Pakistan : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Rep Pakistan 6

[Guest]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/309039/The-tragedy-of-Salman-Taseer.html"]The tragedy of Salman Taseer[/url]

Ashok Malik

Despite all his compromise with Pakistan's bazaar intellectualism it took one commonsensical statement for an Islamist to kill him

Depending on which military strongman comes to rule it and when, Pakistan may or may not become a stable state at some stage in the next five or 10 years. Yet, can it ever become a stable nation, at least one in the conceivable future? A stable nation is built of a middle class that has a stake in it, defines and constructs it in its image, and creates civic spaces to nurture freedom of personal thought and choice. Savaged by the brutalisation of two Afghan wars, both of which injected toxic doses of Islamism into its bloodstream, Pakistan’s nation-building project is all but dead. Even if it one day defeats Islamist terrorism, it cannot seriously hope to survive as anything but an Islamist society. That is the poignant truth Salman Taseer has taken to his grave.

[Guest]

[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110108/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_pakistan_aid"]Report: US to increase help for Pakistan[/url]

WASHINGTON – The Washington Post is reporting that the Obama administration has decided to increase military, intelligence and financial support for Pakistan and intensify U.S. efforts to foster regional peace.



Officials told the newspaper that the decision was made in last month's White House Afghanistan war review and will be delivered by Vice President Joe Biden when he travels to Pakistan next week for meetings with military chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and other top government leaders.



The decision to intensify support for Pakistan marks the administration's effort to call the bluff of Pakistani officials who have routinely complained that the United States doesn't understand Pakistan's security priorities or give enough support.

<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Guest]

[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110109/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestreligionblasphemyprotest_20110109160244"]Thousands rally over blasphemy law in Pakistan[/url]

KARACHI (AFP) – More than 50,000 people rallied in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi on Sunday, police said, against the controversial reform of a blasphemy law that was behind the killing of a senior politician.



Religious groups blocked a main thoroughfare in Karachi's teeming metropolis holding banners in support of the police commando who shot dead Punjab governor Salman Taseer on Tuesday over his views favouring an amendment of the law.



Taseer had called for reform of the blasphemy law that was recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death. But his outspoken liberal stance offended the country's increasingly powerful conservative religious base.



"Mumtaz Qadri is not a murderer, he is a hero," said one banner in the national Urdu language in support of the man who carried out Pakistan's most high-profile political killing in three years.

"We salute the courage of Qadri," said another.

Okay, got it ! you want more US Aid.

[Naresh]

.

[url="http://tribune.com.pk/story/102731/suicide-attack-in-bannu/"]Suicide attack in Bannu kills 20[/url]



BANNU : A suicide attack at a police station in the Meeryan area of Bannu district killed 20 people, on Wednesday.



Express 24/7 correspondent, Iftikhar Firdous said that officials had confirmed that the attack came as a result of a suicide bomber ramming an explosive laden vehicle into the police station. Police personnel were offering prayers at the time of the attack.



The police station was completely destroyed and the mosque has also been damaged, with worshippers trapped under the rubble.



Hospital sources confirmed the death of eight people, while official sources at the site said that 20 people had been killed as a result of the blast.



Sources also said that a number of police personnel were present inside the police station when the attack took place and a large number of casualties are feared.



The area is a highly sensitive zone, as it leads to North Waziristan and has seen a number of military operations taking place during the last few months.



Earlier in the day, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off on the Punjagi road in Peshawar claiming the lives of two and injuring seven other people.



Cheers

[Naresh]

.



Here's to the Pakistani Port of Gwadar!



[URL="http://www.chinasignpost.com/2010/12/still-a-pipedream-a-pakistan-to-china-rail-corridor-is-not-a-substitute-for-maritime-transport/"]Still a Pipedream : A Pakistan-to-China rail corridor is not a substitute for maritime transport[/URL]



The recent flurry of trade deals and MOUs (worth US$35 billion) signed during Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent visit to Pakistan have brought the possibility of a more robust Pakistan-to-China transport corridor back into the spotlight. The trade deals stand to drive increased economic activity by Chinese companies in Pakistan in coming years.



However, our assessment is that while the trade and investment agreements may help cement an “all weather” alliance between Beijing and Islamabad, they do not mean that an all weather transport corridor becomes viable. An expanded road and rail network linking Pakistan to China faces three key challenges. The bottom line is that maritime shipping routes will remain a cheaper, simpler, and more secure option for moving crude oil and other goods into China.



1) Security. The proposed transport corridor would go through areas that are subject to flooding and insurgent activity, as well as avalanches, landslides, and seismic activity in the Karakoram Range. If any of these disruptive events materializes, rail and road traffic cannot re-route around the trouble point the way that ships at sea can.



2) Capacity. A modern one-track rail line in the United States can currently handle around 16 trains per day, according to Cambridge Systematics. A Pakistan-to China rail corridor would likely be built with one track each way, but with reduced throughput of around 12 trains per day. U.S. freight trains carried an average of 2,800 tonnes of cargo in 2004, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Trains transiting the Khunjerab Pass would likely carry smaller loads, perhaps 2,000 tonnes, due to the large vertical gradient. With these train frequency and load parameters, the corridor would be able to handle 8.75 million tonnes of cargo per year, or approximately 175,000 barrels of oil per day if all the trains carried oil.



To move the volumes that would be necessary to make this route able to handle enough cargo to reduce sea transport reliance measurably, there would need to be a rail setup with 3 or 4 lines. Furthermore, bringing that much cargo into Western China’s rail network and then having to move it into industrial areas in the central and eastern regions would likely necessitate additional capacity expansions of the national rail system. These investments would likely be cost-prohibitive.



3) High construction and transport costs. The tariffs needed to pay off the finance costs of the route and move freight over a 15,000 foot vertical relief would likely make the cost highly uncompetitive with sea routes. The roughly 2,000 km-long Qingzang railway to Lhasa, Tibet cost roughly US$4 billion to build (US$1.85 million per km). [COLOR="Red"]The cost per km to build a rail line connecting Islamabad and Kashgar could be several times more expensive to build given the tough geologic and political circumstances along the route.[/COLOR]



In terms of transport costs, we estimate that moving a barrel of oil by sea to Shanghai at a ship rate of US$75,000 per day at 23 km per hour with a 2 million barrel cargo costs around US$0.90 per barrel, while moving it by barge upriver to the rapidly-growing inland demand center of Chongqing would cost an additional US$1.23 per barrel, for a total transport cost of US$2.22 per barrel (Exhibit 1). [COLOR="Red"]In contrast, moving oil from Ras al-Tanura to Gwadar and then by rail into the heartland of China would likely cost closer to US$8.00 to US$12.40 per barrel, making that route economically uncompetitive, as well as limited in capacity.[1]The disparity would be slightly greater for major cities on China’s east coast.[/COLOR]



Exhibit 1: Estimated costs of moving oil to Chongqing, China from the Persian Gulf by sea and via Pakistan



U.S. Dollars per barrel



[CENTER][/CENTER]



Source: BNSF Railway, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, NBS, ND Petroleum Council, China SignPostâ„¢



In short, there are compelling reasons why sea transport has been dominant for so long. To even build a Pakistan-to-China rail corridor would require massive upfront investments, would be economically uncompetitive relative to sea routes, and due to the many physical and political risks along the route, commercial shippers would likely be highly reluctant to use it.



Andrew Erickson and Gabriel Collins,[URL="http://http://www.chinasignpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/China-Signpost_1__Chinas-Oil-Supply-Future-is-Maritime_2010-05-26.pdf"]“Oversea Trumps Overland: The Strategic Trajectory of China’s Oil Imports,” [/URL]



China SignPostâ„¢, No. 1 (May 26, 2010).



[URL="http://www.andrewerickson.com/2010/03/china%E2%80%99s-oil-security-pipe-dream-the-reality-and-strategic-consequences-of-seaborne-imports/."]“China’s Oil Security Pipe Dream: The Reality, and Strategic Consequences, of Seaborne Imports,”[/URL] Naval War College Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 88-111



Cheers

[Naresh]

.

[size="4"]The storm ahead[/size]



[url="http://www.thefridaytimes.com/14012011/page4.shtml"][center][size="7"][color="#006400"]The future of the economy[/color][/size][/center][/url]



[color="#4B0082"]Safiya Aftab[/color]



[color="#0000FF"]The government, which appears rattled by the unmasking of an aggressive popular mood, is already using economic policy in a partial attempt to appease[/color]



The 4th of January 2011 may just become one of the more significant dates in Pakistan’s history. To the less optimistic amongst us (and that number is increasing day by day) it marks [color="#FF0000"]what may well be the “tipping point.”[/color] A mindset that was deemed to be dangerous and destructive, but limited to a small number, actually appears to have permeated every layer of society. The assassination of Salmaan Taseer has exposed the cleavages in Pakistani society, which at the moment seem insurmountable.



That Pakistan’s society stands ever more deeply divided and hostile, at a time when the economy is going through a bad patch, is not good news. The government, which appears rattled by the unmasking of an aggressive popular mood, is already using economic policy in a partial attempt to appease. Two days after the Governor’s murder, soon after attending his funeral, the Prime Minister announced a reversal of the fuel price hike that had gone into effect on 1 Jan, bringing prices down to 31 October 2010 levels. The PM then made a visit to 90 Azizabad, and succeeded in winning back the support of at least one former coalition partner who had deserted the government on the issue of the fuel price hike.



On RGST, the government is silent for the moment, and is probably not going to raise the issue for another month or so. By March, when the budget process begins in earnest, the bill will have to be presented in Parliament if the government has any intention of imposing the tax and successfully completing the IMF SBA. In any event, there will be no new tax until the next fiscal year.



The federal government’s tax revenues for the first five months of the current fiscal year amounted to Rs 500 billion according to the State Bank’s data, 28 percent of the target of Rs 1.8 trillion for the year. Collection this year was, in fact, 8.7 percent higher than the corresponding period in 2009, in spite of the fact that impacts of the floods were supposed to have kicked in by November. Last year also, about 30 percent of the tax target had been collected by November. This is a good performance on the part of the revenue collection agencies, but with no RGST and a reduction in taxes accruing from the sale of petroleum products, tax collection is likely to fall short of the ambitious target set for the year.



Total expenditure was controlled in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to last year, at Rs 629 billion compared to Rs 636 billion for the same period in FY2010. The most obvious difference was in development expenditure, which was curtailed because of the floods, [color="#FF0000"]and came to just Rs 62.7 billion for the period from July to September 2010,[/color] compared to Rs 108 billion for the same period last year. Defense expenditure increased slightly, from Rs 86 billion for the first three months of FY2010 to [color="#FF0000"]Rs 93 billion for the first three months of the current fiscal.[/color] The figures for the second quarter are not yet out, but expenditure is likely to have gone up substantially with Watan Card compensation payments to flood victims alone coming to over Rs 27 billion (1.3 million cards have been activated according to NADRA, and a payment of Rs 20,000 should have gone out against each). The extent of the government’s borrowing from the State Bank over the first five months of the current fiscal (Rs 1.8 billion a day) points to the fiscal crunch. The borrowing from the central bank in turn is almost certainly fueling the inflationary trend, with year end figures likely to top 15 percent.



Industrial production was not doing too well even before the impact of the floods set in, [color="#FF0000"]with growth in large scale manufacturing recorded at -2.8 percent for the period from July to October.[/color] Textile production in particular has taken a hit with production falling by 10 percent compared to the same period last year. And with the energy supply crisis worsening over the winter months, the sector can hardly show significant recovery.



In the midst of all this domestic gloom, the external sector is doing better than expected. Total exports have amounted to $9 billion dollars for the first five months of the year compared to $7 billion in the previous year, with textiles, doing well on the back of a recovery in FY2010. The current account deficit for the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year was 40 percent lower than the previous year, helped also by the continued strength of foreign remittances. Foreign investment, on the other hand, was down by 28 percent compared to the previous year by November 2010. Flows from western countries were particularly slow, but China and Hong Kong combined brought in almost $90 million of FDI in the first five months of FY2011. Perhaps buoyed by this news, as well as the stability of foreign exchange reserves at over $15 billion, the stock market made a recovery in 2010. The KSE-100 closed at over 12,000 points at the end of 2010, compared to just over 9000 in 2009, and has maintained its position in spite of the upheavals of the first week of January.



There is still half the fiscal year to go, and things could go either way. Export growth typically takes place after a lag and is linked to production in the previous year. This may have run its course, or may still sustain for the next few months. The commodity producing sectors won’t do well this year, but services may show reasonable growth, particularly if reconstruction efforts gain momentum. It will not be a high growth year, but a stable performance in even one major sector (probably services) would be a blessing.



In the larger context though, it’s hard to see how an increasingly beleaguered government facing an alarmingly angry citizenry will be able to implement tough policy decisions. The about-turn on the fuel price does not bode well and shows policy inconsistency. If the government wanted to provide relief, it should have done so by reviewing the tax structure on petroleum products rather than tampering with the mechanism of price determination by announcing arbitrary changes. It will also be interesting to see how it deals with the RGST. If the socio-political atmosphere vitiates further, bringing in the tax will be impossible. The government should at least start a debate on new direct taxes, most notably one on agricultural income. This will earn it a few brownie points amongst the masses, but more importantly may become inevitable in the medium term.



The writer is an analyst with Strategic and Economic Policy Research (Pvt) Ltd



Cheers

[Guest]

Yet to see Pakistan's tunnel plan, digging tunnel under India. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />



Don't worry about Paki's economy, they just have to organize couple of street demonstration and west will pour in money.

I think, it will be difficult for US to shed money with new Congress. Now China should take responsibility pampering spoil brat.

[Naresh]

.



Gwadar anyone?



[url="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8259551/China-strikes-deal-with-Burma-to-guarantee-oil-supply.html"]China strikes deal with Burma to guarantee oil supply[/url]



China has put the final piece of its energy supply jigsaw in place, signing a deal with Burma that will make it impossible to choke off Beijing's oil supply.



In a move that was described as a "golden bridge of friendship", Burma's ruling junta has given Beijing permission to build and operate a wharf on Burma's west coast to receive tankers arriving from Africa and the Middle East and then pump their cargo overland to southern China.



The new facility, at the deep sea port at Kyauk Phyu, is the culmination of decades of planning by Beijing to safeguard its energy supply.



Currently, as much as 80 per cent of China's imported oil and gas is forced to pass through the Strait of Malacca, a narrow bottleneck between Malaysia and Indonesia.



With an Indian naval base on the Andaman and Nicobar islands at the mouth of the straits, and with a large US Navy presence in the region, China has fretted for years that its trade and energy routes are vulnerable to a blockade.



Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, warned in 2003 that some "big countries" were attempting to "control the transportation channel at Malacca".



In response, China has crafted a strategy known as the "string of pearls", a chain of naval bases across the Indian Ocean that could protect its tankers in case of emergency. These bases include Gwadar in Pakistan, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Hambantota in Sri Lanka.



In addition, China has patiently courted the Burmese junta, sending an estimated £800 million worth of tanks, fighter jets and weapons to its southern neighbour during the 1990s to prop up the regime.



After signing a trade agreement in 1988, China has also helped to rebuild Burma's roads and railways and even sent People's Liberation Army advisers to provide guidance and expertise.



Last year, Hu Jintao pledged unconditional support to the Burmese regime, telling Than Shwe, one of Burma's most senior generals, that China's policy "will remain unchanged regardless of changes of the international situation".



In return, the Burmese junta has granted access to its rich natural resources and is now allowing China to make use of Burma's key geographical position on the Indian Ocean.



After China's tankers reach the deep sea port at Kyauk Phyu, oil and gas will be pumped through twin 500-mile pipelines to the province of Yunnan. The station will be operated by China National Petroleum Corporation, the country's largest oil company, and Qingdao Port, the ninth-largest port operator in the world.



The pipelines, which are already under construction, should be able to carry a daily maximum of 440,000 barrels of oil and 400 billion cubic feet of gas when they are completed in 2013.



In addition, China plans to build thousands of miles of new railways to connect the southern Chinese city of Kunming with ports across Burma and South East Asia, including Yangon, the former Burmese capital. Not only will China's partnership with Burma help safeguard its own energy supply, but it will also give Beijing a key strategic advantage over Japan and South Korea, who also rely on the Strait of Malacca for part of their energy supplies.



Cheers

[Guest]

[url="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2011/01/mullah_omar_treated_for_heart.html?hpid=news-col-blog"]Report: Pakistani spy agency rushed Mullah Omar to hospital[/url]

Mullah Omar, the elusive, one-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban, had a heart attack Jan. 7 and was treated for several days in a Karachi hospital with the help of Pakistan's spy agency, according to a private intelligence network run by former CIA, State Department and military officers.



The intelligence network, operating under the auspices of a private company, “The Eclipse Group,” said its source was a physician in the Karachi hospital, which was not identified in the report, who said he saw Omar struggling to recover from an operation to put a stent in his heart.



“While I was not personally in the operating theater,” the physician reported, “my evaluation based on what I have heard and seeing the patient in the hospital is that Mullah Omar had a cardiac catheter complication resulting in either bleeding or a small cerebral vascular incident, or both.”



U.S. officials said they could not immediately verify the report. A spokesman at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.



"No one on this end has heard this," said a U.S. official from Kabul. "It doesn't mean it's not true -- we just have no information to confirm or dispute these facts."



The report also said Omar was “rushed” to the hospital on Jan. 7 by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.



“The ISI rushed him to a hospital in Karachi, where he was given heparin [an anticoagulant] and operated on,” the Eclipse report said. “After 3-4 days of post-operative care in the hospital, he was released to the ISI and ordered to take absolute bed rest when at home for at least several days.”



The physician who was the source for the report said that, “After the operation, there seemed to be some brain damage with Mullah Omar having slurred speech.”



“His post hospital course is consistent with this type of outcome,” the physician added. “Three-four days in hospital is consistent with cardiac catheterization and or cardiac stent placement. Bed rest and aphasia [difficulty speaking] post-catheterization could be from a bleeding complication.”

...

they should send him to US or India for treatment. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Naresh]

.



[url="http://www.geo.tv/1-19-2011/77412.htm "]Major 7.4-magnitude quake strikes Pakistan : USGS[/url]



ISLAMABAD : A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck various part of the country, the US Geological Survey reported on Tuesday.



It said the quake was very shallow at a depth of 10 km (6.3 miles). It struck 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin at 1:23 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2023 GMT on Tuesday).



There was no immediate report of damage from the area which lies close to Pakistan's troubled border with Afghanistan.



The Pacific Tsunami Center said the onshore quake had not triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.



A major quake of this magnitude is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage and could pose fresh strains on a country still reeling from devastating floods last year which left more than 10 milllion people homeless.



On Oct. 8, 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake 95 km (60 miles) northeast of the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed over 70,000 people



Cheers

[Guest]

There should be major damage in Pakistan. This is big shock. More people in India had reported than Pakis.

[Guest]

[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/daniel-pearl-murder-briton-perjury"]Briton jailed for Daniel Pearl's murder is 'likely to be freed[/url]

[Naresh]

.



[url="http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=9887"]Govt cuts development budget by Rs100 bn[/url]



KARACHI : [color="#FF0000"]Government has blatantly slashed development budget allocated for greater good of the public by Rs100 billion but left untouched the project of constructing luxurious building within parliament lodges to be completed at a jaw dropping cost of Rs3 billion.[/color]



Addressing the business community at Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Industry (FPCCI), Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the country was facing multiple challenges of rising oil prices, dire impact of floods on economy and deteriorating law and order situation.



[color="#FF0000"]“The development budget has been reduced from Rs280 billion to Rs180 billion and more curtailment in expenditures[/color] will be made in the coming days,” he announced, adding government expenditures will also be slashed.



He said the rising international oil prices pose a real threat to the country’s economy. The oil prices that stood at 70 dollars per barrel in February last year have now surged to the level of 100 dollars, he pointed out.



This trend, the Finance Minister said, would adversely impact our inflation and balance of payment, adding that increase in oil prices was the last thing that the government wanted but, unfortunately, they were not in government’s control.



Cheers

[Guest]

How about cutting defense budget?

[Guest]

Pak Suicide blasts target Shia, kill 15



Islamabad: At least 13 people were killed and over 50 others injured in a suicide bomb attack on a Shia procession in Lahore, while two persons died in a police van explosion in Karachi on Tuesday, officials said.

[Naresh]

[quote name='Mudy' date='23 January 2011 - 10:14 AM' timestamp='1295757400' post='110354']

How about cutting defense budget?

[/quote]



Mudy Ji :



The Defence Budget should remain sacrosanct.



Pakistan’s present Annual Defence Budget-spending is about Half as compared to that of India, thereby leading Pakistan to the state of necoming an “International Beggar”.



Pakistan should raise its Annual Defence Spending thereby spending the same amount as India.



Then, and only then, will Pakistan achieve its [color="#FF0000"]“Final Destiny”[/color]



Cheers

[Guest]

[url="http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/27/police-us-diplomat-kills-2-would-be-robbers-in-pakistan/?icid=maing|main5|dl1|sec3_lnk2|39521"]Police: US Diplomat Kills 2 Would-Be Robbers in Pakistan[/url]

An American diplomat in Pakistan shot and killed two would-be robbers today when they confronted him on a motorcycle along a busy thoroughfare in Lahore, police said.



Moments later, a U.S. Consulate car rushing to the scene was involved in a car crash that killed another motorcyclist, bringing the overall death toll to three, CNN reported.

<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Bharatvarsh2]

No Country For Kafirs?

Insecurity envelops Balochi Hindus after a series of abductions. Many are emigrating.

Mariana Baabar





In the inhospitable terrain of Balochistan, perennially outside Islamabad’s shrinking circle of control, marauding gangs have made it a habit of targeting people even on days of celebration. It was so with Maharaj Lakhmi Chand Garji, the 82-year-old head priest of the ancient Kali Mata Mandir in the town of Kalat. On December 17 last year, he and four of his companions were driving down the RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development) highway, on their way to attend a wedding in Khuzdar. A vehicle began tailing them. Finally, 100 km away from Surab, it shot past them on the deserted stretch of the highway, only to menacingly manoeuvre so as to bring Garji’s vehicle to a screeching halt.





Armed men poured out of the vehicle to accost the group of Hindus. Blindfolded, their hands tied, they were driven into wilderness. Three of them—Sajan Das, Ram Chand and Babu Lal—were subsequently set free; Garji and Vinod Kumar, a prosperous trader’s son, were whisked away. Babu Lal later told the media, “Because we were blindfolded, it is impossible for us to know where we were taken.” Nor does the provincial government have any clue about Garji and Vinod’s whereabouts, more than a month after the abduction. It’s said the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of Rs 3 crore to free Garji, whom the Hindus of Balochistan revere as their spiritual leader.



His exalted status is precisely why his kidnapping has continued to hog headlines, stoked the simmering anger among the Hindus, and prompted some to file applications in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad seeking asylum. The federal minister for human rights Saeed Ahmad Khan confirmed, “As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have applied for asylum to India.” This symbolises the minority community’s lack of faith in the Pakistan nation-state and is testimony to its faltering ideals. Hence the media’s dogged focus on the plight of Balochistan’s Hindus.



It’s also true that the Hindus, despite their minuscule numbers, haven’t allowed the kidnapping of Garji to sputter into oblivion. As news of his abduction broke out, the community organised protests in the towns of Kalat, Khuzdar, Naushki and also blocked the national and RCD highways. Outside the Khuzdar Press Club, leaders of the community blamed the government for its inability to protect the life and property of the people, particularly those of minority groups. In Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, the Hindu Panchayat organised a spectacular march that wended its way through the streets of the city, a form of protest minorities rarely resort to. Santosh Kumar Bugti, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), told Outlook, “We are very scared and desperate and need protection. We will do anything to release our Maharaj.”



What, though, has embarrassed the government and aroused sympathy is the repeated assertion of Hindu leaders that migration to India is a definite option for them. Simultaneously, they have also harped upon the exemplary Baloch tradition of religious tolerance, a subtle reminder about Balochistan’s alienation from its own moorings. For instance, earlier this month, Radhay Shyam openly justified the migration option, “The kidnapping of Hindus has increased. The kidnappers didn’t even spare our 82-year-old spiritual leader. This has deeply shaken our community. For centuries, we have been living with Baloch nawabs and sardars; assaulting the weaker Hindu community is against Baloch tribal traditions.”



This combination of threats and placatory appeals has mounted moral pressure on the government and opposition, prompting them into issuing statements in support of the Hindus of Balochistan. Chief minister Mohammad Aslam Raisani said, “The Hindus are an integral part of Balochistan and the government will provide them with complete protection.” This week saw Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader and National Assembly member Marvi Memon visit the Arya Samaj Mandir in Quetta, a commendable step in the prevailing atmosphere of religious intolerance. Memon told a gathering of Hindus, “We have condemned the kidnapping on the floor of the National Assembly. The government should ensure the security of all citizens, including minorities. It’s also the responsibility of tribal chiefs and sardars to ensure the security of the Hindu community.”



Perhaps never before has a minority group as small as the Hindus of Balochistan so effectively reminded the nation about its ideals, its hallowed traditions. Look at their population—the 1998 census reported a little over 30,000 Hindus; the locals, though, say their number is as high as 1,50,000. Unlike their religious brethren in Sindh, the Hindus of Balochistan are prosperous, an important factor underlying their visible campaign against the abduction of Garji. As Prof Mansoor Akbar Kundi of Quetta University wrote in Balochistan: A Socio-cultural and Political Analysis, “They belong to the business class.... Some of them are wealthy merchants owning jewellery and general stores, but the majority are of middle and lower middle class businessmen with their shops/stores in the bazaars of various towns.” But the Hindus here are not a monolith community. A 2003 report of the Minority Rights Commission, prepared by Akram Mirani, notes that Baloch and Brahui tribes in some areas hire lower-caste Hindus to perform tasks that Muslims consider below their dignity.



It’s the Hindu businessmen who are often the target of kidnappers. Their wealth, not religion, is the reason why they are targeted, many told Outlook. Before Pakistan was sucked into the vortex of violence, the Hindus were a distinctive strand in the social tapestry of the province—they were treated as members of the tribe holding sway over the area where they lived. Balochistan’s minister for minority affairs and human rights, Engineer Basant Lal Gulshan, told Outlook, “Baloch Hindus have lived here before the Muslims came and have always been protected by tribal leaders. Why, Nawab Akbar Bugti (killed during the Musharraf era) would say that Hindus are like the hair on your chest and very dear. Of course, the new generation of tribals are different.”



Perhaps circumstances have transformed the younger generation. The social fabric of the province was torn asunder as the secessionist movement gathered momentum and the state adopted repressive measures to crush the rebels; the rise of Islamists and the growing culture of violence undermined the moral authority of traditional leaders. Islamabad’s neglect of the province has led to the breakdown of the law and order machinery, enabling criminal gangs to operate with impunity. Says Kamaluddin Ahmad, a businessman who has shifted from Quetta to Karachi, “These kidnappings are not religiously motivated, the Hindus have been caught in the crossfire. They are easy prey as they readily pay ransom after being kidnapped.”





PML(Q) leader Marvi Memon meets Lal Gulshan and members of the Hindu community.



Gulshan concurs on this: “Balochistan is reeling under the terror that has gripped the entire country. Hindus are easy targets as they readily pay the ransom. The community has lived in peace, you will never find a Hindu traitor. It’s only when life becomes difficult that they migrate to other parts of Pakistan or abroad.” Gulshan cites the example of Gardari Lal Bhatia, a politician-businessman whose family had to mortgage their property to pay the ransom to kidnappers. Financially ruined, Bhatia migrated to India.



Causes for kidnapping apart, there’s no denying that the Hindus in Balochistan have a perilous existence. The Balochistan Home Department says 291 people were abducted for tribal or political rivalries; another eight were kidnapped for ransom—most of them Hindus. In the provincial assembly debate on January 25, though, former minister Jay Prakash quoted a higher figure of 20 Hindus who were abducted last year. Eight or 20, both figures seem an insignificant number for a strife-torn province but is large enough to undermine the confidence of a community as small as the Hindus. A Hindu businessman told Outlook, “I have no choice but to leave the country. I’m in touch with relatives abroad, some in India, to help my family. It’s not easy to migrate either but it’s better than the fear that we live with every day.”



There’s no official statistics available, but locals confirm that Hindus are gradually trickling out of Balochistan—to destinations as far as Canada but mostly to India next door. Some claim that at least 400-500 families have moved out over the last decade. This is indeed alarming for the small community. For Pakistan, it’s a gauge to measure the depths to which it has fallen.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270204

[ramana]

Nareshji, Looks like the US employee walked into an ISI trap to free Siddiqa!

[Guest]

[quote name='ramana' date='01 February 2011 - 04:53 AM' timestamp='1296515751' post='110494']

Nareshji, Looks like the US employee walked into an ISI trap to free Siddiqa!

[/quote]

Pakis are very smart. <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> US should give them Indian treatment.