11-24-2006, 03:51 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>SUCH GUP </b>
 FTÂ
<b>Writerâs block</b>
Now that autobiographies are all the rage, Big Ben was asked if she was planning a sequel to her book. âNoâ she said, âmy story isnât over yetâ. Meanwhile, in Delhi, <b>Arundhati Roy is working on her second novel</b>. After her first Booker Prize winning bestseller, âGod of Small Thingsâ, <b>her second novel is eagerly awaited across the world.</b>Â Â <!--emo&:eager--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/lmaosmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='lmaosmiley.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Cat and mouse</b>
The British prime minister Tony Blair made a flying visit to Pakistan recently. He landed in Isloo, while the real PM was in Lahore so the latter was not on hand to receive his guest. Mr Blair then came to Lahore to parley with the real PM<b>. Why they had to play cat and mouse had to do with security, we hear. Our mole reports that the Brits didnât want to tell the Paks where Mr Blair would land, except at the eleventh hour. Apparently, this is the form for all high profile foreign visitors now, because our VIP guests donât trust our security arrangements. </b>
<b>Mother of all concessions</b>
The young and hyper min for investment has gone and done it again. After obtaining a great sweetheart deal for a foreign business group masquerading as Mercedes-Benz, the min has now got the mother of all concessions for a Pakistani-American businessman. The min got the gent a one-on-one meeting with the real PM and Shortcut where the Pak-American businessman made some very tall claims, we hear. Sources say he promised to provide hundreds of megawatts of power for the country, âin a matter of months, operational by the summer of 2007â. Naturally, the real PM and Shortcut were skeptical about this tall claim but being desperate for power as we are, they gave the man a hearing. Our mole reports the min pleaded his friendâs case very convincingly and the real PM agreed that the deed had to be done and all red tape cut to facilitate the Pak-American. Within a fortnight, sources say, all permissions were granted and the project was ready to go. Go nowhere, as it turned out. Islooâs goss is that the Pak-American businessman has no hardware to speak of and is now trying to offload the permissions he has so swiftly gained from the powers-that-be. We hear he has approached various business houses in the field to take the project off him.
+++++
<b>Nuggets from the Urdu press </b>
Serving cause of din and mumliqat
Writing in Daily Pakistan, Maulana Abdul Majid Salik wrote a feature on Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan, emphasising that he wanted an independent foreign policy. He told Americans on a visit that Pakistanis donât accept either capitalism or communism; their lives revolve around the great principles of Islam. It is because of Liaqat Ali Khan that Americans starting believing that Islam has solutions for all the problems inherent in capitalism and communism. So Khan served the cause of din (religion) and mumliqat (republic) on his visit to America. He passed the Pakistan Resolution in the national assembly, which showed his commitment to Islam.
<b>Cricket fans smuggle heroin to India</b>
According to daily Jang, the anti-narcotics force raided a private university and recovered one kilogramme of heroin. The students, who belonged to middle class families, were going to India on a study tour and to watch cricket matches. The university administration locked the campus and ran away when they heard the news of the arrest of the students at Wahga. <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â The ANF is investigating the contacts of these students in Pakistan and India.
<b>14 killed on moon sighting</b>
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt two groups, Lashkar-e-Islam of Pir Saifullah and Ansar ul Islam of Mufti Muneer Shakir, clashed over the announcement of Eid on Monday by the NWFP government. The violent clash left 14 dead in the Khyber agency. The two groups have fought holy wars over disagreement on issues of Sharia.
Stage dances popular with viewers
According to daily Khabrain, Saima Khan said that her performances are in great demand; that is why directors and producers are following her and begging her to perform in their productions. She would continue her âmission,â and as she is in good books of officers, she is not afraid of anyone. The walls of the jails are not so high that she cannot climb over them.
<b>Girls gang rape a local boy in Faisalabad</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
As reported in Daily Pakistan, girls in a white car abducted a 16 year old truck cleaner and injected him with drugs and then raped him. They left the boy in an unconscious condition by the roadside. The boy told the police that the girls gave him a lift and then took him to an unknown place. Then they got him drunk and injected him with some drugs. Then they started biting him and raped him so much that he became unconscious. The police claim that it is third incident in the same locality in Faisalabad.Â
<b>Sarhad maulvis can see invisible things</b>
In daily Express, senior columnist Hameed Akhtar wrote that the moon first showed itself to a number of people in the NWFP, who can see invisible things. Then next day, the moon showed itself to Maulana Fazal ur Rehman in his constituency of DI Khan. The rest of the country got to see the moon on Tuesday. He said there were a few people who saw the moon 72 hours earlier than the most powerful space telescopes. Eid was announced by a senior minister of MMA in NWFP. He said if these mullahs got the control of country, we can well imagine the fate of innocent Muslims who would be at their mercy. He said we might disagree with Pervez Musharraf, but have to agree with him that if ever these religious zealot groups came to power, they can destroy the country.
<b>Only promises for earthquake victims</b>
As reported in daily Khabrain, the majority of institutions who pledged money for the government scheme of âadopt-a-familyâ havenât fulfilled their promises. The Punjab police pledged to support 1,000 families at the rate of Rs 72,000 per family per year, but it didnât deposit any money. The Lahore chamber of commerce commited to supporting 500 families and so had to deposit Rs 36,000,000, but has only deposited Rs 1,600,000. The Faisalabad chamber of commerse committed itself to 500 families but deposited only Rs 3,600,000. The Sailkot and Multan chambers of commerce didnât deposit anything.
<b>Daniel Pearl was executed by Khalid Sheikh</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, American officials stated that Daniel Pearl was killed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted and sentenced to death by a court in Pakistan for the murder of Daniel Pearl. Time magazine also reported that President Musharraf wrote in his book that the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh, had a hand in the murder of Daniel Pearl. The American FBI team saw the film of the murder of Daniel Pearl and concluded that he was beheaded by Khalid Sheikh.
<b>Swiss donât believe in life after death</b>
As reported in daily Khabrain, only 14 percent of the population of Switzerland believes in life after death. 25 percent of the population doesnât believe in life after death and another 25 percent said it doesnât know the answer. According to a Protestant publicationâs survey, only 13.7 people said they would go to paradise. Nine percent believed in new life on this earth.
<b>Only 38 people saw moon in NWFP</b>
In daily Nawa-i-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique said while that the total population of NWFP is more that two crores, the shahadat of only 38 people was held above the opinion of the Astrology department, Sparco, and relevant experts. Maulana Fazl ur Rehman should investigate religious minister Maulana Amanullah Haqani. Why was the zonal committee of Peshawar forced upon the whole province?
<b>American agenda</b>
Sarerahe wrote in daily Nawa-i-Waqt that Alim-e-din Allama Mumtaz Awan, said the division of Muslims on Eid was a part of an American agenda. If two brothers are fighting on a property dispute, then one must assume that it is a part of an American agenda. Earning 100 percent profit in Ramadan, selling fake medicines and adulterated food items is also part of an American agenda. <b>Only family planning has remained outside the American agenda</b>. For more than fifty years we couldnât reform our police department because of American agenda.
<b>Islamic revolution</b>
Columnist Khurshid Nadeem opined in daily Jang that the senior minister of NWFP, Siraj ul Haq has resigned from the provincial assembly. Siraj ul Haq has stated that he wanted to concentrate on his efforts for an Islamic revolution in NWFP. Khurshid Nadeem wrote that according to Maulana Maudoodi, the way of Islamic revolution is the taking control of the state machinery by the salaheen (pious elders). The question is, if the clerical alliance has control over the state in NWFP, why doesnât it try to bring the fruits of Islamic revolution to the people lower down the ladder? If they want to leave the present government and work for revolution; would that new revolution be any different from the present government?
<b>Rocket attacks on President Musharraf</b>
According to Daily Pakistan, the culprits involved in the plan to attack the residence of President Pervez Musharraf with rockets included a son of a retired Brigadier of the Pakistan Army. The IG Islamabad, Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry, said all three terrorists were educated and that one was an engineer who was trained in building circuits. One rocket was fired near Ayub Park, close to the residence of Pervez Musharraf and three more rockets were found closer by. Another two rockets were found near the National Assembly and two were found close to ISI headquarters. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said they wanted to fire all the rockets at the same time, but only one rocket exploded.
<b>Jihad, shortcut to paradise!</b>
According to daily Jang, Maulana Abdur Rehman Ludhianvi of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees said that Jihad (holy war) and Qatal (murder on mass scale) is a guarantor of honor and of the survival of Muslims, while addressing a congregation in Jama Masjid, Lahore Cantt. He said Jihad is the shortest route to paradise. Every Muslim shall become a mujahid and work for the dominance of Islam. The worth of the last ten days of Ramadan shall be realised and utilised to appease God.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
 FTÂ
<b>Writerâs block</b>
Now that autobiographies are all the rage, Big Ben was asked if she was planning a sequel to her book. âNoâ she said, âmy story isnât over yetâ. Meanwhile, in Delhi, <b>Arundhati Roy is working on her second novel</b>. After her first Booker Prize winning bestseller, âGod of Small Thingsâ, <b>her second novel is eagerly awaited across the world.</b>Â Â <!--emo&:eager--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/lmaosmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='lmaosmiley.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Cat and mouse</b>
The British prime minister Tony Blair made a flying visit to Pakistan recently. He landed in Isloo, while the real PM was in Lahore so the latter was not on hand to receive his guest. Mr Blair then came to Lahore to parley with the real PM<b>. Why they had to play cat and mouse had to do with security, we hear. Our mole reports that the Brits didnât want to tell the Paks where Mr Blair would land, except at the eleventh hour. Apparently, this is the form for all high profile foreign visitors now, because our VIP guests donât trust our security arrangements. </b>
<b>Mother of all concessions</b>
The young and hyper min for investment has gone and done it again. After obtaining a great sweetheart deal for a foreign business group masquerading as Mercedes-Benz, the min has now got the mother of all concessions for a Pakistani-American businessman. The min got the gent a one-on-one meeting with the real PM and Shortcut where the Pak-American businessman made some very tall claims, we hear. Sources say he promised to provide hundreds of megawatts of power for the country, âin a matter of months, operational by the summer of 2007â. Naturally, the real PM and Shortcut were skeptical about this tall claim but being desperate for power as we are, they gave the man a hearing. Our mole reports the min pleaded his friendâs case very convincingly and the real PM agreed that the deed had to be done and all red tape cut to facilitate the Pak-American. Within a fortnight, sources say, all permissions were granted and the project was ready to go. Go nowhere, as it turned out. Islooâs goss is that the Pak-American businessman has no hardware to speak of and is now trying to offload the permissions he has so swiftly gained from the powers-that-be. We hear he has approached various business houses in the field to take the project off him.
+++++
<b>Nuggets from the Urdu press </b>
Serving cause of din and mumliqat
Writing in Daily Pakistan, Maulana Abdul Majid Salik wrote a feature on Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan, emphasising that he wanted an independent foreign policy. He told Americans on a visit that Pakistanis donât accept either capitalism or communism; their lives revolve around the great principles of Islam. It is because of Liaqat Ali Khan that Americans starting believing that Islam has solutions for all the problems inherent in capitalism and communism. So Khan served the cause of din (religion) and mumliqat (republic) on his visit to America. He passed the Pakistan Resolution in the national assembly, which showed his commitment to Islam.
<b>Cricket fans smuggle heroin to India</b>
According to daily Jang, the anti-narcotics force raided a private university and recovered one kilogramme of heroin. The students, who belonged to middle class families, were going to India on a study tour and to watch cricket matches. The university administration locked the campus and ran away when they heard the news of the arrest of the students at Wahga. <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â The ANF is investigating the contacts of these students in Pakistan and India.
<b>14 killed on moon sighting</b>
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt two groups, Lashkar-e-Islam of Pir Saifullah and Ansar ul Islam of Mufti Muneer Shakir, clashed over the announcement of Eid on Monday by the NWFP government. The violent clash left 14 dead in the Khyber agency. The two groups have fought holy wars over disagreement on issues of Sharia.
Stage dances popular with viewers
According to daily Khabrain, Saima Khan said that her performances are in great demand; that is why directors and producers are following her and begging her to perform in their productions. She would continue her âmission,â and as she is in good books of officers, she is not afraid of anyone. The walls of the jails are not so high that she cannot climb over them.
<b>Girls gang rape a local boy in Faisalabad</b> <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
As reported in Daily Pakistan, girls in a white car abducted a 16 year old truck cleaner and injected him with drugs and then raped him. They left the boy in an unconscious condition by the roadside. The boy told the police that the girls gave him a lift and then took him to an unknown place. Then they got him drunk and injected him with some drugs. Then they started biting him and raped him so much that he became unconscious. The police claim that it is third incident in the same locality in Faisalabad.Â
<b>Sarhad maulvis can see invisible things</b>
In daily Express, senior columnist Hameed Akhtar wrote that the moon first showed itself to a number of people in the NWFP, who can see invisible things. Then next day, the moon showed itself to Maulana Fazal ur Rehman in his constituency of DI Khan. The rest of the country got to see the moon on Tuesday. He said there were a few people who saw the moon 72 hours earlier than the most powerful space telescopes. Eid was announced by a senior minister of MMA in NWFP. He said if these mullahs got the control of country, we can well imagine the fate of innocent Muslims who would be at their mercy. He said we might disagree with Pervez Musharraf, but have to agree with him that if ever these religious zealot groups came to power, they can destroy the country.
<b>Only promises for earthquake victims</b>
As reported in daily Khabrain, the majority of institutions who pledged money for the government scheme of âadopt-a-familyâ havenât fulfilled their promises. The Punjab police pledged to support 1,000 families at the rate of Rs 72,000 per family per year, but it didnât deposit any money. The Lahore chamber of commerce commited to supporting 500 families and so had to deposit Rs 36,000,000, but has only deposited Rs 1,600,000. The Faisalabad chamber of commerse committed itself to 500 families but deposited only Rs 3,600,000. The Sailkot and Multan chambers of commerce didnât deposit anything.
<b>Daniel Pearl was executed by Khalid Sheikh</b>
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, American officials stated that Daniel Pearl was killed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted and sentenced to death by a court in Pakistan for the murder of Daniel Pearl. Time magazine also reported that President Musharraf wrote in his book that the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh, had a hand in the murder of Daniel Pearl. The American FBI team saw the film of the murder of Daniel Pearl and concluded that he was beheaded by Khalid Sheikh.
<b>Swiss donât believe in life after death</b>
As reported in daily Khabrain, only 14 percent of the population of Switzerland believes in life after death. 25 percent of the population doesnât believe in life after death and another 25 percent said it doesnât know the answer. According to a Protestant publicationâs survey, only 13.7 people said they would go to paradise. Nine percent believed in new life on this earth.
<b>Only 38 people saw moon in NWFP</b>
In daily Nawa-i-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique said while that the total population of NWFP is more that two crores, the shahadat of only 38 people was held above the opinion of the Astrology department, Sparco, and relevant experts. Maulana Fazl ur Rehman should investigate religious minister Maulana Amanullah Haqani. Why was the zonal committee of Peshawar forced upon the whole province?
<b>American agenda</b>
Sarerahe wrote in daily Nawa-i-Waqt that Alim-e-din Allama Mumtaz Awan, said the division of Muslims on Eid was a part of an American agenda. If two brothers are fighting on a property dispute, then one must assume that it is a part of an American agenda. Earning 100 percent profit in Ramadan, selling fake medicines and adulterated food items is also part of an American agenda. <b>Only family planning has remained outside the American agenda</b>. For more than fifty years we couldnât reform our police department because of American agenda.
<b>Islamic revolution</b>
Columnist Khurshid Nadeem opined in daily Jang that the senior minister of NWFP, Siraj ul Haq has resigned from the provincial assembly. Siraj ul Haq has stated that he wanted to concentrate on his efforts for an Islamic revolution in NWFP. Khurshid Nadeem wrote that according to Maulana Maudoodi, the way of Islamic revolution is the taking control of the state machinery by the salaheen (pious elders). The question is, if the clerical alliance has control over the state in NWFP, why doesnât it try to bring the fruits of Islamic revolution to the people lower down the ladder? If they want to leave the present government and work for revolution; would that new revolution be any different from the present government?
<b>Rocket attacks on President Musharraf</b>
According to Daily Pakistan, the culprits involved in the plan to attack the residence of President Pervez Musharraf with rockets included a son of a retired Brigadier of the Pakistan Army. The IG Islamabad, Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry, said all three terrorists were educated and that one was an engineer who was trained in building circuits. One rocket was fired near Ayub Park, close to the residence of Pervez Musharraf and three more rockets were found closer by. Another two rockets were found near the National Assembly and two were found close to ISI headquarters. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said they wanted to fire all the rockets at the same time, but only one rocket exploded.
<b>Jihad, shortcut to paradise!</b>
According to daily Jang, Maulana Abdur Rehman Ludhianvi of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees said that Jihad (holy war) and Qatal (murder on mass scale) is a guarantor of honor and of the survival of Muslims, while addressing a congregation in Jama Masjid, Lahore Cantt. He said Jihad is the shortest route to paradise. Every Muslim shall become a mujahid and work for the dominance of Islam. The worth of the last ten days of Ramadan shall be realised and utilised to appease God.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->