http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6424345.stm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 20:57 GMTÂ
<b>'Fifteen die' in Pakistan battle</b>Â
Clashes between tribesmen and foreign militants near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan have left at least 15 people dead, security officials say.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->At end:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pro-Taleban militants in the tribal areas have killed dozens of people, including government officials and tribal elders, in recent years.
More than 700 Pakistani troops have died fighting the militants since 2003 when the army moved into the lawless tribal border areas.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Well, Pak troops should complain to Mushroom and tell him not to let ISI keep stoking up the T-ban. Sometimes stoking a fire might burn your own hand, you know.
700 is a high number and adding the dead among tribesmen will make it far higher. Won't Teesta Seetalwaddle complain of a Pak 'genocide' at the hands of talibani militants?
700 is a big number, I don't know from where they got this number. It is very out of macho Paki Army History. Paki Army never acknowledges their soldiers death, till today they decline any death during Kargil war. Paki Army solider never die and they are one equal to rice eating 10 Yindoos.
700 may be Paki Army in afghan/tribal dress and fighting against NATO. This is very much possible.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SUCH GUP
Nuggets from the Urdu press
<b>Illiterate people have more political wisdom</b>
The editor of Nawa-i-Waqt magazine, Majid Nizami, said that he believes that sometimes the uneducated people are more conscious than the educated people. Muslims were less literate than Hindus but were convinced that whatever Quaid-e-Azam was saying was in their interest. When Quaid-e-Azam spoke in English in Peshawar, the majority of Pathans and Afghans were saying that he was right and had faith in his politics.
<b>House burnt by ominous kite string</b>
As reported in daily Khabrain, the ill-fate of kite flying was proved by the incident of a poor labourerâs son who was searching for string. The boy was searching for kite string in the room during load shedding. He lit a matchstick and fire spread from the bed to the entire room. Everything turned into ashes. The family was left without a roof.
<b>Queen Rania questions hijab</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Queen Rania of Jordan has said that the veil is not necessary for Muslim women in Islam. She said Islam doesnât impose restrictions on the choice of clothes for women. It is unfortunate that some people believe that the hijab is a political issue while it is the personal choice of a woman. She said terrorism is not an issue between Muslims and nonâMuslims but instead between modernists and terrorists.
<b>Daughters of Saddam</b>
In Khabrain magazine, Arsalan Arif wrote that the world is astonished that the daughters of Saddam Hussain love their father knowing fully that he was the murderer of their husbands. Saddamâs daughter Rahna termed the murders as a right of her father and his religious duty and daughter Raghad said it was a political and social necessity. Both of them donât consider their father directly responsible for the murders.Â
<b>No Valentineâs Day in Kashmir</b>
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, a religious and political group held a âforum against social evilâ in occupied Kashmir warning Kashmiri youth to refrain from celebrating Valentineâs Day on 14 February. The group â Dukhtaran-e-millat â vowed action against those who celebrate Valentineâs Day and termed it a grand conspiracy against all Muslims.
<b>Is enlightenment against the spirit of Islam?</b>
Columnist Afzal Rehan wrote in Daily Pakistan that this year the Imam Hajj proclaimed in his khutba that enlightenment is against the spirit of Islam. Muslims should understand the onslaught of Western civilisation. He said that the enemy wants to take away religion from Muslim women. The columnist asked if enlightenment (roshan khiali) is against the spirit of Islam, then is darkness (tarik khiali) closer to Islam. Mufti Azam should explain who is hatching conspiracies against the Muslims. If it is America, then Saudia Arabia is the closest ally of America. Shall we infer that Shah Abdullah is a partner in hatching conspiracies against Islam?
<b>Illegal Pakistanis arrested in Spain</b>
According to daily Khabrain, a hundred Pakistanis with fake documents were arrested while entering Spain. The Deputy Director of FIA has gone to Spain to confirm the identities and bring them back to Pakistan. Some months back more than a hundred Pakistanis had been sent back to Pakistan. The human smugglers go underground after a group is arrested but become active again after some months.
<b>One percent has half of the worldâs assets</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the economic difference between poor and rich is growing every day. According to the UN, half of the worldâs assets are owned by one percent and they are all from America, England, Japan, and countries of the Pacific and Europe. Japan is on top but Ethiopia and Congo are at the lowest position with only 200 dollars worth of property per person. Pakistanis have only one thousand dollars per person.
<b>Again, the same problem</b>
In daily Express, columnist Hameed Akhtar quoted Professor Qamaruddin by saying that today riasat (state) and din (religion) are considered the same. It was very simple for God almighty to mention in the Holy Quran the principles and structure of the state for the followers of Islam that would have saved the bloody wars and tensions between Muslims. Binding the followers of Islam with one particular political system is against the wisdom of God. The purpose of Islam was not to build a state but to create an Islamic society whose characteristics were clearly mentioned in Holy Quran.
<b>Hero of Kashmir</b>
In a feature in daily Khabrain, Raja Latif Tahir wrote that Maqbool Butt was released from the Shahi Qila prison in 1973. He was offered the membership of Pakistan Peopleâs Party and the Prime Minister post of Azad Kashmir by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He declined the offer and entered Indian held Kashmir where he was arrested by the Indian police. A group, KLA, then kidnapped the Indian embassy worker Mahatery and killed him. Playing tit for tat, the Indian president rejected his appeal and the Supreme Court ordered his hanging in one day.
<b>Women can become Prime Minister</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the grand mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Goma has contradicted his earlier fatwa and said that there is now no restriction in Islam on women becoming Prime Minister. The government newspaper Al-Ahram wrote that women heads of state canât lead a prayer. The grant mufti clarified that the ban against leading the prayer by the head of state was only applicable on traditional caliphate of Umayyads when the Caliph was also the leader of prayers.
<b>Stage plays spreading vulgarity</b>
As reported in daily Express, the Minister for Culture, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, has said that strict action shall be taken against stage actors after complaints from citizens. He said that under the guise of stage plays, vulgarity, obscene dialogues and nudity wouldnât be allowed. He urged the producers to provide dramas to the people that are based on Punjabi culture and have clean entertainment.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Hindu burnt alive in Kotri</span>
As reported in Daily Pakistan, a Hindu was burnt alive in the Sindh district, Kotri. Police have allegedly arrested two people belonging to a banned outfit. According <b>to the police the burnt corpse of the Hindu engineer Gharish Kumar was recovered from a religious madrassa. The madrassaâs director and his son kidnapped Kumar in August 2006 and then burnt him alive. Police sources claimed that both the culprits belong to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. </b>
<b>Suicide bombers used similar belts</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the intelligence agencies have discovered some links between the bomb attacks in Islamabad, DI Khan and Tank. The agencies are also working to confirm a claim by a new group, headed by Maulvi Omar, for these bomb attacks. The agencies have asserted that belts and explosives were similar for all four suicide bombers. The agencies are confident that all these bombers came from Waziristan and may have contacts with Baitullah Mehsud.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Arab sex drive pits Sindh with the Centre </b>
FT
Hamza Shaheryar
The issuance of hunting permits falls under the jurisdiction of the Sindh Wildlife Department; yet, this year alone, the foreign office has issued 23 permits to various rulers and members of the royal families of the Gulf States
 Â
Provincial officials of the inter-provincial coordination (IPC) department are set to take up Sindhâs complaint against the Foreign Office for issuing hunting permits to foreigners, particularly those from the Gulf countries. According to the law, only the Sindh Wildlife Department is allowed to issue hunting permits.
âNot just the foreign office, but the prime minister [Shaukat Aziz] himself asks for such permits when they are needed by the royal families,â said a Sindh Wildlife Department source.
However, while on the one hand Sindh complains of the Centreâs highhandedness in issuing permits to foreigners, the provincial wildlife department is itself guilty of defying a central agencyâs directive asking not to issue permits for falconry. In fact, sources say the provincial department has issued hundreds of permits for catching and trading in falcons, a rare species now facing extinction.
The National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) lately directed all provincial wildlife departments against issuing any such permits. Trading in the falcon has become a multimillion venture after Sheikhs from the Gulf States started coming to Pakistan to hunt the houbara bustard. The hunters use falcons to catch the houbara bustard whose meat is said to have aphrodisiac qualities.
Normally, the hunting season starts in the first week of November and ends on the last Sunday of February. According to the rules, only partridges, grouse, waterfowl and quail can be hunted. However, this year, to the great dismay of the Wildlife Department, the federal government issued at least 23 special houbara bustard hunting permits to various rulers and members of the royal families of the Gulf States.
Sources said a large number of foreigners, particularly from Gulf States, arrived in Sindh in November and are returning now, with the conclusion of the hunting season in February. In their four months here, foreigners have engaged in gaming in Badin, Thatta, Dadu and Thar districts.
Sources in the Sindh Wildlife Department say they approached IPC with a written complaint, which has been forwarded to Islamabad to be discussed in the inter-provincial meeting in April. âWe have clearly stated that issuance of such permits falls in our jurisdiction while the foreign office has nothing to do with this,â said a source in the wildlife department. âThe Foreign Office is issuing permits without knowing which areas are protected or where hunting conditions are suitable. These permits are issued at the union council level without considering whether the permit holders would remain in the limits of the union council.â
Senior officials of the Sindh Wildlife Department say they have expressed concern and discontent with Islamabadâs policy of issuing special permits to the royal families of several Gulf States for hunting houbara bustard.
Sources said nine permits had been issued to hunters from the UAE, four from Abu Dhabi and five from Dubai; six permits were issued to hunters from Bahrain and Qatar, two to Saudi hunters while the UAE president was also allowed to hunt in three provinces of the country.
List of Arabs given permits
UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Hamadan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Lt-Gen Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler of Dubai Gen Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, member of Dubaiâs ruling family Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, deputy police chief of Dubai and member of the ruling family Maj-Gen Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, director in the UAE Prime Ministerâs Office Nasser Abdullah Hussain Lootah, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Brother of Khadim Harmain Al Sharifain Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Bahrainâs uncle Sheikh Ebrahim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, King of Bahrainâs brother Maj-Gen Sheikh Mohammad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, King of Bahrainâs brother Sheikh Rashid bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, Bahrainâs Water and Electricity Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Salman Al Khalifa, a member of Bahrainâs ruling family, Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali Al Khalifa, Bahrainâs Defence Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar Emirâs son Sheikh Jasim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar Emirâs brother Sheikh Mohammad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabber Al Thani.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>US-Iran conflict sucks Pakistan in </b>
Imtiaz Gul FT.com
It is a very tight ropewalk for the Pakistani establishment right now, balance as it needs to its relationship both with Washington as well as TehranÂ
Embroiled in the aftermath of its role in the US-funded anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan and in the âun-winding of Jihadâ through the war against terrorism, Pakistan currently finds itself in the eye of yet another storm: the US-Iran tiff over uranium enrichment and the apparent American attempt to fan sectarian trouble inside Iran as a pressure tactic.
Some important developments in the last two weeks of February underscore the trouble brewing in Pakistan; one, the Sunday Telegraph, London reported on February 25 that the United States is âsecretly funding militant ethnic separatist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on Tehran to give up its nuclear programmeâ; and two, the bomb blasts in Tehran and Zahedan in the third week of February triggered a spate of criticism of Pakistan. Thirteen Revolutionary Guards were killed on February 17th last month when militants set off a car bomb in Zahedan, and security forces clashed with them in the city when a percussion bomb exploded.
In the past year there has been a wave of unrest in ethnic minority border areas of Iran, with bombing and assassination campaigns against soldiers and government officials.
<b>âCIA officials are said to be helping opposition militias among the numerous ethnic minority groups clustered in Iranâs border regions,â said the Telegraph report. âOperations are controversial because they involve dealing with movements that resort to terrorist methods in pursuit of their grievances against the Iranian regime.â</b>
Quoting a former high-ranking CIA official in Washington, the Telegraph said such incidents have been carried out by the Kurds in the west, the Azeris in the north-west, the Ahwazi Arabs in the south-west, and the Baloch in the south-east. Funding for their separatist causes comes directly from the CIAâs classified budget but is now âno great secret,â the ex-official told the paper. His claims were backed by Fred Burton, a former US State Department counter-terrorism agent, who said: âThe latest attacks inside Iran fall in line with US efforts to supply and train Iranâs ethnic minorities to destabilise the Iranian regime.â
The paper also quoted John Pike, the head of the influential Global Security think tank in Washington, as saying that âthe activities of the ethnic groups have hotted up over the last two years and it would be a scandal if that was not at least in part the result of CIA activityâ.
The Iranian foreign ministry has also been accusing the United States and Britain of provoking Sunni insurgents, and sowing the seeds of discord among Sunnis and Shiites in the country.
The second development was the bomb blasts in Tehran and Zahedan which triggered criticism of Pakistan. On February 27, four policemen were also killed, one abducted and another wounded in Sistan-Balochistan by rebels who then allegedly fled towards Pakistan.
<b>âFollowing the first incident, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Tehran to explain what happened,â Mohammad Ali Hosseini, a spokesman for the ministry, said at his weekly news conference. âBoth sides will suffer from insecurity and we decided to set up a committee to raise the security at the borders.â</b>
<b>Soon after the second incident, Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khatami quickly said that though âPakistan is our neighbour, little by little it is losing its neighbourly manners. Pakistan has become a sanctuary of terrorists who kill people in Zahedanâ¦Pakistan should be careful not to fall into the US trap, since it will be the loser, undoubtedlyâ.</b>
An objective look at the series of violent events suggests that the Iranian leadership has good reasons to be sceptical of Pakistan; Zahedan is the capital of the south-eastern province of Sistan-Balochistan, which is home to a population of minority Baloch Sunni Muslims. It borders Pakistan to the south and Afghanistan to the north.
<b>âIran is angry at the spiralling violence and believes it is the handiwork of Pakistan-based Jondullah. Thatâs why it has shut down the border at Taftaan and started raising a concrete wall plus a fence stretching as far as 700 kilometres along the border to Pakistan,â says an observer. </b>
The Balochistan-based Jondollah, Brigade of God, which last year kidnapped and killed eight Iranian soldiers, is a volatile Sunni organisation which many fear could easily turn against Washington. A row has also broken out in Washington over whether to âunleashâ the military wing of Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MK), an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group with a long and bloody history of armed opposition to the Iranian regime.
That a few Pakistan journalists met with Jondollah activists on the Pakistani side of the border and the partyâs head Abdullah Regi phoned a couple of media organisations the next day provides a clear indication of the whereabouts of the group. âThe Iranians are quite justified, then, in raising alarm over Jondollahâs activities inside Iran,â says an analyst.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Jondollah leader Abdol-Malek Regi said his group would continue its struggle until the âliberation of Sistan-Balochistanâ from Iran. Interestingly, the Pakistani government has been mum about border closure and journalists who visited the border region spoke of âunusual pace of work on the security wall and the fenceâ.
<b>âIranian border officials are pretty convinced that Jondollah operates out of Pakistani Balochistan and the Americans might be funding them to destabilise Iran,â a journalist who recently visited Taftaan told TFT. âPakistan at the moment is caught between the compulsion to cooperate with US and NATO in the anti-terror war and the desire to improve relations with all neighbours including those with Moscow through the SCO.â </b>
Pakistanâs desire to have the IPI gas pipeline also stands in conflict with American posturing vis-Ã -vis the Iranian nuclear programme. If Iran can conclusively prove that the United States is using Pakistani soil or funding the opposition groups based there against Iranian interests, it certainly will put the pipeline project on hold, if not torpedo it altogether. It is a very tight ropewalk for the Pakistani establishment right now because it needs to balance its relationship both with Washington as well as Tehran.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>CNN airs mysterious 'Divide Pakistan' advertisements</b>
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
[ 11 Mar, 2007 1215hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
WASHINGTON: While Pakistan has charged India with stoking fires in its troubled provinces and produced articles in a Sindhi journal published from New Delhi as 'evidence,' it can drum up far more serious charges against its patron United States.
A maverick 'academic' based in Europe has been buying airtime on CNN for the past two weeks to advertise his book titled "Divide Pakistan to Eliminate Terrorism." The 15-second spot, which is aired every day, charges Pakistan with terrorist activities across the world and says the only way to stop this is to split the country into half dozen separate entities, including Sindhudesh, Jinnahpur, Balochistan and Pakhtunistan.
The author of the book, which is being sold on Amazon.com for $ 15.95, is Syed Jamaluddin, who describes himself in a blog ( www.dividepakistan.blogspot.com) as a British Citizen- Naturalized in UK and a chartered accountant with a degree in conflict management.
On Amazon, he is described as ''an active writer on issues concerning Pakistan's involvement in various terrorist activities in the South Asian region'' who was ''forced to leave Pakistan after the military coup of General Musharraf in 1999.'' It says he also ''liaised with political and religious parties of Pakistan as well as Government Agencies.''
Washington 's think-tank circuit, where Pakistani scholars and commentators are frequent visitors, has no idea who Syed Jamaluddin is. The conjecture is he is a disgruntled spook out to embarrass a country that is already in a deep hole in the U.S where it is seen the grand central -- if not a sponsor -- of terrorism in most quarters, except by administration officials tasked with bringing it to heel with kid gloves.
Indian officials too said they had no idea of the book or the author. One official visiting from New Delhi, when told about the ad, joked that dividing Pakistan was a terrible idea, saying, ''One is bad enough -- who wants to deal with four or five?''
According to the jacket notes for the book on Amazon, DIVIDE PAKISTAN TO ELIMINATE TERRORISM is ''Syed Jamaluddin's vision to address issues related to combating terrorism emanating from Pakistan which have dramatically transformed the entire region into a systematically controlled network having vicious effects to the global peace.''
This book, it says, gives an in depth analysis about the role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Tablighi Jamat which are involved in producing future terrorists. The book also claims to provide ''specific information about the actual tactics of ISI and Tablighi Jamat and their strategy to disrupt the international peace in the name of Islamization of the world through holy war and martyrdom.''
Jamaluddin, who declares General Musharraf as a ''Terrorist-in-Uniform'' has also been circulating an online petition calling for the division of Pakistan.
Pakistani diplomats in the U.S , who toil ceaselessly to counter critical newspaper editorials by writing plaintive letters to editors, seem to be stumped by the ad, which usually airs in the morning. A 30-second prime time spot on CNN can cost as much as $ 20,000.
Considering the ad has now been airing for a fortnight, profiting from the book seems farthest from the mysterious Syed Jamaluddin's mind.
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodna...ame=raman&sid=1
<b>Made In Pakistan : B. Raman</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Surprisingly, one hardly finds these questions being posed and debated by Al Qaeda and other Sunni-Wahabi organisations based in the Pakistan/Afghanistan region. Not a day passes without these jihadi organisations criticising the US for something or the other. They blame the US for all the evils in the world. They list out in their propaganda the causes for the Muslim anger against the US. The US policies towards Iran and its opposition to an Iranian A-Bomb do not figure in this list. There is an intriguing silence of Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda organisations on reports of a possible American or Israeli air strike on Iran's uranium enrichment capability. The only conclusion possible from an analysis of this silence so far is that the wahabised Sunnis of Pakistan and Afghanistan are as much worried over the dangers of Iran acquiring a military nuclear capability as the US and Israel are. They look upon it not as an Islamic bomb, but as a Shia bomb. Pakistan's is an Islamic bomb, but not Iran's.
Another component of International Islamism is its belief that Muslims may have to kill Muslims-- whether Shias or Sunnis-- under certain circumstances for the sake of their version of Islam. Before the advent of International Islamism, in the Islamic world outside Pakistan, collateral killing of Muslims during a jihad was accepted as an unavoidable evil, but targeted killing of Muslims-- even they be Shias-- was looked upon as an evil, as anti-Islam.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>US ready to dump Mush; successors identified </b>
Pioneer.com
S Rajagopalan | Washington
Who after Musharraf? And what?
US intelligence is now apparently veering round to the view that if General Pervez Musharraf were to fall to an assassin's bullet, it need not be mass uprisings in Lahore and Karachi or the much-feared takeover of Pakistan by a group of nuclear-armed extremists or Islamist radicals.
Citing US diplomatic and intelligence officials, a report in the New York Times talks of a<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> succession plan under which Vice-Chief Gen Ahsan Saleem Hyat would take over as the Army Chief and Mohammedmian Soomro, a former banker, would become president.  </span>
<b>"Hyat, who is secular like Musharraf, would hold the real power. But it is unclear whether Hyat would be as adept as Musharraf at keeping various interest groups in the military in line," </b>the paper said.
It also quotes unnamed American officials as saying that Pakistan's intelligence service, the<b> ISI, continues to play a direct role in arming and financing the Taliban's re-emergence in western Pakistan</b>, and that there are worries about the relationships between some senior military leaders and Islamist groups.
The new assessment of a post-Musharraf Pakistan contrasts with the American intelligence's earlier line that the General's departure could spell chaos and a scary scenario in which nuclear-armed mullahs could take over.
<b>It has made some analysts wonder if Washington is slowly getting ready to dump its "trusted ally" Musharraf,</b> who has lately come under mounting American pressure to go the whole hog against the Al-Qaeda-Taliban elements in Pakistan's lawless tribal tracts close to the Afghan border.
Interestingly, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has sought to blast Musharraf's record in the war on terror by saying that terrorism is on the increase, despite the talk of the General being a key western ally in the war on terror.
"Why is it that all terrorist plots - from the September 11 attacks, to Madrid, to London, to Mumbai - seem to have roots in Islamabad," she quizzed in a signed article in the Washington Post on Monday, just a day after the NYT's revelations.
Training her guns on both Musharraf and the western powers supporting him, she wrote: "For too long, the international perception has been that Musharraf's regime is the only thing standing between the West and nuclear-armed fundamentalists. Nothing could be further from the truth."
"The notion of Musharraf's regime as the only non-Islamist option is disingenuous and the worst type of fear-mongering," she commented, adding: "Pakistan's military and intelligence services have, for decades, used religious parties for recruits. Political madarsas -- religious schools that preach terrorism by perverting the faith of Islam -- have spread by the tens of thousands,"
Asserting that the Pakistani military regime has "given up trying to establish order on the Afghan border", Bhutto went on to suggest that it would be prudent for the US to tie the disbursement of its proposed $785 million aid for Pakistan to genuine political reforms on the part of Musharraf.
"A democratic Pakistan, free from the yoke of military dictatorship, would cease to be a breeding ground for international terrorism," she wrote.
The New York Times report focused on the hype about Islamic radicals overthrowing Musharraf, saying the fear has been "stoked in part by Musharraf himself".
"Some analysts say his warnings are used to maintain a steady flow of US aid and to keep at bay demands from Washington for democratic reforms," it said and pointed out that in the last Pakistani polls in 2002, the religious political parties received just 11 per cent of the votes, while Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party got more than 28 per cent. Islamist politicians also received a drubbing in local elections in 2005.
The paper also took pot-shots at Musharraf for speaking ominously about the Islamists' rising power, yet regularly brokering agreements with them in the provinces as a way to gain allies amid the growing support nationally for civilian challengers like Nawaz Sharief and Bhutto.
"In the United States, he is considered the voice of moderation, but he has also navigated the often brutal world of Pakistani politics by keeping his friends close and his enemies closer," it commented.Â
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Deliver OBL or go. US message to Mushy <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
After attacking Judiciary, now the private channels are under fire. A case has been filed against private channels to cancel their licenses for showing programs on CJ case.
Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement calls strike in Quetta tomorrow<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->QUETTA: Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) President and Pakhtoonkhaw Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) Chairman MNA Mehmud Khan Achakzai has called a shutter-down strike in Quetta on Tuesday against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and in favour of what he called âprotection of the judiciaryâ..............<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
From some fora-
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hamid Khan- President, Lahore SCBA: "The step has been taken because the government was feeling insecure due to the CJ's verdict in the Steel Mills case and very recently due to the pressure that the intelligence agencies were under due to the CJ's demands to produce the missing persons. There have been many more corrupt justices during the tenure of this government who were never disturbed because they never put Musharraf or this government or the intelligence agencies in trouble. We are very concerned and watching this whole affair very closely as very very corrupt judges were allowed to carry on by this government and this CJ has been suspended in this manner".
Justice Wajih-Ud-Din (Ex CJ-Sindh High Court): "According to the constitution the President cannot suspend the CJ, nor can he appoint anyone else in his place. He can only file a reference against the CJ in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The CJ is answerable to the SJC but he still remains the CJ, just as a president remains a president even during his impeachment hearings.
What Musharraf has done is constitutionally wrong. Iftikhar Choudhry was called to the Army House (another step that should not have been taken by Musharraf) and was made to sit there for 4-5 hours. He was only let go once Javed Iqbal had finished taking the oath. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Justice Bhagwan Das had already been sent to India on some pretext, and after taking oath Justic Javed Iqbal said that he will see whether Justice Rana Bhagwan Das should be on the SJC or not."</span>
It is also pertinent to remember that a few years back Musharraf sent another CJ (Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqi) and a few other justices of the Supreme Court home because he was afraid they might give a ruling against him.
The CJ remains CJ till the SJC recommends to the President that the CJ be removed because corruption/misconduct has been proven. Only then can the President remove the CJ, and not by calling him in the Army House, making him sit for hours and then telling me that he has been suspended.
Musharraf and his supporters keep on reminding us that Musharraf needs to be re-elected through the current assemblies because somehow the constitution says so and how can they go against the constitution?? So how come Musharraf has conveniently forgotten the constitution in this case??<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->dumb question: what is the equivalent of RAPE in Indian circles?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Gandhi, Aiyar, Khushwant Singh, Bidwai, Kuldip Nayyar etc.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>SUCH GUP </b>
 FT.com
<b>Computer firing on Basant</b>
According to daily Jang, on Basant a young man took his computer to the top floor of his house, played the recording of a firing Kalashnikov and acted as if he was firing in the air using a toy Kalashnikov. The firing spread panic in the locality, and when police raided the house he displayed his toy gun and began laughing. Police confiscated the toy gun and the computer.
<b>Mujaddad can stop Basant</b>
Sarerahe wrote in daily Nawa-i-Waqt that a rich young girl took her shirt off on a hotel on Lahoreâs Mall Road while poor girls are eating poison. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo--> According to our Chief Minister, everything can be taken off but a uniform. A dancer was dancing in Iqbal Town when her skirt was torn off during her dance. If the pace of Basant continues like this, a Mujaddad might rise in the 21st century that will take care of these intoxicated women.
<b>Bamiyan demolition to irk Japan</b>
In daily Express, columnist and archeologist Maqbool Aurya Jan wrote that during the last 700 years, only the five years of Taliban rule were peaceful. There was famine in Afghanistan, and the UN was operating bakeries with 37 percent of its donations coming from Japan. Then someone instigated the Taliban to destroy Bamiyanâs historic Buddha statues to antagonise Japan which stopped funding the bakeries. The trust by Mufti Abdul Rashid then came forward, collected wheat from Pakistan and built thousands of tandoors (indigenous bakeries) in Afghanistan.
<b>Socialism to take us away from Mecca</b>
In a special edition of Nawa-i-Waqt, Majid Nazami was quoted as saying that he went to hear the trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto during the Ayub regime. Majid Nizami complained to Bhutto about his slogan of âsocialismâ that would take us away from Mecca and instead towards Moscow. Bhutto replied that it was the work of JA Rahim, and he would fix him when he comes out of jail. He came out of jail and started fixing us instead of JA Rahim.
<b>Musk smell from martyrs</b>
In a feature in Daily Pakistan, Tanveer Qaiser Shahid wrote that in April 1998 Al Qaeda attacked the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and killed 127 people. In retaliation, America attacked Afghanistan with cruise missiles. Americans now blame an ex-general of Pakistan for leaking this information to Osama bin laden. Only one Al Qaeda leader, Sheikh Atif, was killed in this attack. <b>Pakistani surgeon Dr Amir Aziz, who buried Atif with his own hands, was astonished by a musky smell that came from the body after his martyrdom. </b> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>UN is sweeper of US temples</b>
In daily Nawa-i-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique wrote that the latest decision of banning Al Rashid Trust was done at the behest of the United Nations (UN). The UN is the janitor of US shrines and stamps, as well as everything that is ordered from the White House. Did they have any evidence and were these allegations anywhere proved? Actually, the case was prepared by India, the US signed it and finally the UN stamped its approval. Why didnât Pakistan insist that these trusts have an immaculate record?
<b>Who killed the great Arab cartoonist?</b>
In a feature in daily Express, Syed Asim Mahmood wrote about Arab cartoonist Naji Saleem who was popular among Palestinians and Arabs because of his incisive cartoons. Naji said that he opted for cartoons because unlike articles, cartoons cannot be edited. He was captured in Lebanon by Israeli forces but was later released. He made a cartoon of Yasser Arafatâs biographer Rashida Mohasaran for which Yasser Arafat became angry with him. He left Kuwait and lived in London where he published his cartoons for the international edition of an Arab paper. He was killed on a London street by a close range shot to his temple.
<b>Paradise for women in Iran</b>
According to daily Jang, an island of Northwestern Iran would be made into a paradise for women by removing the presence of men from the island. Women would run the public transport, restaurants and parks on the island of âArzooâ in Armia Lake on the border of Turkey. Supreme leader Ayatullah Ali Khameneiâs provincial representatives have approved the scheme. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Mirpur 1947 â the untold story </b>
Khalid Hasan - FT.com
Private view
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The savagery that gripped the Subcontinent at a moment in history which should have been its most glorious remains inexplicable. While a great deal of academic work has been completed in India on the massacres and the movement of millions from one part of the divided land to the other, little of that has been done on our side, which is yet another pity that can be added to the long list of pities that every Pakistani carries in his heart.
Some years ago, I published a book of reminiscences about Jammu and how its Muslim population had been all but decimated in 1947, ironically with the connivance, if not at the directions, of the Maharajaâs government, which was supposed to have protected them. That slim book remains the only first-hand account, as far as I know, of what life was like for the Muslims of Jammu before 1947 and what happened to them as India and Pakistan awoke to freedom. Some copies of the book, Memory Lane to Jammu, found their way to Jammu and several people who read it later said that they really had no idea what had happened to the Muslims of Jammu city and outlying areas in 1947. Included in the book was a first-hand account recorded for the late Justice Muhammad Yusuf Saraf by Dr Abdul Karim, more than twenty of whose family members were killed and whose daughter was abducted, never to be found. He himself received eleven sword and knife wounds on his body and was left for dead.
A couple of months ago, I received an email from Bal Kishan Gupta, a retired engineer who lives in Georgia. He wrote, âI read your article on Jammu 1947 on the website. It is a heart rending account of the massacre of Muslims in Jammu. I am from Mirpur and was a witness to the slaughter of the Hindus and Sikhs of Mirpur. As a matter of fact, I am one of the few survivors of the Alibeg concentration camp. As Muslim refugees from Jammu mark the anniversary of the November 5 Jammu killings, the Hindu and Sikh survivors of Mirpur remember the November 25 holocaust of Mirpur.â He asked if I would publish his story and I said I would.
The account he sent me is harrowing. He was only ten at the time but he says he has a photographic memory. Many members of his immediate family, including some of his uncles and his great grandfather, a man of ninety, were killed in Mirpur. Some of what Gupta has recorded I have tried to corroborate from sources on our side but without luck. Hardly anything is on record. Even Justice Saraf in his two-volume history of the freedom movement in the State has confined his account to the military encounters that took place between bands of Pathan irregulars, sections of the Pakistan army and freebooters and the remnants of the Maharajaâs forces. It is not a satisfactory account and its gung-ho, super-patriotic tone is troubling because I expected more objectivity from a judge and Kashmiri patriot.
Justice Saraf writes that Mirpur district had Hindu majorities in its three principal towns of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber. Many Hindus fleeing from West Punjab had taken refuge in Mirpur town, swelling its non-Muslim population to 20,000. According to him, âlocal mujahids and Pakistani volunteersâ cut off the Mirpur Cantt and a 500-strong force moved towards Mirpur town which was surrounded by the second week of November 1947. A force of 1,000 of tribesmen from Dir also joined in. Most of the atrocities committed against the non-Muslim residents of Mirpur were by these men, though Saraf does not record that. The outer defences of Mirpur city crumbled and many houses were set on fire. He writes, âAt about 4 pm (on 23 November) a column of humanity was seen emerging from the barbed wire enclosure on the Eastern side,â made up of civilians and flanked by Dogra troops, which soon abandoned their helpless charges. The caravan scattered and as Saraf puts it âtheir condition was pitiable; the effects of the fighting and the conditions of siege were clearly noticeable; they were emaciated, exhausted and frightened.â By the evening, there was no Hindu or Sikh left in Mirpur town. Saraf records that while âsome Pathans as well as local Muslims wanted to kill the Hindus and abduct their women,â they were prevented from doing so and the people who had now become refugees in their own land, were sent to Alibeg Gurudwara which was turned into a refugee camp.
<b>Guptaâs memories are different. âAs a ten-year-old child I, along with 5,000 Hindus and Sikhs, was held prisoner in the Alibeg prison. On March 16, 1948, only about 1,600 prisoners walked out from Alibeg alive. I was one of them. Most of the survivors of Alibeg have died since the horrific massacres. As one of its few survivors, I feel compelled to document the events I witnessed. Around November 25, 1947, there were nearly 25,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in Mirpur. During the cityâs capture, close to 2,500 were killed in the infernos that erupted due to Pakistani artillery fire. Another 2,500 escaped with the retreating Jammu and Kashmir army. The remaining 20,000 were marched in a procession towards Alibeg. Along the way, Pakistani troops and Pathans killed about 10,000 of the captured Hindu and Sikh men and kidnapped over 5,000 women. The 5,000 Hindus and Sikhs who survived the 20-mile trek to Alibeg were imprisoned. In Janaury 1948, the Red Cross rescued 1,600 of the survivors from Alibeg. Between 1948 and 1954, around 1,000 abducted Hindu and Sikh women were recovered from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.â
Gupta writes, âMy grandmother Kartar Devi, my paternal uncle Mohanlal Gupta, and my maternal great-grandfather Lalman Shah were some of those who died in the infernos of Mirpur. My mother Padma Devi and my aunts, Rajmohni Gupta and Sushila Gupta, were some of the women kidnapped from the Mirpur courthouse. My wifeâs grandmother Diwan Devi Gupta and aunt were among those killed during the forced march towards Alibeg. My wifeâs cousin, Sesh Gupta, was one of the girls kidnapped by Pathans. Her fate is not known to this day. My motherâs uncles, Lal Chand Dhangeryal, Chander Prakash Dhangeryal, Dina Nath Dhangeryal, Khemchand Bhagotra and her many cousins (whose names I do not remember) were killed. I saw Sardar Ibrahim in Alibeg surrounded by his bodyguards. The only helpful Muslims to visit Alibeg were Chaudhri Abdul Aziz of Datial village, who saved many Hindu children and women in his village, and Fateh Mohammed of Serai Alamgir who saved some Hindus from being slaughtered.â
Many Mirpuri Hindus and Sikhs settled in Jammu, where there exists a Mirpur Road and a memorial sacred to the memory of the men, women and children who were killed for no other reason except that they were Hindus and Sikhs. I close this sad story with a snatch from the poem Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote on his return from Dhaka: When will the eye behold the sight of grass without blemish? How many rains will it take for the blood spots to wash away? </b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The answer: <b>when you are in an Arab country </b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Here are excerpts from a recent satirical poem written by Wajeha:
<i>âWhen you cannot find a single garden in your city, but there is a mosque on every corner - you know that you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen you see people living in the past with all the trappings of modernity â do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen religion has control over science â you can be sure that you are in an Arab country.
âWhen clerics are referred to as âscholarsâ â donât be astonished, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen you see the ruler transformed into a demigod who never dies or relinquishes his power, and whom nobody is permitted to criticise â do not be too upset, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen you find that the large majority of people oppose freedom and find joy in slavery â do not be too distressed, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen you hear the clerics saying that democracy is heresy, but [see them] seizing every opportunity provided by democracy to grab high positions [in the government] â do not be surprised, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen monarchies turn into theocracies, and republics into hybrids of monarchy and republic â do not be taken aback, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen you find that the members of parliament are nominated [by the ruler], or else that half of them are nominated and the other half have bought their seats through bribery⦠you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen you discover that a woman is worth half of what a man is worth, or less - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen you see that the authorities chop off a manâs hand for stealing a loaf of bread or a penny, but praise and glorify those who steal billions - do not be too surprised, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen you are forced to worship the Creator in school and your teachers grade you for it â you can be sure that you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen young women students are publicly flogged merely for exposing their eyes â you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen a boy learns about menstruation and childbirth but not about his own [body] and [the changes] it undergoes in puberty â roll out your prayer mat and beseech Allah to help you deal with your crisis, for you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen land is more important than human beings â you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen covering the womanâs head is more important than financial and administrative corruption, embezzlement, and betrayal of the homeland â do not be astonished, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen minorities are persecuted and oppressed, and if they demand their rights, are accused of being a fifth column or a Trojan horse â be upset, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen women are [seen as] house ornaments which can be replaced at any time â bemoan your fate, you are in an Arab country.
âWhen birth control and family planning are perceived as a Western plot â place your trust in Allah, you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen at any time, there can be a knock on your door and you will be dragged off and buried in a dark prison â you are in an Arab countryâ¦
âWhen fear constantly lives in the eyes of the people â you can be certain that you are in an Arab country.â</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Pakistani police attack Geo TV channel </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Islamabad, New Delhi: Pakistani police officials on Friday entered the offices of a private news channel and assaulted journalists for showing images of security officials beating up people protesting against the sacking of the countryâs Chief Justice.
Several dozen policemen carrying batons and shields entered Geo TV and allegedly lobbed teargas shells inside the newsroom. They damaged computers, equipment and cut the channel's Internet connection and broke windowpanes, said Geo TV journalists.
Hamid Mir, the channelâs bureau chief, went live on air and said "dozens of policemen" have entered the news room and are firing tear gas shells and destroying property.
âGovernment officials had threatened us to stop our transmission,â Mir told CNN-IBN over phone. The channel has enraged the government with its coverage of the sacking of Supreme Court judge Iftikhar M Chaudhry by President Pervez Musharraf last week.Â
Senior Editor Geo TV, Hamid Mir on the phone with CNN-IBN: "Police entered our newsroom and started destroying computers, desks everything. They want us to stop our transmission. They are beating my colleagues. One policeman is standing in front of me right now and is threatening me, ordering me to hang up the phone.
We have been transmitting visuals of police beating women and children outside the Pakistan Supreme Court and Parliament so the police and the government are upset with us. They cut off our phone and Internet lines. The police is trying to arrest us.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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