Pakistan - News and Discussion -7

**acharya** · 08-07-2006, 09:24 AM

It is the deficit to GDP ratio that is important.
It is small for India.

08-07-2006, 10:19 AM

QUOTE(acharya @ Aug 6 2006, 11:54 PM)It is the deficit to GDP ratio that is important.
It is small for India.
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India is a net importer. Which is not that good.

So, what is increasing india's forex reserves then? It is the FDI and the remittances by NRIs to family members.

08-07-2006, 10:32 AM

QUOTEIndia is a net importer. Which is not that good.

Oil and defense eat big chunk.

Service sector is increasing FOREX.

08-07-2006, 10:43 AM

QUOTETwo gas pipelines blown up2006/8/6 2:59:00Â
BBC NEW: TWO GAS PIPLINES BLOWN UP IN BALOCHISTAN <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />
MULTAN, Aug 5: Two of the three gas pipelines running from Sui in Balochistan to Punjab were blown up early on Saturday near Goth Mazari on the confluence of inter-provincial boundary in Rajanpur district.

One pipeline was of 30-inch diameter and the other measured 16 inches. The bigger one is part of a pair that supplies gas to Punjab and NWFP. The other damaged pipeline supplies gas to Wapdaâs Guddu thermal power station.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) officials here said the two pipelines were blown up in an explosion at around 3am. A team of engineers and technicians had been dispatched to the area to start repair work, they added.

SNGPL General Manager (distribution) K.W. Shariq said it would be too early to determine whether it was an act of sabotage.

Naresh · 08-07-2006, 01:46 PM

QUOTE(LSrini @ Aug 7 2006, 10:19 AM)
India is a net importer. Which is not that good.

So, what is increasing india's forex reserves then? It is the FDI and the remittances by NRIs to family members.
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LSrini Ji :

AAA : INDIAâS EXTERNAL DEBT

31-03-2006 : USD 125.181 BILLION

31-03-2005 : USD 123.204 BILLION

BBB : INDIAâS TOTAL FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INCLUDING GOLD :

31-03-2006 : USD 151.622 BILLION

31-03-2005 : USD 141.514 BILLION

CCC : FOREIGN INVESTMENT INFLOW :

FY 2005-2006 : USD 20.243 BILLION

FY 2004-2005 : USD 14.967 BILLION

I believe, India considers its Exports as items were there is a Physical export of Goods.

Items like Software Services â including ITes i.e. BPO etc. â along with Foreign Remittances by Indian & NRIs are considered as Invisibles

Thus from above figures it is evident that India has a Net Increase of about USD 9 Billion in its âForeign Tradingâ.

I am not able to find Statements about the Foreign Investment Inflow being included in the External Debt and/or Foreign Reserves.

I would suggest that for your further requirements you should check on the http://www.rbi.org.in Web Site.

Cheers

08-07-2006, 09:47 PM

QUOTEPakistani General: U.S. Will Attack Iran and Syria The United States will launch an attack on Iran and Syria in October, a former top official in Pakistani intelligence claims.
Retired Maj. Gen. Hameed Gul, former chief of Pakistanâs Inter-Service Intelligence, told reporters that the United States. would definitely attack the two Muslim countries and condemned his own countryâs weak reaction to Israelâs military campaign in Lebanon.
He also predicted that after Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan itself would be targeted by the United States.
A frightening report written by another retired Pakistani military officer, Maj. Tahir Ahmad, appeared in the Pakistani newspaper Khabrain and suggested that the Muslim nation might use its nuclear capability to attack Israel:
â[Gul] could confidently say that Pakistan was the only country in the Islamic world that could give a befitting response to Israel and defeat its designs.
âWhat could Lebanon or Hezbollah do against such awesome firepower? God had blessed Pakistan with nuclear capability; therefore, it should play a part in defending the Muslim world. Hezbollahâs and Iranâs leaderships were bold, but they were unable to respond to the attacks of a nuclear Israel. However, by the grace of God, if Pakistan made bold decisions, it could defeat Israel.âÂ <!--emo& Confused

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

Naresh · 08-07-2006, 10:15 PM

aruni Ji :

Lately Pakistan has been advocating the banning of a Nuclear Attack by a Nuclear Nation on a Non-Nuclear Nation.

There have also been reports by USA Strategic Commentators that Pakistanâs Nuclear Weapons are in safe hands i.e. Uncleâs!

As such the two Lotastaanis are partaking in an exercise of mental fantasies â and that is putting it mildly!!

Long may they fantasise!!!

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

08-08-2006, 12:08 AM

Beautiful BangaloreQUOTEThe rapid growth and development of the booming IT business has brought with it its strange contrasts. Local people are thin in structure and short in stature. Some are darker than their taller healthier fellow nationals from further north. There are many clothing styles; and even those who are dressed in the unisexed jeans and shirts do not transcend the language and accent groupings that set apart the different communities within the workforce. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />
................
Females drive their scooters, ride buses, travel from city to city and walk about town dressed in smart casual clothes, without a single suggestive remark, obvious ogle or lecherous leer directed at them, and this in a largely non-Muslim society. Food for thought indeed.
...........
What are we up against as we try to emulate the Indian formula in the IT sector? Last year, Indian BPO revenue was six billion dollars, from a base of 400,000 employees. The IT industry earned a total of 26 billion dollars. Set that against the 72 million dollars that the IT industry earned last year in Pakistan. But more importantly, set that against the expectation in one newspaper this week that by 2009-10 Pakistanâs IT revenues would be nine billion dollars. Once we come down to earth and set ourselves realistic targets we may not rival the Indian industry but we can still earn a healthy share of the IT pie. <!--emo& Big Grin

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

As one rickshaw driver summarised his cityâs progress for me, âTen years ago the Airport Road where modern office blocks now dominate, was home to shanty dwellers, and 10 years from now this place will be America.â Perish the thought. Just give us the first 10 years
Paki will remain Paki. Now India is a different country or Pakistan is a rotten Islamic country.

Naresh · 08-08-2006, 03:02 AM

Karachi: Chinese nationals hide their faces as they are taken to the offices of the FIA after being caught entering Pakistan on fake Korean passports - AFP.

<img src='http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/august-2006/8/image/index1p.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

P. S. On the face of it they must be desperate - Migrating into Pakistan with Korean Passports!

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

Naresh · 08-08-2006, 03:20 AM

[center]US, India to fight 'Pak terror groups' <!--emo& Confused

tupid--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pakee.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='pakee.gif' /> [/center]

NEW DELHI (AFP) â A senior US State Department official called Monday for joint action against terrorism, including against groups based in Pakistan. Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, arrived in India last week. 

He made the comments after meetings with business leaders and government officials. âThe two sides discussed joint efforts to fight terrorism and felt that terrorism should be fought in all places and all its forms,â Boucher said after a three-hour meeting with government officials.

âWe all know there is terrorism in the (South Asia) region. Some of the terrorism is in Pakistan. Some of the groups that have designs against India still have pieces in Pakistan,â he told reporters.

Online adds: US has asked Pakistan and India to settle their diplomatic row in an amicable and peaceful way and avoid further augmentation of tensions.

US State department official in a statement said that tensions between Pakistan and India are dangerous for peace efforts in the region and the need of the hour is that both the countries should settle the issue in an amicable way and avoid further confrontation.

However official said that Washington regards expulsion of diplomats by the two nuclear rival countries as a matter of normal diplomatic process.

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

Naresh · (This post was last modified: 08-08-2006, 03:27 AM by Naresh.)

[center]Foreign debt records $1.31 billion spike <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /> [/center]

LAHORE â Pakistanâs foreign debt and liabilities have shown a hefty increase of 1.31 billion dollars in first three months of this calendar year, The Nation learnt on Monday.

By March 31, 2006, the external debt and liabilities of the country have expanded to 36.55 billion dollars, from 35.24 billion dollars in December 2005.

The total external debt of Pakistan has increased to 34.903 billion dollars while foreign exchange liabilities of the country amounted to 1.654 billion dollars by March this year.

Details obtained by The Nation showed that this hefty increase in the external debt and liabilities of the country has negated the federal governmentâs claim of reduction in the foreign exchange debt and liabilities. Break-up of Pakistanâs external debt and liabilities show that by March 31, 2006, the public and publicly guaranteed debt stood at 31.821 billion dollars, from 30.742 billion dollars in December 2005 while private non-guaranteed debts rose to 1.588 billion dollars as against 1.289 billion dollars during the comparative period.

Official sources said that the foreign debt liabilities of the country would further increase as the government was not only floating international bonds to raise foreign exchange, but also seeking more loans from the donor agencies for earthquake rehabilitation and ensure sustainability of the current economic growth.

Sources said that neither the State Bank of Pakistan nor the Finance Ministry had disclosed the latest quantum of foreign debt and liabilities of the country at the end of fiscal year 2005-06. They said that the central bank and the ministry were deliberately delaying the release of this data knowingly that its release would lead to a flurry of criticism against the government. Because the government had been claiming for the last two years that it had broken the âkashkoalâ and increase in debt and liabilities would negate this claim of the rulers, said sources.

In fact, the government had been borrowing more aggressively from the day it had broken the IMF âkashkoalâ in December 2004, they added. In December 2004 the federal government had refused to receive last two tranches of the PRGF loan of the International Monetary Fund that involved a total loan of 1.4 billion dollars.

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

08-08-2006, 03:33 AM

QUOTEP. S. On the face of it they must be desperate - Migrating into Pakistan with Korean Passports!
SEX industry is in high demand in pukeistan.

Naresh · 08-08-2006, 03:52 AM

QUOTE(Mudy @ Aug 8 2006, 03:33 AM)SEX industry is in high demand in pukeistan.
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Mudy Ji :

Either that or they have come to spy on the Pakistanis!

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

08-08-2006, 07:48 PM

India sees red over Pak construction along IBQUOTENew Delhi, August 8: Pakistan is reported to be engaged in the construction of bunkers, new posts and observation towers along the international border, Lok Sabha was told on Tuesday.

It has been reported that Pakistan rangers/ Army troops are engaged in the construction of bunkers/ pill boxes, new posts, observation towers, defence bundhs along/ in close proximity of IB, Minister of State for Home S Regupathy said while replying to a question.
Preparing for next defeat or cheap population reduction programme.

QUOTEEither that or they have come to spy on the Pakistanis!

Nareshji,
They will never show Chini spy face or even announce. You know what Chini will do to Mushy.
They are sex workers.

**acharya** · 08-08-2006, 09:43 PM

Pakistan Army uses fundamentalists,but scorns them, says Cohen

WASHINGTON: âThe fundamentalists are not really that strong in Pakistan; the army has contempt for them, but uses them. A restored democracy would put them â and the Army â in their respective places, but thatâs a big leap across a chasm, and at least in the US, people are risk-averse to regime change,â said Stephen Cohen.

The South Asia expert Rolling Eyes, who heads the South Asia programme at the Brookings Institution, told Indian journalist Harinder Baweja that Gen Musharraf has delivered to the Americans âjust what he has to in order to keep the relationship moving aheadâ.

Pakistan, he said, has tremendous leverage over the US, so it can pursue policies which are definitely not in the US interest â or Pakistanâs for that matter. Asked if it would make sense for Musharraf to give up the army uniform and what its impact might be, Cohen replied that Gen Musharraf ought to give up the uniform and, as the politicians fill the vacuum, and withdraw further.

This can be a slow process, but it has to begin and it has to move continuously. He stressed that this will also depend on the quality of the politicians who hope to supplant the army. The army believes, with some justification, that the politicians would prefer the army in power to a political rival.

Cohen said that Gen Musharraf is in very good shape, as none of the party leaders seems to be eager to take to the street in protest against him. However, this could change quickly in the next year, especially if elections are thought to be âover-riggedâ. Asked how serious the threat to the life of the Pakistan president was, he replied that Musharraf is well protected, while pointing out that he has moved Pakistanâs position on Kashmir a great distance â without any apparent Indian response â and he has allowed a degree of press and political freedom that is apparent.

Asked how far the Pakistani leader could be pushed on âcross-border terrorismâ, Cohen said, âThe big question is whether Pakistan can do more. We are in trouble if they are doing this, we are in greater trouble if they cannot prevent some of the terrorist groups from operating on their soil. Certainly, there have been many documented cases of where they have averted their eyes.â

He said there are elements in Pakistan which would like to derail the peace process. India could theoretically finish off the issue by accommodating Kashmiri interests. He wasnât sure whether it was too late for a grand reconciliation in Kashmir. The Mufti Mohammed Sayyed government had moved in this direction, but it is a process that is easy to subvert, and is tied up with larger Islamic movements, and, most dangerously, with non-Kashmiri Indian Muslim grievances. Question

Indian Muslims in UP and Delhi are playing with the kashmir movement to keep their grievences alive and noticed.

To the question if peace with India is possible without a significant structural change in the Pakistani polity, state-society and military-society relations, Cohen replied that there are enough sensible people in Pakistan now and the two states can reach an accommodation on a wide range of issues. He added that India seems to be in no mood to offer any concessions, and some Indians would prefer to see Pakistan become âa lesser stateâ.

The Pakistanis also are divided between doves and hawks, he pointed out. The situation remains critical, one atrocity away from another crisis, and these crises can get out of control very quickly.

Cohen was of the view that the hardliners want to disrupt the India-Pakistan peace process, but in order to isolate the hardliners in Kashmir, India would require assistance from Pakistan. âI do see some movement in this direction, but the hardliners want to disrupt this process â hence the blasts,â he added. Asked if the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is an âindependent entity,â Cohen said the ISI is a branch of the Pakistan government. It does what it is told to do, and many of its members are professionals.
He is lying.

However, what is often most problematic are the âalumniâ of these organisations, those who used to be in intelligence or covert services but have gone off and joined the very groups that they used to direct. Thereâs not a lot of evidence to support this theory in Pakistan, but there are elements that are not under the governmentâs control, he said. 
khalid hasan

Naresh · 08-09-2006, 01:13 AM

Pakistan's port in troubled waters - Elizabeth Mills <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

The port at Gwadar is without doubt currently Pakistan's flagship infrastructure project. A source of great pride for the Pakistani government, its much anticipated inauguration as the country's energy hub has been twice delayed and it is envisaged to become operational by year's end.

Built with Chinese assistance - just how much is debatable, though US$200 million for the first phase is an accepted figure plus loans - this multibillion-dollar scheme is regarded as not only an important economic asset but also a strategic one.

The first phase included the construction of three multi-purpose ship berths, while the second, to be completed by 2010, involves nine more berths, an approach channel and storage terminals, by which time it will provide full warehousing, trans-shipment and industrial facilities. The Pakistani government is positioning Gwadar as "an energy port and hub for storage and refining".

No country knows the strategic value of the port more than India, which is unsettled at the prospect of having at the very least a possible Chinese listening post so close to home and at worst a possible Chinese naval presence on the Indian Ocean.

Consider for one minute, however, the possibility that despite the hype, fears, euphoria and general interest, Gwadar might just be a big, lumbering white elephant. Consider also the possibility that the security situation is now so poor in the area surrounding the port - and more widely in the surrounding province of Balochistan - that even the port's authorities are reportedly questioning whether the facility can become operational in the near term.

Autonomy-seeking rebels are fighting for greater political rights and a bigger share of profits from gas-rich Balochistan's natural resources. According to official data, there were 187 bomb blasts, 275 rocket attacks, eight attacks on gas pipelines, 36 attacks on electricity-transmission lines and 19 explosions on railway lines in Balochistan in 2005. At least 182 civilians and 26 security-force personnel died in the province during last year.

Consider further the possibility that the Chinese became entangled in Gwadar's construction as a mere investment opportunity rather than as a part of a grand strategic plan, and may have come to regret the decision as the death toll of their engineers working on the project has risen and the obstacles to the port's construction and operation increased.

These considerations aside, let's take a look at the development and its proposed facilities. Gwadar is in the restive southeastern province of Balochistan, sitting on the southern Makran coast, about 70 kilometers from the border with Iran and about 320km from Cape al-Hadd in Oman.

Pakistan already has one major commercial port at Karachi, but it is envisaged that while Karachi - due for expansion and modernization - will remain the key commercial and naval port, Gwadar, given its position, will be a regional energy hub.

Given that it is situated alongside sea lanes near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 40% of the world's oil tankers pass, the government is eyeing Gwadar's position as a key entry point for energy supplies for Central and South Asia, as well as western China.

Alongside this, the Pakistani government has ambitions to develop Gwadar into a South Asian Las Vegas, a regional entertainment hub filled with casinos and five-star hotels.

This is a far cry from what Gwadar was just five years ago. Before the port's construction began (2002), Gwadar was considerably smaller, with just one high school, basic infrastructure and limited job opportunities.

In fact, most employment centered on fishing and small-scale smuggling in what is the country's poorest province. As a result, when the authorities made the port announcement, the town's inhabitants welcomed the decision, envisaging better prospects. After all, they had benefited from the construction of the Makran coastal highway, linking Gwadar with Karachi. Why should the port be any different?

Inevitably, there were dissenting voices, not least the tribal bigwigs who feared that urbanization would deprive them of their traditional power bases and influence. That said, for the man in the street, the positives of such a large project looked set to outweigh suspicions and fears.

In fact, what has unfolded is a tale of displacement, lost job opportunities, dubious land deals and increasing local violent hostility. The insurgency-related problems of Balochistan are well documented, but have been exacerbated in recent years by the new security threat emanating from the discontent surrounding the port's construction. A sense of local nationalism has emerged, fueled by disengagement with the fruits of the project.

The rapid increase in land prices in the region has made a small elite extremely wealthy, though for the everyday resident of Gwadar the reality is very different. Allegations of land grabs and shady deals are rife with the benefits accrued by influential outsiders and their cronies coming at the expense of the town's indigenous inhabitants. Most residents have also found themselves running short on water as well as displaced, rehoused inland, a considerable distance from the sea and their traditional fishing areas. And Gwadar reportedly still has just one high school, despite its burgeoning size.

Too little and too late, the authorities are now acting. The director general of the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), Mir Ahmed Bukhsh Lehri, is on record as having in May pledged a huge infrastructure package. Lehri announced that infrastructure would be of an international standard and include a 350-bed hospital, a sports complex, a park, a mosque and a desalination plant as well as two new harbors and housing for locals. Perhaps this would have been welcomed several years ago, but it is difficult to envisage anything but a cold and skeptical reception to this news now.

If proof were needed of the local population's changed attitude, it is witnessed in the security situation. When the port's construction first started, it was reported that about 200 Chinese engineers operated freely in the town, welcomed by its inhabitants and housed without security fears among the population. As the project has developed and local grievances increased, the number of engineers has steadily decreased and the 20 or so who are now left are stationed at the army's barracks, under guard 24 hours a day. A number have died in attacks, the largest of which occurred in May 2004 when three were killed and 11 others (nine of whom were Chinese) injured in a car-bombing.

At odds with this disconcerting reality is the international attention being paid to the port. Admittedly, some of the key international port operators are notably absent from bidding for the project, but even so, the past few months has seen a flurry of speculation over which international company would win the rights to operate the port. Will it be DP World of the United Arab Emirates or Hutchison Port Holdings of Hong Kong, or perhaps even Singapore's PSA International, all of whom have submitted an expression of interest (EoI)? Perhaps, however, the question that should be asked is whether the whole scheme is actually viable.

Currently, the Pakistani government forbids foreigners from traveling without its permission in parts of Balochistan because of the broad security risk. In fact, anyone seeking to do so first has to secure a no-objection certificate. It is unclear just how the authorities are going to get around this obstacle once Gwadar the tourist city is up and running.

As the situation stands, a five-star entertainment resort in a part of Pakistan surrounded by barely controlled desert (and not forgetting that Afghanistan's Taliban-heavy provinces border Balochistan) will surely top the attack list for a range of militant and terrorist elements. Partying aside, the prospects similarly look poor for the viable operation of the port.

Its inauguration has been delayed twice, and even now it is not entirely clear when it will begin operating. It appears that the port is at the stage of becoming operational but remains unsupported by surrounding infrastructure.

President General Pervez Musharraf has belatedly urged the various ministries to work together on this, with the failure to put in place rail, road and communications links to the rest of the respective networks preventing the port's grand opening. So what's causing this delay? A bit of ministry rivalry, perhaps, or a lack of funds? Apparently not. No, instead, the security situation is the key problem.

This is evidenced in the current debate over rail links. All that was required was a link from Gwadar to the network at the Quetta-Kohi-Taftan junction. Reports that emerged last month suggested that a feasibility study had been concluded and that "problems" had been identified, prompting the ministry to consider alternative routes. The original proposed route ran through a particularly restive central part of the province, but the alternative poses topographical challenges, given the area's steep gradients.

Add to this the security situation in Gwadar itself and the vision of that white elephant looms large. Sources who spoke to Asia Times Online were allowed on a recent visit to the area and secured the rare opportunity to talk with port officials. Surprisingly, they proved to be candid in their views, openly expressing their fears that poor security in the area would constitute such a deterrent that the port would not be able to function normally. Certainly, the regular news reports detailing bombings in and around Gwadar underline this continuing threat. A recent selection reveals attacks on hotels under construction and even the GDA's offices.

The government cannot be oblivious to the situation around Gwadar, though it has arguably been overshadowed by the wider ongoing separatist insurgency in the province. It is notable that a dual strategy for Balochistan's troubles has emerged more clearly during 2006.

The federal authorities currently favor a policy of targeted military action accompanied by effective development spending. Interestingly, negotiation does not appear to be an option, with regional leaders either in detention or served with exit certificates, preventing their return to the province without arrest.

A total of Rs10 billion (US$167 million) has been funneled into developmental projects in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, though it is unclear whether any of these funds will be targeted on the needs of residents or whether they will service the requirements of a burgeoning tourist center.

In many respects, the government is warranted in trying to exploit the location of Gwadar and should be both commended and supported for its foresight in looking to tap into the lucrative energy-transit network.

That said, if it fails to surmount the security problems and, even more basically, cannot put the fundamental infrastructure in place for the development, Gwadar's port looks set to fail at the first hurdle.

Not only will this come at considerable economic cost, but it will undermine relations with China and simply make the Pakistani authorities look foolish. If Gwadar is a test case for Pakistan's wider aptitude for diversification and grand-scheme expansion, it appears it will receive a poor report card.

Elizabeth Mills is an analyst covering political and security issues, with an emphasis on South Asia.

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

Naresh · 08-09-2006, 03:20 AM

Gas pipeline to Sindh suffers Short Circuit in Air Vacuum <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

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

08-09-2006, 08:19 PM

From Today's Asian Age -
I am not sure where to put it, contains some interesting stuff.

Mirpur's British MP 8/9/2006 12:08:14 AM
- By Farrukh Dhondy

"Who is the one who has no needs?

Flowers that grow without their seeds?"

From The Suffering

Canticles of Bachchoo

As an elder of the Asian community, I am often asked, "Why do Muslims exert such an undue influence on British politics?" In the past, I always fancied that it had something to do with the amorous relationship between certain leading Englishmen and their specifically Muslim lovers â the influence of the mandarins, the likes of E.M. Forster who had a Muslim boyfriend, and T.E. Lawrence, he of Arabia, whose passions constructed seven pillars of wisdom.

Take Forsterâs dedication of his A Passage to India to Ross Syed Masood and the substance of the book in which Forsterâs hero finds the Hindu Professor Godbole remote and philosophical and the main character Doctor Aziz, warm blooded and a possible object of love.

I now realise that my speculations and guidance have been too literary, and, therefore, irredeemably faulty. The British politicians of today are by and large illiterate and know nothing of T.E. Lawrence or of E.M. Forster â or for that matter of John Maynard Keynes who also came to India looking for pliant boys â I have been unable to ascertain the persuasion to which his conquests belonged.

I raise the subject because, in the political debate and division raised by the current war between the Hezbollah and the Israeli state, Britain is deeply divided. The world knows that Tony Blair has joined George Bush in endorsing the Israelisâ right to self defence against unprovoked attacks from the Hezbollah underground army in Lebanon. He has joined in the UN effort towards calling for a multinational force to stop the fighting, but he is content with Bush, to give the Israeli armed forces enough time to try and wipe out the Hezbollahâs military capability.

It canât be done. Hezbollah is not a national army with regimental headquarters and air bases that can be bombed. The insurgencies of the world, not least that in Iraq, have proved that even a small determined and perhaps fanatically dedicated body of people, supported by the arms, infrastructure and money of states such as Syria and Iran, can suffer heavily one day and live to fight the next.

There is no military solution to the hydra of the Hezbollah.

It is this realisation, coupled with revulsion at the Israeli strategic stance of bombing vast swathes of Lebanon and causing the perhaps unintentional and collateral deaths of thousands of civilians, that has caused Blairâs own party to state, in public surveys and now in Cabinet, its opposition to his policies.

His chief critic is his former foreign secretary, Jack Straw. Straw was replaced as foreign secretary a few months ago in a changing of the guards, but he was not thrown out of the Cabinet. He is now the Leader of the House of Commons.

Straw is a typical Labour politician in so far as he rose to prominence and built support in the Party by starting early. In the late Sixties and early Seventies, if I remember right, he was a student politician at Leeds University and became the president of the National Studentsâ Union. This is, as other student political bodies around the world are, a mock understudy of real national politics and a launching pad for aspirant professional politicians of whichever party.

After being big fish in the mock pond, student leaders have to learn to swim as small but growing fish in the large and real one. Itâs a matter of cultivating the stamina to sit through a million boring meetings which debate local and national politics to no practical effect, until the day comes when you become the survivor who has outstayed the boredom and can offer yourself as candidate for the safe Labour seat to which you have selectively, or precociously, attached yourself. Thatâs democracy.

Strawâs constituency is Blackburn, a mill-to-mosque town of Lancashire. It was born and bred in the 19th century textile trade and in the middle of the 20th century, after the Second World War, recruited thousands of largely Mirpuri workers to service the shifts and jobs in the mills which the white population of Lancashire had spectacularly abandoned.

In the Eighties, the textiles that these mills produced came into competition with those from India, Pakistan, Czechoslovakia and later China. Mrs Thatcherâs government took the view that the industry was unviable and shouldnât be supported, and ensured a short term survival by imposing tariffs on imports or by subsidising the mills. They should be allowed to go out of business.

The virtual closing down of the Yorkshire and Lancashire textile mills left thousands of mill towns with large communities of unemployed South Asian immigrants, most of them Mirpuris, Bangladeshis and Pakistani Punjabis. The function of these communities had never been to "integrate" into British society. They had been "imported" â had indeed volunteered to be imported â as cheap labour and left to form their own enclosed, distinct and separate societies.

If they voted at all, they voted Labour.

Earlier this year, Condoleezza Rice invited the then foreign secretary of Britain, Jack Straw, to the United States and took him on a friendly tour of Birmingham, Alabama where she was born and brought up. Straw was effusive about the visit. Here was a secretary of state who had risen from the ranks of the Afro-American community against very many odds.

Did it remind him of his own constituency in Blackburn, Lancashire with its own substantial Muslim community? Perhaps. He made the mistake of inviting Dr Rice for a return visit and showed her round the mosques and ghettos. She was greeted by anti-war Muslim demonstrators. Was she impressed? Or did she return to Washington and tell President Bush that the British foreign secretary is dependent for his seat in Parliament on a constituency with enough Muslims in it to vote him out?

Nevertheless, soon after her visit Straw was removed as foreign secretary in a reshuffle. My speculation at the time was that Blair and Bush were about to get tough with Pakistan on the issue of training and fuelling resurgent Taliban activity in southern Afghanistan where British troops are deployed, and that a foreign secretary from Blackburn would not survive a severe change in British policy towards Pakistan.

Now, with Straw returning to his constituency every week and speaking to larger and larger gatherings of his Muslim constituents, it becomes clear that he feels compelled to represent their growing dismay at Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Poor Straw, far from being a parallel to Dr Rice, he is now buffeted into becoming MP for Mirpur at Westminster.

08-10-2006, 12:17 AM

Pakistan future

08-10-2006, 11:56 AM

Pakistan puts Lashkar founder under house arrest QUOTE"They informed us last night that Hafiz (Saeed) could not leave his residence and this restriction is for one month," Yahya Mujahid, Jamaat-ud-Dawa's spokesman told reporters.

The charity had been banned from all public activities. 
Revolving door is back in action. Mushy received new batch of grease. <!--emo& Big Grin

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

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