pervez Musharraf told a US television channel on Sunday.

Asked whether the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been helping the ousted Taliban, Musharraf, speaking on NBC television's Meet the Press programme, answered with an emphatic ânoâ.

"Nobody in the ISI has," he said. However, he added, "I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in ISI during the period of â79 to â89 may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there," he said."We are keeping a very tight watch and we'll get a hold of them if at all that happens." <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

The president expressed concern that current support for the Taliban may be more widespread than many observers are aware. "They don't know the realities on (the) ground. They're not conscious of the reality I'm seeing -- the extreme danger of this becoming a people's movement," he said. 
<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/liar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='liar.gif' />

10-02-2006, 06:47 AM

Musharraf buys all copies of sensitive â65 war bookQUOTEISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army general headquarters has purchased all 22,000 copies of a sensitive book by a former Inter Services Intelligence(ISI) chief on the myth of the victory claimed by the Pakistan Army in the 1965 war against India.

The army felt The Myth of 1965 Victory by Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed would malign the armed forcesâ image.

According to GHQ sources, army chief General Pervez Musharraf found the book, published by Oxford University Press, âtoo sensitiveâ.

The sources said Mahmood had submitted the manuscript to the GHQ as per rules. However, after going through the manuscript, the GHQ referred it to Musharraf, who noted on the file that Mahmood should review sensitive parts of the book and the title, especially the use of the word âmythâ in relation to the 1965 war.

Mahmood refused to make suggested major deletions, claiming the book was in print.Â

Under the circumstances, the sources said, the GHQ directed the Army Book Club to immediately buy all copies, worth millions of rupees, directly from the publishers, to stop it from being marketed
....................
I hope Mahmood make it avaliable online.

10-03-2006, 12:46 AM

Al-Qaeda HQ 'based in Pakistan'QUOTEA letter found when al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq was killed said the group's leadership was based in Waziristan, Pakistan, the Washington Post reports.
The December 2005 missive is said to be the first to emerge from what the US military calls a "treasure trove" after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death in June.

It was reportedly sent by a member of Osama Bin Laden's high command, who said he wrote from Waziristan.

Bin Laden is suspected of hiding along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

If accurate, the letter would confirm the location of the al-Qaeda leadership at the time it was written, the newspaper said.

'Wish to advise' 
The missive was uncovered from Iraqi safe houses at the time of Zarqawi's death in a US air strike, according to the Washington Post.

A 15-page English translation of the Arabic document was released last week by a US military counter-terrorism centre, the paper reported. 

The author said he was writing from al-Qaeda headquarters in the restive border region, where Taleban and al-Qaeda fugitives have been active.

The paper said the letter was signed by "Atiyah," whom counter-terrorism officials believe is Atiyah Abd al Rahman, a 37-year-old Libyan who joined Bin Laden during the 1980s.

"I am with them," the letter says.

"And they have some comments about some of your circumstances."

The letter described the difficulty of direct communications between Waziristan and Iraq, and suggested it was easier for Zarqawi to send a representative to Pakistan than the other way around, the Washington Post reported.

It also warned Zarqawi that he risked removal as the leader in Iraq if he continued to alienate Sunni leaders and rival insurgent groups, the paper said.

The "brothers wish that they had a way to talk to you and advise you, and to guide and instruct you; however, they too are occupied with vicious enemies here," Atiyah reportedly wrote.

"They are also weak. And we ask God that He strengthen them and mend their fractures."

Counter-terrorism officials reportedly deemed the document authentic.

'Laughing hijackers' 
The report comes a day after the release of a video purportedly showing the ringleader of the 9/11 attacks.

British newspaper the Sunday Times posted the video, which has no sound, on its website.

Dated January 2000, it shows ringleader Mohammed Atta and fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah talking and laughing, and speaking to the camera.

The Sunday Times said the video was made in Afghanistan for release after their deaths.

10-03-2006, 12:48 AM

LeT ISSUES FATWA TO KILL THE POPEINTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR--PAPER NO.133QUOTEActing on behalf of the International Islamic Front (IIF) for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jewish People, which is headed by Osama bin Laden, the Markaz-ud-Dawa (MUD) of Pakistan, which is the political wing of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), is reported to have issued a Fatwa calling upon the Muslims to kill Pope Benedict XVI for a recent speech of his delivered on September 12,2006, which has been projected as anti-Islam by Al Qaeda and other jihadi terrorist organisations of the world.

10-03-2006, 11:29 PM

ISI: in the firing line 
QUOTEAsked on NBC's Meet The Press programme if the ISI was helping to prop up the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, President Musharraf asserted it was not, but said he was investigating the possibility that some retired ISI personnel could be involved. "I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in the ISI during the period of `79 to 89' may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there," he said. "We are keeping a very tight watch and we'll get a hold of them if at all that happens."

The remarks have created a stir in Pakistan. One retired ISI official said it had caused "unnecessary commotion." 

"I think he is imagining a lot of things," said Lt. General (retd.) Hamid Gul, who served as head of the ISI during a part of the period mentioned by President Musharraf, and is a strong critic of the regime. "As retired officers, we have very little space for manoeuvre, we have to stand in a queue even to deposit our electricity bills, where is the question of assisting the Taliban?"

Comparing the ISI to the secretive Freemasons, Gen. Gul said "once you leave, you are out, you don't know what's going on inside."

According to him, the organisation is so tightly controlled that it is impossible for retired officials to maintain any "links" within the organisation. "I think the pressure is on [President Musharraf], and he should be able to take it. Instead, he is trying to parry the blows. But I must say it is a very shoddy way of doing it," said the former ISI chief. 

QUOTEGen. Gul said that while he disagreed with the Indian allegations, those pointing at the ISI were actually pointing at General Musharraf.

"The ISI is an extension of the military establishment. If something is being done, it cannot be done without the knowledge of the government. All this sniping, it is not aimed at the horse, but on the man riding the horse. They do not want to say directly that they doubt the President, so they are pointing fingers at the ISI," said Gen. Gul.

10-03-2006, 11:29 PM

PBS is showing
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/

10-03-2006, 11:32 PM

Fighting terrorism togetherQUOTEFOR years charges have been levelled against Pakistanâs intelligence agency, the ISI, that it has been involved in the terrorism that has destabilised South Asia. But the Pakistan government has always denied these allegations, insisting that the ISI was never involved in any act of terrorism â be it in Afghanistan or in India. Now we have President Pervez Musharraf admitting for the first time in a television interview that some retired ISI officials may be involved in the insurgency in Afghanistan. True, he has not implicated any serving personnel or the agency collectively, but the fact that any Pakistani who has had links with the establishment should be playing a clandestine role in neighbouring countries and using Pakistanâs territory for the purpose should be cause for serious concern.

Seen against this background, the recent British intelligence report claiming that the ISI was indirectly helping the Taliban in Afghanistan acquires a measure of credibility. One will also have to pay more attention to the Afghan presidentâs charge that âoutsidersâ are fuelling the war in Afghanistan. Similarly, the Mumbai police chiefâs allegation that he has evidence of the ISI masterminding the serial blasts in that city in July cannot be dismissed out of hand. The fact is that the ISI, which was set up in 1948 as the intelligence wing of the army and for years used to spy on the governmentâs political opponents, expanded into a âstate within a stateâ under General Zia to run the anti-Soviet insurgency in Afghanistan. From Afghanistan it is known to have moved on to greener pastures as its pan-Islamist, pro-jihad and hardline directors-general virtually ran the countryâs foreign policy. It does not seem to have abandoned that role altogether. In any case, now that the president has admitted a degree of involvement by ex-ISI men in terrorism, it is important that this aspect of the matter be investigated. If any Pakistani with ISI connections â old or new â is found to be waging a jihad in Afghanistan, Kashmir or India, he should be punished for acting against state policy.

The revelation comes at an important juncture in our external relations. President Musharraf has only recently taken initiatives to lower the level of violence in Afghanistan and to improve relations with India. Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to work together to fight terrorism by holding two loya jirgas in the border regions on either side of the Durand Line and involving the tribal elders in their effort to root out terrorism. Pakistan has also entered into an agreement with India at the Havana NAM summit to devise a mechanism to curb terrorism in their countries. These moves will succeed only if all countries investigate charges such as the ones given above rather than dismiss them out of hand. Pakistan has made similar charges against RAW, the latest being about its role in Balochistan. If India is involved â officially or unofficially â it should cooperate by looking honestly into the matter rather than having a knee-jerk response of denial. It is time the three countries realised that terrorism is an evil that could undermine the political stability, strategic integrity and social cohesion of each of them. They have a common interest in putting an end to violence in South Asia irrespective of which governmentâs jurisdiction the war-torn area falls in. It would be the height of folly for any of them to believe that one can prosper by weakening the other. Their fortunes are linked together and they will either swim or sink together.

Naresh · 10-04-2006, 01:07 AM

[center]Pakistan and Afghanistan

A border war

Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai bicker in America[/center]

<img src='http://www.economist.com/images/20060930/CAS989.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

THE food was good, but not the mood. On September 27th General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's leader, and Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart, met for dinner with George Bush in Washington. This feast, of soup and sea bass, followed weeks of feuding between the two neighbours, both key American allies in the war on terror. Afghanistan, and the western NATO powers trying to pacify it, accuse Pakistan of succouring, or at least suffering, the Taliban who have found refuge in its northern tribal areas. Mr Karzai accuses General Musharraf of âkeeping and training snakesâ. The general says Mr Karzai's weakness underlies the Taliban's strength. Before the dinner, which appeared to do nothing to ease the troubles, General Musharraf said smilingly: âMr Karzai is the best man for Kabul,â then added, âbut he doesn't understand Afghanistan.â

The dispute has fixed on a deal agreed on September 5th between General Musharraf and, it is alleged, the Taliban to keep the peace in Pakistan's tribal region. He says the deal was with 45 âtribal eldersâ in the border area of North Waziristan, and stipulated that local al-Qaeda fighters must be expelled and that the Taliban must not rule the place or do violence across the border. In return, he promised the locals that troops in the area would ease border checkpoints, in effect granting the tribes licence to smuggle. The government would also release dozens of militantsâand provide lots of cash. Pakistan has said it will not withdraw its troops from the border, and may again attack the militants lurking there. But on the day General Musharraf met Mr Karzai in Washington, the Taliban was reported to have opened two offices in Miran Shah, capital of North Waziristan. An American official in Kabul also leaked the news that Taliban attacks in southern Afghanistan have increased threefold since Pakistan's deal with the tribes.

This has put General Musharraf on a sticky wicket with America too. But, at least in public, Mr Bush said he was content that the general was doing his best to quell the Talibs. Indeed, the pact with the elders, if that is what they were, followed the failure of an American-sponsored effort to control the region by force. During America's 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters, likely including Osama bin Laden, and thousands of Taliban, crossed the border into the semi-autonomous tribal area. So General Musharraf, for the first time in Pakistan's history, sent his army in. For two years, it has taken a beating. Several hundred soldiers have been killed; the local, always fragile, civil administration has been practically dismantled; and the militants' ability to skip across the border has been undiminished. Indeed, laden with Afghan drug money, they have grown stronger, igniting a war with British and Canadian NATO troops in southern Afghanistan.

If General Musharraf's peace deal with the tribes was an admission of his army's defeat, he will not own to it. He calls it a breakthrough in the campaign against the Taliban, and a possible template for peacemaking in Afghanistan. In Kabul earlier this month, he told Mr Karzai that he would help him to âcrush the Taliban who are more evil than even al-Qaedaâ. On his return home, a little provocatively, he then stated that there were no Taliban operating in Pakistan.

This has annoyed Mr Karzai. Like most Afghans, he resents Pakistan for having sponsored the Taliban while they ruled his country, and thinks it supports them still. Before the frosty dinner in Washington, he told a think-tank crowd that he and General Musharraf âboth knew that Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden were in Pakistan for sureâ.

He, and perhaps Mr Bush, are not the only ones losing patience with Pakistan's military ruler. Indeed, with the notable exception of the American publisher of his memoir, âIn the Line of Fireâ, which was launched on September 26th, he is fast losing friends. Indians are bristling at the book's treatment of their former prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, who are portrayed as sincere but weak. General Musharraf, incorrectly, taunts India for losing a war with Pakistan at Kargil in 1999. In Pakistan, powerful mullahs, and many others, accuse him of cowardice for bowing to America's demands after the 9/11 attacksâhe says that Richard Armitage, the then deputy secretary of state, threatened to âbomb Pakistan into the stone ageâ.

In Britain, meanwhile, an official, intelligence-based report described Pakistan as on the verge of chaos. It accused the powerful spying agency, ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), which brokered the deal in North Waziristan, of indirectly supporting terrorists.

Cheers <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' />

10-04-2006, 08:06 AM

QUOTEOm Puri cast as General Zia in Tom Hanks movie 
New Delhi: Veteran actor Om Puri has been chosen to play Pakistan's former military ruler, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, in a Hollywood production about the CIA's role in arming Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan.

Om Puri, known for playing strong, serious characters, said he had been cast in Universal Pictures' "Charlie Wilson's War" alongside Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

The film, based on a book of the same name, revolves around Charlie Wilson, a charismatic, wheeler-dealer Texas Congressman, played by Hanks.

Wilson teams up with a rogue CIA agent to manipulate US Congress, the CIA and a host of foreign governments in a covert operation.

"The film discusses the entire political scenario of the time," 56-year-old Puri told Reuters.

"I appear as a well-settled Pakistani President who strikes a deal with the Americans that money and arms to the Afghans must flow through his country," said Puri, adding that he loved the character of Zia.

Zia ruled Pakistan from 1977, when he took power in a bloodless military coup, until 1988 when he died in a still unexplained plane crash.

His reign witnessed the enforcement of strict Islamic law in the country and was instrumental in providing US-backed military aid to the Afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation.

Puri has starred in several Hollywood productions in the past, including "Gandhi", "City of Joy", "East is East" and "The Ghost and The Darkness" in a career spanning about 30 years.

"Charlie Wilson's War" is directed by Mike Nichols, who made "The Birdcage" and "Closer", and also stars Julia Roberts who plays Wilson's aide.

The movie is slated for release next year and Puri said he was looking forward to working with Hanks and Roberts in locations such as Morocco later this month.

"Most of my scenes are with them. I expect to have a wonderful time with them as they are very talented professionals," he said.
Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. Click for Restrictions  <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

10-04-2006, 04:11 PM

The Pakistan President's Havana declaration that Pakistan will jointly investigate terrorist attacks in India, has now been put to test.The Mumbai blast case, is the first one in which Pakistan has been called upon to do the needful.Let us see how far pakistan keeps its words this time.

10-04-2006, 06:59 PM

QUOTEThe Mumbai blast case, is the first one in which Pakistan has been called upon to do the needful.Let us see how far pakistan keeps its words this time
First time India tested Pakistan was 93 blast, when India gave Pakis and US solid evidence, including material with serial number. Both ignored India. Dawood is still living happily in Pakistan.
During Kargil operation, India gave lot of evidence to whole world with pictures and material evidence. Same happened after Mumbai and Parliament attack.
So hoping that Pakistan will cooperate with India make me think, India deserve this. Either Indian Leaders are brain dead or selective amnesia by trusting Pakistan

10-04-2006, 08:54 PM

<img src='http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5121/72065539pm0.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
With love from Pakistan
<!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

10-04-2006, 08:57 PM

Discuss blasts issue directly with Pak: USQUOTEIslamabad: The United States has suggested that India discuss issues relating to Islamabad's involvement in the Mumbai train blasts directly with Pakistan instead of making allegations in public.

"India should communicate with Pakistan by having direct contact instead of talking about the Mumbai train blasts in the public," US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C Crocker was quoted as saying in the media here on Wednesday.

The United States wanted Indian and Pakistani governments to discuss all the issues between them, including the Kashmir dispute, to normalise their relations, Crocker was quoted as saying by local daily Dawn.

"We hope that both the countries would keep all their channels open to rectify their misunderstandings." Statements making accusations would serve no purpose, the US Ambassador reportedly said.

On the Havana meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Crocker said the United States appreciated the spirit and sense of understanding reached between both the leaders to resolve differences peacefully.
.................

10-04-2006, 11:32 PM

Return of the taliban - frontline Video

10-05-2006, 09:45 AM

Explosion heard in public park near Pak president's house
???????????
Whats going on?????

10-06-2006, 03:03 AM

FT- just out of press - enjoy it!!!
QUOTEPreaching to the choir
Following the release of the real PMâs magnum opus, in which he revealed that the Americans had threatened his then DG ISI that they would âbomb Pakistan back to the Stone Ageâ if we didnât co-operate with them post 9/11, Islooâs hacks have looked high and low for the former DG to elicit his comments on the issue. Some intrepid hacks made it past the check posts and actually got to the former DGâs home in Pindi. There they discovered that he was away preaching to the choir, doing tableegh

Thought youâd never ask
Two weeks ago, late one night, an irreverent hack left the home of a friend who happens to be on Uncle Samâs mission in Isloo. The hack was slightly the worse for wear. Just down the road from the diplomatâs home, he was accosted by a bearded gent who asked if heâd been to the âgoraâs houseâ. The hack jumped out of his skin but managed a defiant, âand who are you to askâ sort of reply. The bearded gent admitted that he was a spook and went directly to the heart of the matter: âwhat were you talking about in there?â The hack fell to the ground and kissed the earth. The bewildered spook asked what he was doing. âI thought youâd never ask! Iâve been harassed for years by spooks lying in wait outside the Indian and Soviet embassies. This is a first for Uncle Samâs mission. It shows we are finally a sovereign nation!â

Away with her visage!
We know that the real PM spoke to students at the Oxford Union, but what has not been mentioned is that he refused to address the august gathering until Big Benâs portrait had been removed from the hall of fame, she having been President of the Oxford Union in the 70s.

10-06-2006, 03:12 AM

QUOTENuggets from the Urdu press 
Witches attack farmer
Daily Jang reported that in Chak 28 Jagiani, Bahawalnagar, one farmer, Ameer Masood Ali, was facing continuous losses in his business. The local maulvi Jamil told him that his house was haunted by Jinns and he could make them run away with amliat (sacred chants). Next day he brought two kids who performed strange sacred chants. They took money from Ameer Ali and told him that now his house was clear of Jinns. After a few days, bricks starting falling from the sky in Ameer Aliâs house at night and then screaming and wailing chorails (witches) entered his house. The whole family got scared but Ameer Ali managed to capture one chorail, who admitted she was sent by Jamil to extract more money from him.

MacCauleyism vs Sir Syedism
As reported in Daily Pakistan, the president of Idara Qaumi Tashakhus said that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the greatest personality of the twentieth century. He said that English medium schools are destroying the new generation of Pakistan. The boys and girls of English medium school know English idioms and traditions but donât know about the heroes of Pakistan and Islam. He said that the government should free our children from the noose of the necktie and introduce one uniform and one syllabus for the entire nation. The school of MacCauleyism should be discarded in favor of Sir Syedism.

General on the run
Accoriding to Daily Pakistan, ex-Wapda Chairman and ex-PCB chairman Gen (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar was announced an offender by an accountability court. He allegedly stole Rs 187 million in assets from 1987 to 1992 when he served as Wapda Chairman.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Honour on Wagah border
Writing in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Sarerahe said a 1965 war monument is being removed to broaden the GT road near the Wagah border. The local population has vowed to die rather than bear the removal of the monument of Shuhada (martyrs). The government wants to remove this monument so that its friends (mitr) from India couldnât see the symbol of their enemies. But the local populationâs honour and India-specific hatred has become a hurdle in removing this monument.

Maulvis dispute 9/11
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Norwegian Minister Bjarne Kaakon Hanssen condemned the statements of Pakistani ulema (religious scholars) covering 9/11. The Pakistani scholars rejected the involvement of Muslims in the 9/11 attacks in America. Maulana Zulqarnain Madni first made these statements and later other scholars also endorsed his views. He accused the Bush administration of conspiring to blow up The World Trade Centre. The Norwegian Minster said such statements could widen the gap between Norwayâs locals and its Muslim immigrants.

Beards ruining our cricketers
As reported in daily Khabrain, Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan said that Pakistan cricket players are just concentrating on their beards instead of improving their game by hard work and discipline. The non-Muslim teams are winning against the Pakistan cricket team. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />Â MMA member, Mohammad Usman said Imran Khan is wrong and his sarcasm is misplaced. Another scholar said religious behavior and a beard helps in character building. He said a beard makes us more determined, and all the great Muslim heros who excelled in different fields had beards.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Christians accept Islam in protest
According to daily Jang, a Christian family of eight people accepted Islam when Pope Benedict didnât accept the challenge of mobahila (arguing until one of the discussants dies) by maulana Ameer Hamza. After the Popeâs remarks the family started reading about Islam and the reality of the truth, and of Islam, dawned on them. They accepted Islam at the hands of internationally renowned Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali.

Osama planning a new attack in Ramadan
According to daily Jang, the only Pakistani journalist who met Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, Hamid Mir, has disclosed that one man is planning a surprise strike on America; his name is Adnan Shukri Juma. He has entered America through Mexico and has accumulated explosives and nuclear material. Hamid Mir said Mullah Umar and Osama bin Laden have met and sent two hundred suicide bombers to Kabul and Jallalabad.

Sectarian literature banned again
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the Punjab government has banned 265 books, magazines and handbills and has registered cases against publishers and printers. The report said cases are being registered against the illegal construction of mosques and madrassahs.

Fatwa for sale in India
Daily Jang reported that a documentary film by a local TV network in Uttar Pradesh showed ulema (Muslim scholars) taking money to issue fatwas (judgment by religious scholars). One religious scholar demanded Rs 50,000 for a fatwa against girls wearing skin-tight jeans and against English instruction at dini madrassas (religious schools). The Fiqa Islami Uttar Pradesh general secretary demanded an enquiry and said very few ulema sell their fatwa for money.

Sacrifice to rejuvenate Islam
As reported in daily Khabrain, a drug addict, Mansha, killed his son Sheraz after he quarreled with his wife and she went to complain to his brother. He told the police that he sacrificed his son to rejuvenate Islam. He told his son that he wanted to sacrifice him, and his son readily agreed. When his sonâs wife came back he tried to kill his granddaughter and set the house on fire. The local people wanted Mansha to be killed in custody by a constable, as this constable had killed the murderer of his daughter in police custody.

Nuggets from the Urdu press

Witches attack farmer

Daily Jang reported that in Chak 28 Jagiani, Bahawalnagar, one farmer, Ameer Masood Ali, was facing continuous losses in his business. The local maulvi Jamil told him that his house was haunted by Jinns and he could make them run away with amliat (sacred chants). Next day he brought two kids who performed strange sacred chants. They took money from Ameer Ali and told him that now his house was clear of Jinns. After a few days, bricks starting falling from the sky in Ameer Aliâs house at night and then screaming and wailing chorails (witches) entered his house. The whole family got scared but Ameer Ali managed to capture one chorail, who admitted she was sent by Jamil to extract more money from him.

MacCauleyism vs Sir Syedism

As reported in Daily Pakistan, the president of Idara Qaumi Tashakhus said that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the greatest personality of the twentieth century. He said that English medium schools are destroying the new generation of Pakistan. The boys and girls of English medium school know English idioms and traditions but donât know about the heroes of Pakistan and Islam. He said that the government should free our children from the noose of the necktie and introduce one uniform and one syllabus for the entire nation. The school of MacCauleyism should be discarded in favor of Sir Syedism.

General on the run

Accoriding to Daily Pakistan, ex-Wapda Chairman and ex-PCB chairman Gen (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar was announced an offender by an accountability court. He allegedly stole Rs 187 million in assets from 1987 to 1992 when he served as Wapda Chairman.

Honour on Wagah border

Writing in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Sarerahe said a 1965 war monument is being removed to broaden the GT road near the Wagah border. The local population has vowed to die rather than bear the removal of the monument of Shuhada (martyrs). The government wants to remove this monument so that its friends (mitr) from India couldnât see the symbol of their enemies. But the local populationâs honour and India-specific hatred has become a hurdle in removing this monument.

Maulvis dispute 9/11

According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Norwegian Minister Bjarne Kaakon Hanssen condemned the statements of Pakistani ulema (religious scholars) covering 9/11. The Pakistani scholars rejected the involvement of Muslims in the 9/11 attacks in America. Maulana Zulqarnain Madni first made these statements and later other scholars also endorsed his views. He accused the Bush administration of conspiring to blow up The World Trade Centre. The Norwegian Minster said such statements could widen the gap between Norwayâs locals and its Muslim immigrants.

Beards ruining our cricketers

As reported in daily Khabrain, Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan said that Pakistan cricket players are just concentrating on their beards instead of improving their game by hard work and discipline. The non-Muslim teams are winning against the Pakistan cricket team. MMA member, Mohammad Usman said Imran Khan is wrong and his sarcasm is misplaced. Another scholar said religious behavior and a beard helps in character building. He said a beard makes us more determined, and all the great Muslim heros who excelled in different fields had beards.

No rift between Liaqat Ali Khan and Quaid-i-Azam

Historian Safdar Mahmood wrote in daily Jang that the dislike between Fatima Jinnah and Rana Liaqat Ali Khan was well known but there was no rift between Quaid-i-Azam and Liaqat Ali Khan. Fatima Jinnah wrote that Quaid-i-Azam told her that Liaqat Ali Khan came to Quetta to see how long he would live. Safdar Mahmood wrote that the ADC of Quaid-i-Azam, Captain Nur Hussain, said he never heard such remarks, but was rather impressed with Liaqat Ali Khanâs concern for Quaidâs health. When Liaqat Ali Khan came out of Quaid-i-Azamâs room he asked Chaudhry Mohammad Ali to ask Maulana Shabbir Usmani and Khawaja Nazimuddin to stay at their place. ADC Nur Hussain said Liaqat Ali Khan gave these orders on the instructions of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Maulana Shabbir Usmani later offered the namaz-e-janaza of Jinnah.

School principal beat up

According to Daily Pakistan, the Joint Action Committee of teachers condemned the beating of school principal Anwar Ali Mujahid by Muslim leaque leader Ikhlaq Guddoo and his bodyguards. They demanded that schools be controlled by the Punjab government instead of the district government.

Umrah by comedians

As reported in daily Jang, a group of stage comedians including Iftikhar Thakur, Tariq Teddi, Nasim Vicki, Amanat Chan and others is going to perform umrah during Ramazan. The experts of comedy theatre would spend 15 days in Saudi Arabia.

No trust in Islamic bank

According to Daily Pakistan, bank depositors demonstrated in front of Parliament house and demanded that their money be recovered from an Islamic investment bank in NWFP. People demanded that the State Bank should recover their money with profits. The majority of bank depositors were from Hangu, Mangora and Mardan.

Christians accept Islam in protest

According to daily Jang, a Christian family of eight people accepted Islam when Pope Benedict didnât accept the challenge of mobahila (arguing until one of the discussants dies) by maulana Ameer Hamza. After the Popeâs remarks the family started reading about Islam and the reality of the truth, and of Islam, dawned on them. They accepted Islam at the hands of internationally renowned Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali.

Ghamidi rejects Ulema committee

According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Islamic Ideological Council (IIC) member Javed Ahmad Ghamidi resigned. He said that to determine whether the Womenâs Protection Bill is consistent with the Quran and sunna, the government made a paralled committee of ulema, when they should have referred it to IIC which is a constitutional body.

Osama planning a new attack in Ramadan

According to daily Jang, the only Pakistani journalist who met Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, Hamid Mir, has disclosed that one man is planning a surprise strike on America; his name is Adnan Shukri Juma. He has entered America through Mexico and has accumulated explosives and nuclear material. Hamid Mir said Mullah Umar and Osama bin Laden have met and sent two hundred suicide bombers to Kabul and Jallalabad.

Sectarian literature banned again

According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the Punjab government has banned 265 books, magazines and handbills and has registered cases against publishers and printers. The report said cases are being registered against the illegal construction of mosques and madrassahs.

No grand alliance with MMA

As reported in daily Khabrain, chairperson of PPP Benazir Bhutto sent a letter to PML (N) leader Mian Nawaz Sharrif, arguing against any blackmail by the MMA, and that MMA politics are against the interest of Pakistan. The letter has stopped the emergence of a grand alliance of ARD, MMA and other opposition parties.

Fatwa for sale in India

Daily Jang reported that a documentary film by a local TV network in Uttar Pradesh showed ulema (Muslim scholars) taking money to issue fatwas (judgment by religious scholars). One religious scholar demanded Rs 50,000 for a fatwa against girls wearing skin-tight jeans and against English instruction at dini madrassas (religious schools). The Fiqa Islami Uttar Pradesh general secretary demanded an enquiry and said very few ulema sell their fatwa for money.

Jewish lobby against Ahmadinejad

According to daily Jang, during Iranian president Ahmadinejadâs address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, thousands of exiled Iranians protested in front of the UN in New York. All of Iranian opposition parties including Maryam Razawi protested against Ahmadinejad. This protest was supported by the Jewish lobby in America.

Sacrifice to rejuvenate Islam

As reported in daily Khabrain, a drug addict, Mansha, killed his son Sheraz after he quarreled with his wife and she went to complain to his brother. He told the police that he sacrificed his son to rejuvenate Islam. He told his son that he wanted to sacrifice him, and his son readily agreed. When his sonâs wife came back he tried to kill his granddaughter and set the house on fire. The local people wanted Mansha to be killed in custody by a constable, as this constable had killed the murderer of his daughter in police custody.

Minnoo Bheel forgot his own daughter
Supreme Court has ordered the DNA tests of two daughters of the bonded labour victim Minnoo Bheel. The Mirpurkhas police recovered his two daughters from remote areas of Sindh. Minnoo Bheel identified one of his daughters but could not recognize the other daughter. His daughters were sold for Rs 60,000 and Rs 40,000 respectively for marriage to different people. The DIG of Mirpurkhas police told the court that Minnoo Bheel could not recognize his daughters because he had not seen his family for the last ten years

10-06-2006, 03:15 AM

QUOTELooking for the Taliban: check Quetta 
Malik Siraj Akbar
While it is difficult to say who is or is not a Talib, one thing is clear: Quetta and other areas are swarming with people who are rabidly anti-US
Â Â
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly accused Pakistan of being a source of shelter and support for the revived Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. But in an interview with Newsweek on October 2, Karzai took his accusations one step further by saying that Mullah Omar was in Quetta âfor sureâ and that President Pervez Musharraf knew this. In fact, according to Karzai, Afghanistan had given Musharraf the GPS numbers of Omarâs house as well as the telephone number.

There are constant reports coming in of Taliban operating from northern Balochistan in the areas of Chaman and Spinboldak; there is much talk also about Taliban presence in Quetta. During Musharrafâs recently concluded trip to the United States, these reports again came up and the Afghan president constantly argued that the Taliban were regrouping in Quetta, which was now the âTaliban headquarterâ. For his part, Musharraf termed these allegations âmost ridiculousâ.

So whatâs really going on?

When TFT contacted government officials to get an answer to this question, no one was willing to speak about the âsensitive issueâ. Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousafâs press secretary promised an appointment with the CM but later said it was not possible due to the CMâs busy schedule in the week. Balochistan Governor, Owais Ahmed Ghaniâs military secretary too was reluctant to commit. The Home Minister was out of station and the inspector general of police was not willing to talk to the media.

All one has to go by are official statements, the most recent being that given by Governor Ghani and CM Jam Yousaf, at a high-level meeting in Quetta. They declared the allegations of Taliban re-grouping in Quetta as ludicrous and also announced that security on the Pak-Afghan border would be tightened by deploying more Frontier Corps (FC) personnel.

âNo one, including the Taliban, will be allowed to use Balochistanâs territory for terrorist activities,â CM Jam Yousaf said at the meeting, adding that the Balochistan government had been taking âstern actionâ against suspect Taliban in the past and would continue to do so in the future. âPakistan is actively engaged in the âwar on terrorismâ and has contributed much more to this war than any other county in the world. No Taliban or Al Qaeda members are present in Quetta and the government had been hunting all suspected terrorists,â he concluded.

Ironically, despite official claims that there are no Taliban in Quetta, the government also says it has arrested a large number of Taliban operatives from the area. âWhere these Taliban supporters come from and how long theyâve been here remains anybodyâs guess,â said an observer. âWith the [Musharraf] regime engaged on several other internal and external fronts, it has failed to effectively curb the rapidly regrouping Taliban.â

Observers also feel it is the governmentâs failure to implement madrassah reforms and settle the political crisis in the province that has paved the way for a Taliban comeback. âThere can be no positive results until the government starts monitoring religious schools where the minds of the young are filled with ideas of hate and militancy,â says one observer.

The Taliban enjoy the overwhelming moral support of some sections of the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal, the second largest partner in the Balochistan government. âThe MMA has been a vocal opponent of government raids against the suspected Taliban,â said an observer. 

Maulana Noor Mohammad, provincial chief of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), has been one of the biggest opponents of operations against suspected Taliban in Quetta. When the government arrested around 200 Taliban suspects in July this year, he organised a large public rally in Quetta to condemn these raids against those he called, âour Muslim brothersâ. âThe government is only pleasing its western masters,â Noor said.

In fact, critics of Musharrafâs Taliban policy say that the biggest problem with it is that Musharraf is careful not to crack down too heavily on powerful Islamist radicals â a mix of clerics, army generals and spies â who have retained their Taliban links. âThere seems to be a twin-track policy, even if it sometimes moves in opposite directions,â one western official says. âThis means that officials turn a blind eye to Taliban in centres such as Quetta.â

This year, law enforcement agencies in Quetta conducted what they claim to be several successful raids against the suspected Taliban at religious schools and private hospitals. Such raids take place about once a month. Earlier in July this year, Quetta police rounded up about 100 Afghan nationals who they said were all Taliban operatives. The arrested persons also included a Taliban commander, Hamdullah. Following the tip-off provided by Hamdullah, the police conducted another raid the same week and arrested a hundred Taliban suspects from a madrassah.

âWho can say with any amount of certainty that the arrested men were actually Taliban,â points one observer.

On August 15, the police rounded up around 29 Taliban suspects following a successful raid on a private hospital in Quetta. The suspected Taliban were reportedly under-treatment in Quetta when the police nabbed them. Then, on September 14, Quetta police claimed to have arrested another 14 Taliban in a similar raid on another private hospital.

While the US-led hunt for the Taliban continues relentlessly in Afghanistan, sources say finding the insurgents is a far easier task in neighbouring Pakistan: you just stroll down to the shops in Quetta where you find posters of Osama bin Laden brandishing a Kalashnikov and cassettes with recordings of speeches and poems calling young men to join the jihad or mourning martyrs. Gory covers match the themes â crossed swords dripping with infidel blood, battlewagons loaded with black-turbaned fighters, and beatific images of bearded militants now detained in GuantÃ¡namo Bay.

According to a British newspaper, the men sitting cross-legged behind the counter call themselves staunch Taliban supporters. âWe will not go home until there is an Islamic government in Afghanistan,â says shop owner, Muhammad Gul. Others go much further: âI am a mujahid and I will fight to the end of my life,â says Yar Muhammad, a 22-year-old Talib who says he has just completed guerrilla operations in Afghanistan.

Later, in the car, he describes the insurgentâs life of training to fire rockets and planting roadside bombs; conducting night-time attacks against Americans and then escaping under the nose of three armies. âWe change our clothes and take off the turban to disguise ourselves. Some Taliban even shave,â he says.

Sources say many like Muhammad have now come to Quettaâs religious seminaries from where they will go back to the battle. âThe terrain [in Balochistan] is very favourable to the insurgents,â says Shoukat Haider Changezi, director general of the Levies, a rural police force. âThe state would need a phenomenal amount of resources to be effective.â

Pak-Afghan relations have, at this point, hit an all-time low. There is now talk of holding jirgas with tribal elders to empower them and move them away from supporting the Taliban. With all else having failed, it is difficult to say how far this plan will go to stabilise the region and help cut down on insurgent raids

Login




Remember me Lost Password?