<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->My dear Quaid may your soul rest in peace. But how can your soul rest in peace when lawlessness and outlaws ruling Pakistan is now common for 61yrs. A common man trying to fulfill all demands of law is no longer being given the right to live. Tax looting culture is being encouraged for the outlaw and rich class. When Munafiqeen are being replaced by one another to take over as Rulers of the Pakistan. When your sayings and the sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are just treated as joke.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hindus are a submissive race that is meant to serve other races as they served the Muslims and the British in the past. India was given to the hindus as a charity while Pakistan was fought for by Muslims. People who are slaves by nature will never see the day when they will get to rule more than what was given to them as a donation by their masters.
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The reality is that the intransigent attitude of the majority Congress party led by Gandhi and Nehru caused Jinnah to finally settle for an "independent" Pakistan. The March 23, 1940 resolution was deliberately vaguely worded regarding the status of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India; this meant that there was still time for a united India, provided various safeguards were provided to protect the minority Muslims in a democratic India sure to be run by the majority caste Hindus.
Jinnah remained tightly lipped about his idea of a "Pakistan" till the Jinnah Gandhi talks in September, 1944. After the unsuccessful Jinnah-Gandhi talks, Jinnah was convinced that the "Pakistan" scheme was the only way to successfully protect the Muslim minority in India - yet he was still willing to give a united India a try but Nehru and other Congress leaders forced his hand to change his demand for an independent "Pakistan" outside the Indian union.
In Jinnah's own words, "One India is an impossible realization - it will inevitably mean that the Muslim will be transferred from the domination of the British to the caste Hindu rule.... Freedom must mean freedom both from British exploitation and Hindu domination. 100 millions Muslims will never agree merely to the change of the masters." Over sixty years on, it is a matter of opinion and conjecture.
Regardless, Jinnah's scheme still wished for a relationship between India and Pakistan similar to that of the USA and Canada - something both sides have failed to achieve.
THis is guy is doing psy ops on Pakis
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Here's a comment. Part 1: Shame on the Hindus. They are foreigners (by race or by religion- as the case may be) in the Indian sub-continent, which has always belonged to the Muslims, even before the birth of the Christ and the Buddha. Muslims have always worshipped this holy land of the sub-continent, while every one knows that the Hindus never worship any land or the trees or rivers. These Hindu aliens first come and invade our land (then divided into several kingdoms)...contd..
.then they mercilessly slaughter us in the name of their God, then they rule over us, then they ask us for a pieces of separate land and finally they say that we are the real evil people and rattle us every now and then with bomb blasts. People of the world, we Muslims weren't even meat eaters and never believed in waging any holy wars, while everyone knows that Hindus have always been meat eaters and that...contd..
that their holy book calls for holy wars & slaughter against other relgions. Can you believe them when they say that we are the evil, merciless ones, who are the root cause of all trouble, strife, poverty and violence in the sub-continent?
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Jinnah, Nehru and Gandhi all studied and lived in England. They had vision to be great people. None of them should have been allowed near the planning of Indian constitution. One had ego, other was power hungry and third looking for a salvation if enlightment was getting too late. Yeah yeah, I am blunt tongue but truth is harsh. Not facing truth is what gets civilizations down to slavery and extinction. I speak for the common man who was hurt and died by hunger as his wife when legends were spending millions on their tombs. Jinnah was experimental with his thoughts on self-governance of India. Look what has happened to Pakistan with his fourteen point plan theories and giving power to provinces. He thought it would be easy for governance using local politics, however long term goal was a disaster. At one point he wanted 50% seats to be reserved for Muslims. So he never technically visioned democratic and indpendent India. His grandfather was a hindu rajput and grand children(parsi wadia family) enjoying rich freedom in India. Mr. Jinnah friend of convienence, never participated in protests to get favours from our British Raj, when Gandhian followers were fried on hot pans. He misguided millions and got them stranded in extremist environment. He requested Mr Nehru to look after his Bombay house , he might return if things didn;t work out up north. Not all hindus are bad as not all muslims. A hindu got converted to Muslim, spoke for their rights and creates nation for them. We don't know if Jinnah family did sacrifice or need to do so. Jinnah family is Parsi as of now.
Mr Nehru, sent his clothes to Paris for cleaning( awright there weren;t good facilities for his expensive suits in India, I take it back). Whatever, he never wanted to share his biscuits in halls of residence forget about sharing power with Jinnah. All he had to do was share power for one year for a united India. Only thing admirable, he somehow managed secular state but left Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to rule years to come. When innocent and comman man fought for his independance, they got divisions and partitions killing millions. Mr. Gandhi, although I admire his philosophies and to some extent his non-violence calmed Indian aggression. Why did he wait till 49 years for the enlightment. They say rich has choices and vision to think and execute, they can fast when hunger can be fetched. Mr Gandhi too at times was uncompromising and never listened to others. Such a child, thankfully our British Intelligence protected him all times. All three legends knew English well and common man had no say in their tea meetings.
Well no offence to anyone for me unknown common man should have been listened too..Mr Jaswant singh should speak his mind in democracy. But congress today is different then in 1947 and BJP is powerless. Jaswant can praise Jinnah to be back in business. In the end its always about who gets what. Folks, true Independence would have been country free from religious and caste plague with no pain of partition. My thoughts are with common men who preserves right even in wrong circumstances.
So British. See the referene to White Tiger
I genuinely believe that if India is to move forward then it must embrace and make a place for its minorities....Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. Everything I said about violence against minorities is true and can be verified by fact. India needs to 'own up' to what happened ...like the Germans in Germany...and make recompense to its victims...to heal the wounds...
If there had been no threat of violence and suppression of minorities than Pakistan would not have come about. If it happened then it was because Jinnah saw a danger and saved his people. He was a good man for his people. The Sikhs got left behind and look how they are suffering now! So India only has itself to blame for any partition and wars.....
India is under the control of a few self-centred people who act like monarchs and they have convinced the general public, most of which are illiterate, that the country is under attack from Pakistanis, Kashmiris, Sikhs, Naxalites and any other 'Boogie man" they can think off. This way the politicians are able to win votes and keep the people deluded.
I LOVE England.........if you are interested a good book exposing the truth about Indian psyche is White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It is a fun read and very British in its humour but also has many layers to it.. It is highly recommended.
Another more serious book is Open Secrets by Maloy Krishna Dhar who exposes the works of Indian Intelligence Agencies and how they pose as Indian muslims to create trouble in India to make the muslim community look bad; they were also responsible for the smuggling of arms into the Golden Temple to make it look like the Sikhs did it; also the Air India crash......he exposes how they recruit Academics and Media people to 'sell' the Indian story. BTW he is paranoid by Pakistanis but in the end it is the Indians who threaten him for exposing them....a long book, dry at times but will open your eyes.
<b>Mush parks his Tush in Absconders' paradise : London</b>
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Over the top : IMAX shi-MAX</b>
<i>Masood Hasan</i>
<b>What is it that afflicts reasonably good men who waste no time in abandoning all or any principles they might have had, the moment they assume positions of power? What primal deficiency is there, what childhood deprivation or horror upbringing that turns them into marauding, ruthless and psychopathic beasts?</b> What really happens to them that they abandon all the good things they might have learnt from parents, families and peers when they were young and instead, like Oscar Wilde's Dorian Grey, metamorphed into the stuff of nightmares? Again and again in Pakistan's 62 years of jerky independence scores of good men and women have risen to the top only to subside like scum, but since there never has been and never will be accountability, they have all survived and flourished, become intellectuals, written high-moral ground books, delved into religion and emerged whiter than Snow White and even pontificated on the importance of living a good and clean life. The sheer hypocrisy of it all is galling but there is nothing to worry about because no heads are rolling and no one is losing sleep over it.
In our blessed country, the amount of audacious scams that have been pulled off with about the same consummate skill and ease as a seasoned juggler would exhibit producing a rabbit out of a hat, are so many that it would require a few large editions of this newspaper just to accommodate the names. Everyone has gone scot-free which is not at all amazing and every one has moved on to make more kills â and man eating lions get a bad name! One of the many bizarre and utterly shameful squandering of public money was the IMAX Theatre in Lahore's Doongi Ground, the vision having come upon the province's inept chief minister who was, if his PR gurus were to be believed, forever dreaming. He dreamt of educating every child and that was the end of children's education in any meaningful manner. He dreamt of a disease free land and we know what allocations went to health, he dreamt of a progressive Punjab and the Qabza Groups gained wild ascendancy, the 'puls muqablas' more notoriety and the law and order more or less lawless and orderless.
On a visit to Europe â Mr Azmat and Mr Shoaib Bin Aziz accompanying, the chief minister saw an IMAX theatre â the storyline is not sure if it was London or Berlin â but what he saw â for a change and did not dream of it, an IMAX theatre and so smitten was he that he immediately ordered one for Lahore. It was love at first sight. 'Lahore will have an IMAX,' said the chief minister dreamily. The accompanying turncoats and fawning bureaucrats hanging on for dear life to all the pearls his majesty was spewing scraped the floor and said, 'Yes Majesty. Thy will shall be done." Plans were quickly set into motion. Thank God GOR was safe and flowers were in bloom. No one was interested in the feasibility of such an extravagance, its prohibitive cost and above all, its social relevance in a land where the poor were grinding further into the dust and suicides over lack of employment were getting reported regularly. Only a bunch of heartless thugs supported by officers who should have had some qualms of conscience, but had none, could have heaped this insult on the people, in this case of Lahore. The IMAX was the next best thing that happened to us after Mr Jinnah created the country and it came via Gujrat.
Thereafter, the IMAX story reads like a sad soap opera. It is a disaster from start to finish. The boys from Gujrat, shoes and all, are long gone, having sailed into the sunset, singing songs of merriment and good cheer, counting their loot and raising a joyful noise unto the Lord. The present Punjab government has been left with a massive headache that somehow Mian Shahbaz Sharif has to resolve. His hands are more than full as he battles another drone let off with the full blessing of Punjab's rotten bureaucracy, past and present included. They continue to sabotage his efforts. The facts are chilling indeed â let us not consider whether this country needs an IMAX or drinking water, electricity, drainage, public transport â the list is long and remains unaccomplished. To date, just that ugly structure raised over what was once a children's playground and that acted as a water reservoir in the monsoons (the British thought that one out), has cost a mind boggling Rs. 33 million. The IMAX equipment which lies in Canada has cost Rs. 151 million â nowhere is the IMAX sold out, it is leased as it is an evolving technology, but I guess there is more illicit money in lump sum payments than boring long leases, so we paid up front. The Canadians must have laughed all the way to the bank. The basement parking set us back by another whopping Rs. 72 million, so all in all, we are down by Rs. 255 million and counting. Let me not insult anyone by recounting what all this tax payer's money could have done for those not exactly IMAX fans.
Should we wish to proceed further with this deranged and lunatic idea, we need another Rs810 million to complete the parking lot, the theatre, the one time operational cost and ancillary equipment. That tots up to Rs1165 million. And since there always has to be icing on the cake â and their highnesses, the bureaucracy that has been hand in glove from day one with this loot sale, a running cost of Rs80 million annually to keep the IMAZ from melting down. The PEC â Punjab Entertainment Company that should be called, Punjab Extortionists Confederacy, has had some of the nation's brightest lights on it â the names reel off like those at an award ceremony. Mr Salman Siddique,
Mr Taimoor Azmat Usman, Mr Salman Ghani â proud sons of the soil you would say. They and seven others thought nothing of getting on to the Board of Directors of the PEC although they were all government servants. Another lamentable feature of this shameful scam is the role of Lahore's famous son, Mr S M Zafar, who in replying to a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court's finding under the Lahore master plan, that use of land cannot be changed, astonished everyone by first declaring that such a master plan couldn't be found for love or money and further confounded everyone that the Doongi Ground was never meant to provide amenities to the public. It was merely a piece of unutilized and non-functional vacant land used for storage of flood and runaway water, which was not required in any case, since rains were minimal and drainage was excellent. And Mr Zafar may not have played cricket in Doongi Ground but to think he is a Lahori and would know better. It hurts but it does not surprise. Mephistopheles is around boys cutting deals.
On Thursday, the CM assembled everyone at the scene of the crime. The bureaucrats â what my late brother called the Civil Serpents of Pakistan (CSP) till they became DMG (Damaged Mental Goods), dug in for another battle and my friend Shafqat Mahmood's committee had a preposterous idea to make an auditorium for Lahore schools that will add millions more to the costs. That money alone could provide safe drinking water to half of Lahore if not more. Where are our priorities? Mercifully the auditorium idea drew fire and hopefully will be scrapped. Strange that some of us are determined to throw more money into what was a grave mistake to start with. The CM has rightly moved for a judicial review which should once and for all settle this bizarre project. Maybe if we can succeed, we should also demolish that joke the Commando commissioned in Islamabad, the 4-leaf tomato that set us back an estimated Rs800 million.
The writer is a Lahore-based columnist. Email: masoodhasan66@gmail.com
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<b>Taliban execute Baitullahâs kin for âspyingâ </b>
Islamabad: Pakistani Taliban have executed Baitullah Mehsudâs father-in-law and three of his relatives on suspicion of tipping off authorities of the slain commanderâs whereabouts
America's ghost state
By Humayun Gauhar | Published: August 23, 2009
Two weeks out of action and I return to Pakistan to find it as topsy-turvy as ever. It's been topsy-turvy for some time actually, except that the roller coaster of life makes one somewhat immune. When uncertainty and instability persist for long they become the norm. But by now the mirage has almost faded and the reality that Pakistan is shorn of its sovereignty has become stark. Today it stands naked as a ghost state of the United States of America, without the benefits that would accrue from being a formal part of the federation.
I returned to the madding crowd to see another stark reality: a few honourable exceptions notwithstanding, our elite has collapsed. That's disastrous, for it is from the elite that leaders in all walks of life come. What remains is intellectual debris piled upon the rubble of our identity demolished by cultural confusion. In its place is a bag of peanuts with no brains, unlike a peahen that has some. Some peanuts think they were grown in America, others in England.
Anyway, back to the main topic. The present dispensation suits America perfectly. Musharraf drew a line that America couldn't cross. That line has long been rubbed out. It's taken them a long time to get here. Why should they upset the applecart, unless they have an even more pliable and obedient dispensation in mind, if that's at all possible?
They've already put boots on the ground. They are carrying out drone attacks openly from bases in Pakistan. They restored the sacked judges, much against the incumbent president's instincts. They are building a huge, super-fortified embassy in Islamabad. Anyone who doubts that it will also be an intelligence and military operations base should have his head examined. The cost of building it will be added to our 'debt'. It's like asking a man to pay for the bullet he is going to be executed with.
Our peanuts argue that the size of the embassy reflects the size of the US commitment to Pakistan. Sure it does. When you take over a country you have to have a large enough presence there, about the same size as the total number of British - around 4,000 - stationed in India at the zenith of the Raj. The dirty work was given to the new Indian elite that was "English in every respect except for the colour of their skins." They were the original peanuts that acted as intermediaries between the British and the vast native multitudes. Today's peanuts are progeny of these original cultural hybrids also known as 'Brown Sahibs'.
Then there's Blackwater, the notorious private US security firm of contractors now apparently operating in Pakistan - a mercenary force doing the dirty work the CIA and FBI cannot, usually without the knowledge of Congress. You can feel the bloodstained paw prints of Dick Cheney all over this. It is ostensibly providing security to a Washington DC-based firm called Creative Associates International, Inc (CAII) in Peshawar. CAII describes itself as "a privately-owned non-governmental organisation that addresses urgent challenges facing societies today..." How is this gobbledygook relevant to the Soviet-US-Afghan-terrorism-ravaged Peshawar of today? "Creative views change as an opportunity to improve, transform and renew..." says CAII. Only a peanut could decipher this gibberish. It may be a humanitarian front that also acts as cover for covert US intelligence operations. Blackwater was operating out of the CAII office in Chinar Road, University Town, Peshawar, until, according to an Urdu newspaper, its head, Craig Davis, was arrested and accused of establishing contacts with "the enemies of Pakistan" along the Afghan border. He was reportedly expelled and the CAII offices sealed.
On July 27, 2009, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that the residents of University Town, Peshawar, are living in fear "due to the overt presence of the controversial US private security contractor Blackwater...residents are mainly concerned about Blackwater's reputation as a ruthless, unbridled private army whose employees face multiple charges of murder, child prostitution and weapons smuggling in Iraq." Imtiaz Gul, a local engineer, told the authors that, "Sometimes these guys stand in the streets and behave rudely with passers-by; sometimes they point guns at people without provocation. Who rules our streets, the Pakistani government or the Americans? They have created a state within a state."
Who indeed? Suddenly, the US government seems to have developed a liking for Pakistan. President Obama is going to chair the 'Friends' of Pakistan meeting in New York along with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Zardari on September 24. That's certain to raise a lot of money. Holbrooke declares that Pakistan is gaining political stability and spells out a plan to help Pakistan overcome its perennial energy crisis and strengthen its economy all round. We could soon see a free trade agreement. There's talk of Pakistan being lured away from the Iran to Pakistan pipeline. There is talk of an America naval base in Balochistan. These are big things. Soon we might see America investing in the social sector, particularly in health and education and later in services, manufacturing and agriculture when it is satisfied with our political stability. "What is good for Pakistan is good for America" will be the new motto, provided the good comes from America.
Why this sudden change? One can only conjecture. America has realised that the practice of use, abuse and abandon was a disaster. Has America also realised that that Pakistan is a much better bet as a base than Afghanistan? It is bigger with a better-educated population and resources. Its geo-strategic location is terrific. From here America can rapidly deploy to Afghanistan, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, the Middle East and South Asia and monitor all of them and Russia and China too. Co-opt the Pakistani government, establishment, academics, retired bureaucrats and generals, businessmen, journalists, and relevant politicians. Have they also realised that this won't work unless they also, and most importantly, co-opt the Pakistani masses by giving them what their governments have failed to, particularly upward economic and social mobility. Upwardly mobile people getting progressively educated are unlikely to be attracted to extremists.
The writer is a senior political analyst
E-mail: humayun.gauhar@gmail.com
Obamaâs new exit strategy in Afghanistan
Friday August 21, 2009 (1635 PST)
While the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen hinted on Talibanâs effort to gain access to nuclear weapons for killing large bulk of Americans, the US and Nato allies in Afghanistan are trying to reach out to the second tier of the Taliban leadership.
In a briefing paper for President Barack Obama on the situation in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, the new US commander in Afghanistan, disagreed with those who say that no dialogue with the Taliban was possible. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the new head of Nato, said in an interview that he would support dialogue with âmoderate groups on the outer reaches of the Talibanâ. Rasmussenâs comments echoed British Foreign Secretary David Miliband advanced a more conciliatory tone on engaging with Taliban willing to renounce violence and embrace politics. Even the new commander of the British army, General Richards, had to concede the need for negotiations, believing that a negotiated settlement may be necessary to end the conflict.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington agrees with the British analysis of the way forward. Taking advantage from the developments/feedbacks by on-ground commanders & strategists, Obama Administrationâs new âexit strategyâ for Afghanistan makes a clear difference between al-Qaeda and the Taliban and while it seeks no reconciliation with al Qaeda, it recognises the Taliban as an important player in Afghanistanâs political affairs.
A strong need is felt to civilize the Taliban so Afghanistan is not âTalibanisedâ again.
Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat who heads the UN mission to Afghanistan gave an embarrassing analysis by suggesting the world body to help in delivering humanitarian aid in the Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan.
In order to have a better insight in the Pashtun society in Afghanistan, Taliban are classified into three categories: (a) the first tier consists of staunch and hard line Taliban commanders having their links to al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden said in 2006, âWe do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stand by ... a truce which offers security and stability and the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan which war has destroyed.â
The United States dismissed the offer, saying it âdoes not negotiate with terrorists.â Recently, al-Qaedaâs second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri had offered a conditional truce to President Obama during an interview with al Qaedaâs media arm As-sahab, posted on an Islamist website on August 3. This hardcore element must be crushed relentlessly.
(b)The second tier is considered susceptible to peace overtures because it comprises tribal leaders who joined the Taliban out of tribal loyalty and financial and political benefits and not for ideological commitment. © The third tier is the foot soldiers with no strong commitments as they are simply followers of their tribal leaders. They are not deeply ideological in nature or even politically motivated. Most are operating for pay; some are under a commanderâs charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders.
As part of the new strategy, 70,000 US and Nato troops had started âclearing the first tier of the Taliban leadershipâ comprising hardcore militants. US policy planners hope that doing so would not only eliminate the hard line Taliban fighters; it will also allow âthe second tierâ to come forward. The second tier is regarded as crucial because such local leaders control large numbers of Taliban fighters in Pashtun-dominated southern Afghanistan and appear willing to talk.
The most recent situation of Afghanistan is very grim as there are large swaths of the country where things are getting worse. All US media outlets, pointed out that July was the deadliest month for US-led forces in Afghanistan since 2001. Last month, 70 foreign troops - including 42 Americans - were killed in Afghanistan. Six more US soldiers were killed on the first two days of August.
The reports warn that casualty toll is expected to remain high as US troops attempt to reclaim territory from the Taliban. With the latest killing, the number of western troops killed since the conquest of Afghanistan had risen to 1100 mark. Many Nato members had begun to lose faith in the mission and one by one they have begun making plans to pull out.
The Dutch are expected to recall their soldiers from Afghanistan next year and Canada is debating a 2011 pullout.
Meanwhile, Great Britainâs role in the conflict had come under fire at home after 22 soldiers were killed during fighting last month alone. It is concluded that the international effort in Afghanistan since 2001 had delivered much less than it promised and that its impact had been significantly diluted by the absence of a unified vision and strategy grounded in the realities of Afghanistanâs history, culture and politics. The recently concluded report on the âGlobal Security: Afghanistan and Pakistanâ says that drone attacks by US forces in Pakistan have âdamaged the American reputation. Many European countries including Germany and Italy have been reluctant, citing public opposition to greater involvement in the country.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, facing a re-election challenge later this month, has repeatedly called for talks with Taliban leaders on condition that the militants accept Afghanistanâs constitution.
Karzai has even guaranteed safe passage for Omar if he attends such talks. Omar has dismissed the overtures, calling him an American puppet and saying no talks can happen while foreign troops are in the country.
President Karzai even with the support of 53,000 foreign troops (23,000 US troops under US command, 30,000 US, British, and other troops in ISAF - the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force), has failed to gain foothold in the Taliban areas and in fact is restricted to the capital only. Despite the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001, the US-led allied forces had failed to uproot the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. The US, Nato and Afghan forces have not been able to control more than 30% of Afghanistan with all the resources and gadgets at their disposal.
While reviewing US exit strategy in Afghanistan, President Obama is considering the possibility of negotiations with the elements of the insurgents. A face saving formula may involve creation of conditions whereby Nato and the US can claim âvictoryâ. This will not be a victory where the enemy is completely vanquished. The experience has shown that neither a Taliban re-conquest of Afghanistan is likely, nor can the Taliban be crushed in the foreseeable future. It will, rather, be a far more realistic victory given the present circumstances. Terming the negotiations as an option âworth exploringâ US must initiate talks with the Taliban element immediately and then set a deadline for US and Nato troops withdrawal. The various recommendations of the on-ground commanders and policy-makers should be incorporated to plan a viable exit strategy, keeping in mind the unaffordability of maintaining thousands of Nato/Isaf troops in Afghanistan for the times to come.
<b>Six suicide bombers held in Karachi</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The police have recovered<b> three suicide jackets, explosive material, Kalashnikovs, TT pistols, gas masks, heroin, remote control devices, batteries, ball-bearings, electric wires and hundreds of rounds</b>. SSP Muhammad Fayyaz Khan said the CID had received information about the presence of some terrorists in Karachi who were hiding in a house situated in Defence View.
The CID, along with personnel of intelligence agencies, conducted a raid late on Saturday night at the house and arrested Mohammed Aziz alias Salman Amir, Mohammed Shahzad alias Pehlwan alias Muna alias Ustad, Ghulam Mohammed alias Umar, Shahbaz alias Mian, Khalid Ahmed Toori (brother of Qasim Toori), Alam Zaib alias Huzefa and Shakeel Ahmed alias Hunzeela.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
toba! toba !
They are busy even in Ramdan month, I doubt, but anyway they are pakis anything can happen, even Hindu ancestry can kicked in.
<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
Pakistanis have not only been "Gifted" with "Soside Buming" but in addition their penchant for breeding like flea infested rodents is causing a "Fleas Infested Rodent-like Population Explosion" thus progressively reducing the available Water Resources on a Per Capita Basis.
Read on :
<b>Cassandraâs forebodings - Taj M Khattak</b>
The ancient Trojan princess, Cassandra, was blessed with a gift of prophecy but also burdened by the curse that prevented anyone from ever believing her, although she would be as right as rain predicting from weather to the outcome of wars, without crystal balls or any of the other hocus pocus. It Just shows how capricious those old Greek gods were, in handing out favours with their right hand and taking them away with the left; and perhaps all for the sheer sport of it.
The officials of Ministry of Water and Power are not exactly in the same league as Cassandra, for she was mythical and they humans, but have nonetheless done a sterling job warning us of the water shortage catastrophe awaiting us, unless the country takes immediate and bold initiatives, but only if the âkings of ancient Greece would listen.
Students in most Business Schools in the west are encouraged to visit Easter Island, a Polynesian Island first inhabited in 300-400 AD, in South Eastern Pacifica Ocean, about 2200 miles west of Chile. The Island has many mysteries, but the one with which the students of economics are seized with for a case study, is how, its denizens, the Rapa Nui civiliation, brought death and extinction onto themselves when they were not careful with their resource management.
The ministry of water and power has not been alone in crying hoarse from the rooftop. In 2005, Mr John Briscoe, a senior advisor to the World Bank, warned the government of Pakistan that â the survival of a modern and growing Pakistan is threatened by (lack of) water. Pakistan has to invest and invest soon, in costly and contentious new large dams.
âPakistan has very little water storage capacity. The United States and Australia have over 5,000 cubic meters of storage capacity per inhabitant and China has 2,200 cubic meters, while Pakistan has only 150 cubic meters of storage capacity per capita.
âPakistan can barely store 30 days of water in the Indus basin. If something goes wrong with the hydraulic regime of the basin, Pakistan has no alternative to feed its agriculture. There is no latitude for errorâ.â The warning was indeed dire. According to IRSA, water storage in Pakistan has been reduced to half of what is needed.
In 2007, the World Bank again published a new study (Pakistan Infrastructure Implementation Capacity). According to the study, Pakistan is now one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. For perspective, this would appear as marginal and precarious as a few weeks Forex for imports or POL reserves for energy, with the only difference that the Indus Water Basin hydraulic regime, though severely under stress, has not snapped, not yet at least.
In 1997, while standing in the vicinity of a barbed fence on the Syrian-Israeli border on the outskirts of Quneitra, the Syrian Army Colonel briefing our visiting NDC group about the Israeli surveillance paraphernalia, atop Mount Avital on the Golan Heights, suddenly pointed northward towards Mount Hermon and shook us out of our wits by saying something which left a mark on everyone.
He said that the real reason why Syria will fight Israel for ever is the whiteness on the top there (a reference to the snow-peaked ridges) and the not the rocks below the whiteness. It is that source of water, he said, which supports the organised agricultural activity across the fence and the lack of which is causing all the bareness on the Syrian side.
Little wonder, then, that one aspect of the Syrian-Israeli dispute on the Golan Heights involves the existence, prior to 1967, of three different lines separating Syria from Israel (or, prior to 1948, from the British Mandate of Palestine, at least one of whichâi.e., the 1923 boundary between the British Mandate of Palestine and the French Mandate of Syriaâwas drawn with considerations of water resources in mind).
<b>To relate the above experience to our own region, the real danger is that the population of Pakistan is likely to exceed 220 million by the year 2020 and unless there is improvement in the water management strategy, the water storage capacity ratio, already at a low 150 cubic meters per inhabitant, will aggravate further. In the absence of any new dams, there would not be enough water to meet its basic needs.</b>
The load shedding and power outages situation, governmental pronouncements to the contrary notwithstanding, is unlikely to improve unless there is cheaper hydro electricity. Government revenues could plummet due to precipitous declines in agricultural and industrial production. Food prices could go through the roof and there could be insufficient funds to pay for imports. Vast areas could start to become depopulated, creating social unrest. The population below the poverty line will swell with consequential adverse effects on law and order.
There is no consolation in the thought that this ratio is more or less the same in the case of two of our neighbours, India and Afganistan. This, if anything, could further accentuate the threat of future instability in this region as mouths to feed exceed the croplands which support the population.
It should not be difficult for anyone with interest in military history to comprehend the full implications of the situation. It is worth mentioning that at one stage Britain seriously considered surrendering in 1943 when German U-boats in the western approaches critically disrupted her food imports. Since then, it has drained marshes and cut down fruit orchards and forests to raise crops and achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Rainfalls, another source of water, have unfortunately been the cause of much havoc in our cities and countryside all too often. Studies at the Stockholm Environment Institute have categorisd rain water as Green (65 percent) and Blue (35 percent). The Green water represents the fraction of rainfall that generates soil moisture and supports terrestrial ecosystem. It is not returned to the ground water and rivers, but eventually evaporates or transpires through plants. The 65 percent is further broken down into 4% absorbed by water bodies, 1 percent wetlands, 5 percent arid shrubs and barren lands, 26 percent forests, 20 percent Savannas and grasslands, and 9 percent taken in by croplands.
The Blue water represents the fraction that runs into rivers and aquifers and has a potential for withdrawal. Out of this the environmental water flow is the amount of water needed to sustain ecosystem services and is about 11 percent, while the rest of the blue water, about 24 percent, is available for possible societal use. As concerned citizens, we hope that the esteemed ministry of water and power will launch some intelligent initiatives where greater use can be made of the rain water in the decades ahead.
If Musharraf had only used all his bulldozing potential on building at least one large dam, rather than wasting his dictatorial advantage on the judiciary and other institutions, he might not, after all, has been such a reviled person in Pakistan, which he finds himself to be today. Consensus is an option only when there is flexibility in choices. In the matter of building large dams, we no longer have any room for dilly dallying. The moral and legal argument may be on the side of riparian, but the writing on the wall is against the country.
We now have representative government which can be expected to better understand such perils and garner grass root support for remedial measures. Can the present democratically elected rulers of the country, therefore, deliver where the past dictatorial regime failed? Judging by the current cacophony from Islamabad, with the president and the prime minister not even on the same sheet of music, the prospects of a futuristic water strategy, getting any decent or scant attention are not very bright.
The tragedy of Cassandraâs forebodings will, as such, continue to play out like other Greek tragedies and the gods smiling as usual.
<i>The write is a retired vice admiral and former vice chief of the Naval Staff. Email: tajkhattak@ymail.com</i>
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<b>Gul says IJI formed by ISI</b>
RAWALPINDI : The former chief of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General® Hameed Gul said ISI follows government directives and admitted that Islami Jamhoori Ittehad(IJI) was formed by ISI to created balance in the political scenario.
Talking to Geo News, Gul said ISI played a pivotal role in the formation of IJI after which Mian Nawaz Sharif emerged as a political leader.
He said Brigadier® Imtiaz had a meeting with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on my directives because there were reports spreading about dead bodies found in bags and extortion of money.
Gul said that he had already admitted that IJI had been formed to bring political balance; therefore, enquiry should be conducted in this connection instead of creating ambiguity.
Nawaz Sharif had emerged as a political leader after formation of IJI and also two-party system was also established which still exits. He denied the impression that any message conveyed to Altaf Hussain for the backing of leftist parties.
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08-26-2009, 03:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-26-2009, 03:32 AM by Naresh.)
<b>Forces ambushed in Balochistan, 7 killed in retaliation</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->JAFARABAD : Unknown armed miscreants ambushed security forces on Jarwar checkpost near Jafarabad and Sui areas late on Tuesday meanwhile, security forces claimed to have killed at least seven miscreants and arrested as many during retaliatory firing, Geo news reported.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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08-26-2009, 08:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-26-2009, 08:31 PM by Naresh.)
<b>Industrial sectorâs output falls 8.19pc</b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->
ISLAMABAD : <b>The large-scale industrial sector witnessed over 8.19 per cent decline in the fiscal year 2008-09 over the previous year,</b> according to Statistics Division data on Tuesday.
The sluggish growth in the sector is believed to be the outcome of deterioration which started some two years ago.
It was the worst performance of the sector for more than a decade, sources said.
A senior official told Dawn on Tuesday that energy shortage, tight or lack of financing, rising cost of doing business had hampered competitiveness of the locally manufactured products.
Although the government has allocated more than Rs80 billion subsidies for the textile and clothing sector under the textile policy, the policy is yet to be implemented.
The sluggish growth of the sector is clear from the fact that exports of textile and clothing sector witnessed more than nine per cent decline during the period under review.
According to the official, bad macro-economic indicators have further worsened the problem of the ailing industries. Over 25 per cent inflation, political instability, security threats and inefficient economic management of the government further added to the problems.
<b>Pakistanâs industrial policy is hovering around four industries âauto, sugar, textile and cement. All these industries reached the saturation point while the government is still pouring in taxpayersâ money in such sectors.</b>
Data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Statistics showed that production of cotton yarn declined by 0.04pc, power-looms by 30.6pc during the year 2008-09 over last year. However, cotton cloth growth recorded a marginal increase of 0.05 per cent during the year under review.
Among electrical appliances production, refrigerators recorded a negative growth of 7.05pc, deep-freezers 9.32pc, air-conditioners 52.99pc, bulbs 30.22pc, tubes 42.82pc, motors 14.53pc, meters 14pc, switch-gears 27.75pc, transformers 20.82pc, TV sets 44.90pc and bicycles 20.03pc during the period under review.
However, production of fans was up by 2.30 per cent in 2008-09 over last year. Pig iron production declined by 20.37pc, billets 32.38pc and HR sheet by 30.96pc during the year under review over last year. However, Pakistan Steel coke witnessed a hefty growth of 45.62pc during the period under review.
The production of vegetable ghee dipped by 7.30pc in 2008-09 over previous year. However, cooking oil production was up marginally 0.34pc during the period under review over last year.
In automobile sector, production of buses declined by 42.62pc, jeeps and cars by 48.74pc and motorcycles 13.77pc, respectively, during the period under review.
As these sectors and associated vendors provide scores of jobs, there are fears that if industries close down, it may lead to massive layoffs.
Industrial growth has been shrinking for the last three years as it grew by 5.4 per cent in the year 2007-08 down from 19.9pc growth recorded in the year 2004-05 owing to capacity constraints and high cost of doing business that resulted into closure of many units
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08-27-2009, 01:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-27-2009, 02:26 AM by Naresh.)
<b>Chief politicians embezzle donation money in Ishaq era</b> <!--emo& tupid--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pakee.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='pakee.gif' /><!--endemo-->
KARACHI : <b>According to the sworn undertaking of ISIâs former chief Lieutenant General (rtd) Asad Durrani, which he took before Supreme Court (SC) on July 24, 1994, that he was instructed in September 1990 by the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), the former General Mirza Aslam Baig for provision of Logistic Support to embezzle money donated for election preparations from some Karachi traders and use the same donation money for Islami Jamhuri Ittehad (IJI) party.</b>
Asad Durrani was told that the instructions to misappropriate donation money were backed by the then government of Pakistan, according to his affidavit statement before SC.
Subsequently, in pursuit of the instructions he received, he was forced to open some fake bank accounts in Karachi, Quetta and Rawalpindi while one donator from Karachi, by the name Younis Habib, deposited as much as 140 million rupees and the money from all accounts were transferred to other places according to the need for extension of logistic support to IJI party while the remaining money was transferred to a special fund, his sworn statement added.
His statement further added, Rs10 million were given to Mir Afzal in NWFP province, Rs3.5 million to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Punjab, Rs5.6 million to Lieutenant General (rtd) Rafaqat for advertisement on media, Rs5 million to Jamat-e-Islami, Rs1 million to Begum Abida Hussain, Rs0.5 million to Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq, Rs3.3 million to small groups, Rs5 million to Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi in Sindh, Rs5 million to Jam Sadiq, Rs2.5 million to Muhammad Khan Junejo, Rs2 million to Pir Pagara, Rs0.3 million to Molana Salahuddin, Rs5.4 million to small parties, Rs1.5 million to Humayun Muree, the son-in-law of Bugti, Rs4 million to Jamali, Rs1 million to Kakar, Rs0.7 million to Jam Yousuf, Rs0.5 million Bazinjo and Rs1 million were given to Nadir Mengal.
<b>It is pertinent to mention that the value in rupees of 12 grams of gold was Rs33 at the time when money was misappropriated while it stands at Rs29,000 today.</b>
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<b>Pakistan to sell $1 bln of bonds to settle fuel debt</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->KARACHI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - <b>Pakistan will sell 90 billion rupees ($1.09 billion) worth of bonds by Monday to pay off its entire energy debt,</b> a senior government official said on Thursday.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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<b>Threat of suicide attacks in Punjab Ramazan bazaars</b>
LAHORE : Home Department of Punjab has alerted the law enforcing agencies that suicide bombers of Baitullah Mehsud group can strike at Ramazan bazaars.
The law enforcing agencies have been directed in writing to ensure maximum security during Iftar hours.
The confirmation of Baitullah Mehsudâs death has increased the threat of terrorist activities including suicide bombings, the Home Department said.
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<b>Pakistani Govt fails to honour commitment</b>
<b>Beggars beggars everywhere in Pakistan</b>
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Obamaâs new exit strategy in Afghanistan
Friday August 21, 2009 (1635 PST)
While the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen hinted on Talibanâs effort to gain access to nuclear weapons for killing large bulk of Americans, the US and Nato allies in Afghanistan are trying to reach out to the second tier of the Taliban leadership.
In a briefing paper for President Barack Obama on the situation in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, the new US commander in Afghanistan, disagreed with those who say that no dialogue with the Taliban was possible. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the new head of Nato, said in an interview that he would support dialogue with âmoderate groups on the outer reaches of the Talibanâ. Rasmussenâs comments echoed British Foreign Secretary David Miliband advanced a more conciliatory tone on engaging with Taliban willing to renounce violence and embrace politics. Even the new commander of the British army, General Richards, had to concede the need for negotiations, believing that a negotiated settlement may be necessary to end the conflict.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington agrees with the British analysis of the way forward. Taking advantage from the developments/feedbacks by on-ground commanders & strategists, Obama Administrationâs new âexit strategyâ for Afghanistan makes a clear difference between al-Qaeda and the Taliban and while it seeks no reconciliation with al Qaeda, it recognises the Taliban as an important player in Afghanistanâs political affairs.
A strong need is felt to civilize the Taliban so Afghanistan is not âTalibanisedâ again.
Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat who heads the UN mission to Afghanistan gave an embarrassing analysis by suggesting the world body to help in delivering humanitarian aid in the Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan.
In order to have a better insight in the Pashtun society in Afghanistan, Taliban are classified into three categories: (a) the first tier consists of staunch and hard line Taliban commanders having their links to al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden said in 2006, âWe do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stand by ... a truce which offers security and stability and the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan which war has destroyed.â
The United States dismissed the offer, saying it âdoes not negotiate with terrorists.â Recently, al-Qaedaâs second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri had offered a conditional truce to President Obama during an interview with al Qaedaâs media arm As-sahab, posted on an Islamist website on August 3. This hardcore element must be crushed relentlessly.
(b)The second tier is considered susceptible to peace overtures because it comprises tribal leaders who joined the Taliban out of tribal loyalty and financial and political benefits and not for ideological commitment. © The third tier is the foot soldiers with no strong commitments as they are simply followers of their tribal leaders. They are not deeply ideological in nature or even politically motivated. Most are operating for pay; some are under a commanderâs charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders.
As part of the new strategy, 70,000 US and Nato troops had started âclearing the first tier of the Taliban leadershipâ comprising hardcore militants. US policy planners hope that doing so would not only eliminate the hard line Taliban fighters; it will also allow âthe second tierâ to come forward. The second tier is regarded as crucial because such local leaders control large numbers of Taliban fighters in Pashtun-dominated southern Afghanistan and appear willing to talk.
The most recent situation of Afghanistan is very grim as there are large swaths of the country where things are getting worse. All US media outlets, pointed out that July was the deadliest month for US-led forces in Afghanistan since 2001. Last month, 70 foreign troops - including 42 Americans - were killed in Afghanistan. Six more US soldiers were killed on the first two days of August.
The reports warn that casualty toll is expected to remain high as US troops attempt to reclaim territory from the Taliban. With the latest killing, the number of western troops killed since the conquest of Afghanistan had risen to 1100 mark. Many Nato members had begun to lose faith in the mission and one by one they have begun making plans to pull out.
The Dutch are expected to recall their soldiers from Afghanistan next year and Canada is debating a 2011 pullout.
Meanwhile, Great Britainâs role in the conflict had come under fire at home after 22 soldiers were killed during fighting last month alone. It is concluded that the international effort in Afghanistan since 2001 had delivered much less than it promised and that its impact had been significantly diluted by the absence of a unified vision and strategy grounded in the realities of Afghanistanâs history, culture and politics. The recently concluded report on the âGlobal Security: Afghanistan and Pakistanâ says that drone attacks by US forces in Pakistan have âdamaged the American reputation. Many European countries including Germany and Italy have been reluctant, citing public opposition to greater involvement in the country.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, facing a re-election challenge later this month, has repeatedly called for talks with Taliban leaders on condition that the militants accept Afghanistanâs constitution.
Karzai has even guaranteed safe passage for Omar if he attends such talks. Omar has dismissed the overtures, calling him an American puppet and saying no talks can happen while foreign troops are in the country.
President Karzai even with the support of 53,000 foreign troops (23,000 US troops under US command, 30,000 US, British, and other troops in ISAF - the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force), has failed to gain foothold in the Taliban areas and in fact is restricted to the capital only. Despite the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001, the US-led allied forces had failed to uproot the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. The US, Nato and Afghan forces have not been able to control more than 30% of Afghanistan with all the resources and gadgets at their disposal.
While reviewing US exit strategy in Afghanistan, President Obama is considering the possibility of negotiations with the elements of the insurgents. A face saving formula may involve creation of conditions whereby Nato and the US can claim âvictoryâ. This will not be a victory where the enemy is completely vanquished. The experience has shown that neither a Taliban re-conquest of Afghanistan is likely, nor can the Taliban be crushed in the foreseeable future. It will, rather, be a far more realistic victory given the present circumstances. Terming the negotiations as an option âworth exploringâ US must initiate talks with the Taliban element immediately and then set a deadline for US and Nato troops withdrawal. The various recommendations of the on-ground commanders and policy-makers should be incorporated to plan a viable exit strategy, keeping in mind the unaffordability of maintaining thousands of Nato/Isaf troops in Afghanistan for the times to come.
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