<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Writing on the wall</b>
ft.com
We hear on the grapevine that two top khakis are in Washington DC on official business. So far so good. But given the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Pakistan, the khakis are hot commodities with movers and shakers in DC. Our mole reports they are highly sought after for briefings and debriefings. Will they read the writing on the wall?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Nuggets from the Urdu press</b>
ft.com
<b>Nakal khors at Punjab University</b>
As reported in daily Express, the Higher Education Commission urged action against the teachers of many jamiat (universities). Last year in Punjab University (PU) five teachers copied foreign researchersâ publications and printed their names on them to earn promotions and medals. The university formed three committees in one year and is reluctant to punish the teachers. The universityâs Grantsâ Commission has demanded the removal of these teachers.
<b>Nawaz Sharif has got the key</b>
A famous columnist wrote in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, that Benazir Bhutto has cleverly made herself a popular leader in Pakistan. But, if both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir are allowed to come back to Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif will attract a much bigger crowd than Benazir. Nawaz is no angel however, and he is obsessed with acquiring all powers for himself. He tried to impose his brother on Punjab and had no respect for the free press and the judiciary. But there is no doubt that in his cultural and social behaviour, he is much closer to the majority of Pakistanis.
<b>Who is Khalid Khawaja?</b>
In daily Nawa-e-Waqt lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique, wrote that he saw Khalid Khawaja in a mosque of his mohalla for the first time. After 9/11 when the wives and children of the Arab mujahideen were wandering and no one was ready to support them, he saw two people who were very anxious about them. One was ex MNA from Kohat, Jawed Ibrahim Paracha, and the other was Khalid Khawaja. Soon they formed a defense of human rights and Khalid Khawaja was made the chief coordinator. He was arrested by agencies on January 26.
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<b>Ban on loudspeakers in Mauritius</b>
According to daily Express, the head of the Muslim Citizen Council of Mauritius, Fawad Atini said that Muslims never objected to the fireworks of Chinese religious festivals, nor to the bells of Christian churches, then why has a ban has been imposed on using loud speakers from a mosque for Azaan. A local court banned the use of loud speakers of a Hayat ul Islam mosque on the complaint of a local non Muslim who said that the loud noise of the loudspeakers disrupted his routine life.
<b>Pakistan the fastest growing economy</b>
As reported in daily Express, the head of economics at the German Embassy, Patrick Haynes, said that Pakistan is the fastest growing economy in Asia due to the reforms of the current government. He said that there is a lot of scope for investment in different sectors because of the low exchange rate of the Pakistani currency. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>A boy with a tail in Mahabharat</b> they don't know difference between Ramayan and MahabharatAs reported in daily Khabrain, in an Indian city, Bhatinda, a boy was born with an ugly growth similar to a tail in a hospital where a superstitious pundit declared him as an avatar of Hanuman. A crowd gathered to see the boy and the fraud pundit has started minting money by fooling people. The boy is trained by the pundit to bless the people while the child doesnât even know what he is doing.
<b>Atlas Of Creation proves Darwin wrong</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-e-waqt, a Turkish preacher, Adnan Auktar, alleged that with the help of the skeleton and pictures and quotes from the Holy Quran, the theory of Charles Darwin can be proved wrong. He also proved that there is no connection between Darwinâs theory and communism, and between fascism and terrorism. His book Atlas Of Creation is being distributed free of charge in France. His book is also translated into the Arabic and Malaysian languages. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Mercenaries and jihad soldiers</b>
In daily Express, famous columnist Abdul Qadir Hassan wrote that enlightened moderation was formulated by an American Jew Henry Kissinger and has become the slogan of our government. Henry Kissinger studied the culture and religion of Islam and created this beautiful slogan to counter the challenge of Islam. Enlightened moderation attacks the Islamic commandment of jihad that is linked with extremism and terrorism. If a Muslim doesnât have passion for jihad then he is a mercenary who like the Muslim soldiers of the British era fought at different fronts in Burma and other places.
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Photo : AFPÂ
LONDON (AFP) - Exiled former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto vowed to return to the country for the forthcoming elections, in an interview published Sunday, despite President Pervez Musharraf ruling it out.
Pakistan's military ruler insisted Friday that Bhutto and fellow exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would not be allowed to return ahead of the general election due later this year or in early 2008.
But Bhutto, who leads the popular Pakistan People's Party, told the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph: "No matter what, I'm going back this year."
The 53-year-old went into exile in 1998 over corruption cases pending against her and her husband. She faces arrest and possible imprisonment if she returns.
Musharraf, 63, suspended chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9 on misconduct charges, which provoked a wave of deadly protests.
Clashes erupted between rival political activists in the southern city of Karachi, leaving around 40 people dead.
Bhutto said Musharraf was running a "dictatorship" that could either end peacefully or in all-out bloodshed.
"It is unlikely that the international community or the armed forces will continue to back the present regime if domestic protests continue to escalate," she said.
"The only option is for General Musharraf and his regime to seek a political solution through a negotiated transfer of power."
Bhutto and Sharif, both mainstream politicians, each ruled Pakistan twice between 1988 and 1999 and have repeatedly said they would defy Musharraf and return home to run in the elections.
The general's statement Friday on Bhutto and Sharif appeared to be designed to end speculation that he could strike a power-sharing deal with Bhutto to broaden his fragile support base.
Asked if talks had taken place with Musharraf, she said: "It is inappropriate to talk of back-channel contacts against the background of the Karachi killings."
She added: "It's best for the regime to call a round-table conference of all political leaders, including the exiled prime ministers, to evolve a consensus for transparent elections.
"The Orange Revolution in Ukraine is a good example of how people who are robbed of their right to vote can protest and put an end to dictatorship."
Bhutto said Musharraf had allowed "the shadow of extremism" to fall across Pakistan.
"Dictatorships by their nature are unrepresentative, they neglect the social needs of the people," she said.
"The political madrassas exploit the neglect of governance, offering food, clothing, shelter and education to the children of the poor.
"They then brainwash these students and use them as fodder in their grand design to dismantle the state by infiltrating key institutions, establishing terror groups and establishing a parallel state structure."
London-based Sharif, ousted by Musharraf in 1999, said he too intended to return to Pakistan, despite <b>facing corruption charges</b>.
"The iron is hot, but after a few weeks or months it will start melting and I will go when it starts melting," he told The Sunday Telegraph.
"He can put the handcuffs (on me) if he wants -- he put me in jail for 14 months before."
Sharif alleged that Musharraf could attempt to rig November's elections.
"He cannot afford free and fair polls because he cannot survive under them," he said.
The return to Pakistan of either Bhutto or Sharif would bring huge crowds of supporters onto the streets and likely provide a focal point for widespread anti-Musharraf sentiment.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Photo : AFPÂ
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States pays Pakistan about one billion dollars a year for its participation in counterterrorism operations along the border with Afghanistan, The New York Times reported on its website Saturday.
The newspaper said the payments continue even though Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had decided eight months ago to slash patrols through the area where Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are most active.
The monthly payments, called coalition support funds, are not widely advertised, the report said.
Buried in public budget numbers, the payments are intended to reimburse Pakistan?s military for the cost of the operations.
So far, Pakistan has received more than 5.6 billion dollars under the program over five years, more than half of the total aid the United States has sent to the country since the September 11, 2001, attacks, the paper said.
<b>Some US military officials in the region have recommended that the money be tied to Pakistan?s performance in pursuing Al-Qaeda</b> and keeping the Taliban from gaining a haven from which to attack the government of Afghanistan, according to The Times.
<b>But officials from the administration of President George W. Bush say no such plan is being considered, despite new evidence that the Pakistani military is often looking the other way when Taliban fighters retreat across the border into Pakistan, the report said.
There is also at least one US report that Pakistani security forces have fired in support of Taliban fighters attacking Afghan posts, the paper said.</b>
The Bush administration, according to some current and former officials, is fearful of cutting off the cash or linking it to performance for fear of further destabilizing President Musharraf, who is facing the biggest challenges to his rule since he took power in 1999, The Times said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->US is meddling in Pakistan, while Pakistan is still supporting its Tban. The two backstabbers were made for each other. They are Natural Allies.
<b>US security aid for Pak more useful in countering India: CSIS </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New York, May 20: Pakistan has received USD 1.8 billon as security assistance from the United States for the war against terrorism, but the weapons financed under it are "more useful in countering India" than fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban, according to a study.
In addition, Pakistan has got USD 5.6 billion from Washington over the last five years as reimbursements for fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda, the New York Times reported today quoting a research by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The security assistance mostly finances large weapons system and those weapons are more useful in countering India than fighting al-Qaeda or Taliban, Craig Cohen and Derek Chollet, the authors of the study, were quoted as saying by the paper.
The Centre's study was on roughly USD 10 billion sent to Pakistan by the United States since 2002.
<b>The United States has also provided about USD 1.6 billion for "budget support," which Pakistan can use broadly, including for reducing debt. </b>
In contrast, <b>only about USD 900 million have been dedicated to health, food aid, democracy promotion and education, in a country where illiteracy rates is about 50 per cent, and American policymakers say the education gap has opened the way for religious schools that can become hotbeds of extremism</b>, the Times reported.
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<b>Uniform is my second skin, says Musharraf</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->LONDON/ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that he was proud to be an army man and that his uniform was like a second skin, which he could not remove.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, Gen Musharraf said he took over as president due to the turmoil in the country, otherwise he loved to be an army man. He said that his uniform could not be separated from him.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nuggets from the Urdu press
FT
<b>Tendulkar visiting temples to regain form</b> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
As reported in Daily Pakistan, star batsman Sachin Tendulkar is no longer confident about his batting skills. He has started visiting temples and contacted the famous Pandit Chandramoli Padharai who advised Abhishek Bachan and Aishwarya Rai about their marriage. To get rid of his tennis elbow injury he is going to visit Sain Baba in Banaras.
<b>Orlando Bloom accepts Buddhism</b>
As reported in Daily Pakistan, famous Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom who became famous for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean said that he found peace in Buddhism. He wants to understand life by accepting Buddhism for sometime, but that doesnât mean he will be meditating under a banyan tree. He said that his journey from Lord of the Rings to the Pirates of the Caribbean was a tiring one and he wants to get away for awhile.
<b>Crises of ignorance</b> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
In Daily Pakistan, ex information minister Hussain Haqqani wrote that the Islamic world is under the influence of rumours and the majority believes the rumours out of ignorance. According to a survey, only 3 percent believe that Al Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks in America. The majority donât even know that Al Qaeda took credit several times for the 9/11 attacks. In Nigeria people believe that polio drops can cause sterility.
<b>Suicide training camps in Waziristan</b>
As reported in Daily Pakistan, according to police sources, the suicide bomber responsible for the attack on Aftab Sherpao in Charsadda came from Azam Warsak in North Waziristan. A suicide bomber arrested in Dera Ghazi Khan, Sohail Zeb, admitted to suicide training camps in Azam Warsak and said that the Peshawar suicide bomber was training with him in the camp.
<b>Ahmadinejad in trouble</b>
As reported in daily Jang, the President of Iran, Ahmadinejad, who is considered a fundamentalist, has become the target of criticism by the fundamentalists. At a Teachersâ Day event he saw his school teacher and hugged her and kissed her hands. He was criticised by fundamentalist newpaper, Hizbullah, that the momineen havenât yet forgotten the Presidentâs decision to allow women to watch football; now this strange act came into light.
<b>Sikh officer causes traffic jams</b>
As reported in daily Express, colleagues of a Sikh traffic warden complained that he has become a problem rather than a solution for traffic flow. People stop to shake hands with the Sikh officer and greet him with, namaste, wah guru ki jai, etc. Children also stop to receive his autograph, which causes traffic jams on Major Aziz Bhatti Road.
<b>Madness vs madness</b>
In daily Nawa-e-Waqt, Haroon ur Rashid wrote that he went to Kabul in 1992 after the Soviet puppet Najib Ullah had met his fate. Rival mujahideen groups were pounding each other with mortars in Kabul. He asked the manager of a hotel about his opinion. He replied with disdain that, âOne type of madman has gone and another type of madman has dawned upon us.â
<b>Afghanistan soon to unite with Pakistan</b>
In daily Khabrain, famous religious scholar Dr Israr ul Haq addressing a crowd said that peaceful struggle can bring khilafat in Pakistan. In the near future Pakistan and Afghanistan would merge into one country and caravans of Islam would emerge from here. He said that Islam would dominate the whole world again and its movement would start from Khurasan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
<b>MF Hussain in trouble</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, Mumbai police have pasted the property auction notice on the house of famous Indian painter, MF Hussain, by the orders of the Attar Pradesh court. MF Hussain apologised to the court from London where he is living for his medical treatment. A lawyer alleged that MF Hussain showed an Indian goddess as nude in one of his paintings
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Engaging India: Bollywood breaches borders
By Farhan Bokhari, Islamabad correspondent
Published: April 12 2007 02:19 | Last updated: April 12 2007 02:19
Farhan Bokhari
Engaging India is a weekly online column analysing the issues, trends and forces behind the business and politics shaping India and its impact on the world, which appears on FT.com India, a dedicated online section on India. Engaging India appears every Thursday morning exclusively on FT.com India and is written by Jo Johnson, the Financial Timesâ South Asia bureau chief; Amy Yee, New Delhi correspondent; Joe Leahy, Mumbai correspondent; and Farhan Bokhari, Islamabad correspondent.
India and its largest South Asian neighbour, Pakistan, may be adversaries, but not so when it comes to cinema going. The acrimonious history between the two countries has failed to remove the overwhelming evidence of Indiaâs successful invasion of the hearts and minds of Pakistanâs film viewers.
Almost one-third of the roughly 1,100 films produced in India last year came from Bollywood, the centre of Indian cinema, which is in Mumbai, the large bustling city and hub of Indiaâs business world.
Businesses reaching out to consumers in the Indian market could benefit from seizing the many opportunities for collaboration with Bollywood, not to forget the use of Indian cinema as an advertising vehicle. Indiaâs film industry revenue was about $1.75b last year and is forecast to double by 2010. Increasingly, films are moving away from traditionally modest budgets toward the expenditure standards set by Hollywood.
Branding India through its cinema is a powerful fact of life which has helped to promote images of India even in countries where films are dubbed for the local audience.
For a close account of Indiaâs influence over film viewers in its surrounding region, walk into any video store in Pakistan, whether in a large city or a remote village and you are bound to see Indian film posters prominently displayed right at the entrance.
There are no consolidated figures on the sale of Indian films in the Pakistani market. The cheapest pirated copies of Indian films are sold at prices as low as Rs60($1), which attracts even poorer Pakistanis. For Pakistan slum-dwellers, affordable entertainment on a Saturday night comes easily through pooling a portion of an otherwise paltry dayâs wage for watching an Indian film.
Such enthusiasm in Pakistan has grown over the years. Indian films were effectively banned for a time in the 1970s. But 30 years later, nobody seems to know if there are still laws against watching films from India.
Indian cinema has come to Pakistan and for the foreseeable future appears well poised to stay. Even baton-wielding Islamists will ultimately find it impossible to browbeat Pakistani viewers into submission. Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, is these days in the midst of much disquiet since an Islamic prayer leader demanded the closure of all stores stocking foreign CDs and DVDs, especially those from India, on the grounds that they promote obscenity.
For those who are still unconvinced of the passion shared by viewers of Indian films, a journey back in time to Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban serves a useful lesson. At the peak of the Talibanâs power in the late 1990s when cinema viewers were targeted along with other fun seekers, truckers from neighbouring Pakistan would regularly line up in front of welding shops before crossing the Afghan border as they sought to insert a metal partition to divide their fuel tanks in two. One part would then carry fuel while the other served as a convenient spot for hiding Indian film video cassettes and VCDs.
During this time, a poster of Madhuri Dixit, the well-known Indian actress, fetched about Rs300($5) on the sidewalks of the Pakistani frontier town Peshawar, a price just marginally below the cost of an Osama bin Laden poster. Even the rising passion for âjihadâ (holy war) could not push Ms Dixitâs appeal below second place among avid movie watchers.
Hindi, the principle language spoken in India and the medium for most Bollywood films, sounds similar to Urdu, Pakistanâs main language, although the two use vastly different scripts. Even for an illiterate Pakistani cinema viewer, following the language of Indian films has never been an issue. But the quality of Indian films and their fast growing global appeal are added factors which must count toward their success.
Evidence of the appeal of Indian cinema can also be found in Dubai, the only Middle Eastern city where Urdu and Hindi are as commonly spoken as Arabic. Itâs difficult to find taxi drivers averse to tuning in to local stations airing Indian film music in an obvious indication of its popularity.
<b>âIndiaâs economic progress is largely responsible for Indian films getting recognized abroad. When the economy is doing well, everything connected with the country, its food, culture, colour, art and films get noticed,â claimed Amitabh Bachan, Indiaâs most famous film actor, last month.
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The challenge for the future will be two-fold. For businesses keen to reach out to the viewers of Indian films, finding unique and even previously untested methods of putting out marketing messages could present opportunities and challenges. The other challenge is finding opportunities for tie-ups with mainstream Western film production houses and perhaps eventually producing a steady stream of films in English.
More importantly, cinema works to promote Indian interests tied to its diplomacy, culture and economy. If Indian cinema could invade film screens in neighbouring Pakistan literally without firing a shot and penetrate as far as Taliban-dominated Afghanistan, it deserves to be commended. And no occasion serves that need more than the celebrations surrounding India as it turns 60 this August.
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