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Lahore: Punjab CM has revealed PIC killer drug has been detected. The killer drug is known as Isotab and according to UK report it contained anti-malaria drug in it. The CM also alleged the dengue epidemic was a 'plot' hatched by a high personality from Islamabad.
In a press conference Shahbaz Sharif has said the samples from victims’ bloods and bone marrow were sent to the UK.A drug manufactured by Eferoze contained 50 percent of anti-malaria substance. The antidote to fatal drug has been prepared, informed the CM. The factory which produced the drug is located in Sindh and has been sealed. The names of the owners of the factory have been put on the Exit Control List, informed the CM.He alleged the dengue epidemic was a plot hatched by a high level Islamabad personality who wanted funerals from each street of Lahore. He said he would reveal the name of the plotter if the Supreme Court called him.
KABUL: Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday that a leaked US military report claiming Pakistan supported the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan can be “disregarded”.“We can disregard this as a potentially strategic leak…This is old wine in an even older bottle,” she told reporters during an official visit to the Afghan capital Kabul.The US military said in a secret report the Taliban are set to retake control of Afghanistan after Nato-led forces withdraw from the country, raising the prospect of a major failure of Western policy after a costly war.Khar, whose visit was the first high-level meeting in months between officials from both countries, added that the neighbours should stop blaming each other for strained cross-border ties.“We must start engaging in the end of blame games,” she said.
K Mehta wrote:Interesting info about the bomb plotters of UQ london
Jo Lahore main ***** woh UQ main bhi.....
from Reuters
The defendants, all British nationals with Bangladeshi or Pakistani backgrounds, had been inspired by al Qaeda and the late radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, Edis said. Brothers Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, both from Cardiff in Wales also pleaded guilty to the same charge.
from The Beeb Brothers Gurukanth Desai, 30, of Albert Street, Cardiff, and Abdul Miah, 25, of Ninian Park Road, Cardiff, also admitted the same count, namely preparing for acts of terrorism by planning to plant an improvised explosive device in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange.
from Yahoo! UK Brothers Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, both from the Welsh capital Cardiff, admitted the same count at a London court.
And from our very OWN Indian Express
Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. Desai is of Indian origin.
Note these guys live within walking distance of each other!
The Desai guy is not Indian orgin, he is Bangladeshi origin and a he is the brother of Abdul Miah. Just before the operation he changed his name to Gurukanth Desai, character from movie Guru.
A man going under the name of a Bollywood movie character is among four British Asian terror suspects who are said to have confessed plans to launch a “Mumbai-style” attack in London.
Bizarrely, the 30-year-old man of Bangladeshi origin from the city of Cardiff told British police his name is Gurukanth Desai — the character played by Abhishek Bachchan in the 2007 film ‘Guru’. The fictional role was said to have been based on the late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani.
“He changed his name before our operations began. He is the brother of Abdul Miah, who has also been arrested,” a West Midlands police spokesman told HT. “I wasn’t aware that it’s a Bollywood name.”
The GBP 665 Million a year that the UK hands over to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is not aid it is Jaziya, Jaziya paid to ensure that the Pakistani immigrants to the UK remain relatively quiescent and not launch a Jihad in the UK:
KARACHI: United States (US) Consul General in Karachi William Martin, on Wednesday pledged to provide more equipment worth $1 million to Sindh Police at a ceremony to hand over 1,000 bulletproof vests and 1,000 helmets worth $0.7 million to Sindh Police at the Central Police Office (CPO).Later, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh Mushtaq Shah and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Washington DC Brian Nichols have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard.Speaking on the occasion, the US CG said the signing of MoU was a clear sign of growing partnership between the US government and the Sindh Police. He said that people across the world, including Pakistan and the US wanted the same thing: “Safety, order, and a better life for all citizens”.
He hoped that the Sindh Police could meet the extraordinary challenges in Karachi and across Sindh through better equipment and modern training. He said, “It is our hope that through better equipment and modern training, the police can better meet the extraordinary challenges here in Karachi.”In addition to this equipment, the US government would be providing additional support designed to enhance the infrastructure, capabilities and training of police officers in Sindh, he added. He said that the peace and security in Karachi would open many economic and commercial opportunities and attract much needed foreign investment. He concluded that the US officials would continue to assist the Sindh Police leadership in developing a training curriculum for junior officers, providing support for women police in remote regions of the province, and commodities and equipment to improve the safety and effectiveness of police
WASHINGTON — Pakistan will tell the United States it cannot take unilateral actions such as the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and that parliament will determine military priorities, the foreign minister told a US magazine.A Pakistani parliamentary committee is reviewing the troubled relationship with the United States amid outrage over a NATO raid in November that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border at Salala.Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, in an interview with Time magazine released Wednesday, said that the upcoming report would recognize the importance of US ties but "will redefine what is uncompromisable for Pakistan.""It is the parliament of Pakistan that must decide whether it is time for military action in one area or not," she said.Asked what Pakistan's red lines would be, she said: "No unilateral action at any level, of any type. Like Abbottabad. Like what happened in Salala."US forces killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in May in Abbottabad, which is home to Pakistan's top military academy. US officials gave no advance warning out of fear that Pakistan may have stopped the raid or tipped off bin Laden.Despite Pakistan's offensives against some homegrown extremists, US officials have charged that elements in Pakistan's intelligence agency support some other Islamic militants, particularly in Afghanistan.A newly leaked NATO document -- seen by The Times newspaper in London and the BBC -- cited Taliban detainees as saying that Pakistani intelligence was intimately involved in supporting the Afghan insurgency.Khar, on a visit to Kabul on Wednesday, rejected the accusations and said that Pakistan has "no hidden agenda" in Afghanistan, where Western forces aim to pull out most combat troops by 2014.In the interview with Time, Khar said that Pakistan will support "whatever path the Afghans choose for themselves."
"Pakistan's desires and hopes for Afghanistan are nothing more than a peaceful, stable Afghanistan," she said.
Pakistan will tell the United States it cannot take unilateral actions such as the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and that parliament will determine military priorities, the foreign minister told a US magazine.. . . "It is the parliament of Pakistan that must decide whether it is time for military action in one area or not," she said.
Does it mean that every time either the US or the TSPA needs to launch an operation, they would place the proposals before the National Assembly which would then debate and vote ? Can a military place its operational details so openly like that ? Are the members of the National Assembly even informed enough to discuss operational military matters ? What happens if the National Assembly is in recess and not in session ? Is it not abdication of responsibility by an elected government to act when situation demands ? The Parliament cannot be involved in running day-to-day affairs of a country.
rajanb wrote:This is Karachi.
Following was seen written on the back of a Rickshaw . It amply explains the quandary of ordinary citizens of Karachi.
Aur Nanga ghumo to PATHAN nahi chhorenge... "JIYO TO KAISE "?
Pakistan mei jee sakta nahi, Wapis Bhullaaa lei
Mai Paki Nahi Insaan, Mujh ko ay Malik ootha lei.
Isse pehle ki Pathan Chautha ashna Banna lei
Pakjabi Karde tuu apne app ko osske Haawaleei
orr Sajda karr ki jaldi woh Malik ootha lei.
ramana wrote:Shiv, over the last few weeks you have been posting some new ways of thinking about TSP. All would be lsot in this thread. I urge you start a new thread "TSP: New Ways of thinking"
Who knows what will emerge from it.
ramana
Maybe that should be combined with the Managing TSP Failure thread.
The WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods on Wednesday approved a European Union (EU) waiver on customs duties for 75 items, mostly textile related, from Pakistan to help the country recover from 2010′s floods.
The EU offered this one-time facility to Pakistan and approached WTO in October 2010 to seek a waiver on trade preferences to Islamabad on these products amounting to almost 900 million euros in import value, or 27 per cent of imports from Pakistan for a two-year period from January 2012 to December 2013.
Recall that India and Bangladesh objected to it and Pakis dangled the MFN carrot to India to get over India's objection. Strange that there is no news about MFN yet.
Panetta: U.S., NATO will seek to end Afghan combat mission next year
The United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the middle of next year, more than a year earlier than scheduled, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday.
His remarks reflected a growing sentiment within the Obama administration that its approach to Iraq, where the official end of U.S. combat operations came 16 months before the final U.S. troop withdrawal in December, may provide a useful model for winding down operations in Afghanistan.
Recall that India and Bangladesh objected to it and Pakis dangled the MFN carrot to India to get over India's objection. Strange that there is no news about MFN yet.
The MFN, which in any case was not about to happen, will simply not happen now. The PA and 'Diffa-e-Pakistan Council' cannot let MFN happen.
The WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods on Wednesday approved a European Union (EU) waiver on customs duties for 75 items, mostly textile related, from Pakistan to help the country recover from 2010′s floods.
The EU offered this one-time facility to Pakistan and approached WTO in October 2010 to seek a waiver on trade preferences to Islamabad on these products amounting to almost 900 million euros in import value, or 27 per cent of imports from Pakistan for a two-year period from January 2012 to December 2013.
As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. They're waiving customs duties for two years, but question is whether the Pakis can produce enough goods during this time to meet demand. Don't forget that this is a nation with 20 hour power cuts and gas pipelines being blown up every weekend, which affect their capacity to produce goods. Not to mention that many Paki textile factories have earned themselves a bad reputation among several western buyers due to their inability to deliver products on time. The EU cannot force importers to buy goods from Pakistan, so even if they drop the customs duties, someone is still going to have to convince buyers (especially those that have been burned by the Pakis in the past) to buy textiles from Pakistan.
Incidentally, one of those months in the two year period is already up by the time Dawn reported this.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, DawnNews reported.
The apex court has summoned the premier on Feb 13 when he is expected to be formally indicted.
The ruling came after a seven-judge bench of the apex court heard the contempt case against Prime Minister Gilani.
“After the preliminary hearing, we are satisfied that prima facie (at first sight) there is enough case for further proceeding,” the bench ordered after the hearing.
“The case is adjourned until Feb 13 for the framing of charges. The prime minister will be present in person.”
The prime minister’s lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said it was possible to appeal.
SLAMABAD: Following the PIC medicine debacle, Sri Lanka has banned the import of medicines from Pakistan — a move that would badly hurt the export of locally-manufactured medicines, which had surged to over $400 million over the last two years.
LAHORE: Army Sports Directorate has said that Pakistan Army is backing Major General (r) Mohammad Akram Sahi for the post of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president to introduce a new culture in country’s sports. The other candidates contesting for the coveted post are present POA chief Lt General (r) Syed Arif Hasan and Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president and former Olympian Qasim Zia.
“General Sahi is our candidate and we are fully supporting him to bring a change in country’s sports,” said Army Sports Director Brigadier Iqtidar Naseer Ahmad on Wednesday. He said they were fully supporting General Sahi, who is also Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) president, in the larger interest of the games and to ensure a better future for Pakistan sports.
BALTIMORE — Federal prosecutors say a former Baltimore man has been arrested in the U.S. after fleeing to Pakistan before he was indicted on a software copyright infringement charge.
Thirty-one-year-old Naveed Sheikh was arrested Tuesday at Dulles Airport. He faces a detention hearing on Friday in Virginia.
According to the indictment, which was returned Jan. 13, 2011, Sheikh infringed copyrights by reproducing and distributing more than 100 copyrighted commercial software programs. Prosecutors say he sold the programs through his website and had a post office box in Towson.
Among the software Sheikh allegedly distributed illegally were Quicken Premier Home and Business, Microsoft Money 2006 Small Business and Adobe After Effects Pro 7.0. Prosecutors say Sheikh received $265,000 for the programs.
US import figures for 2011 are not yet released, Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports are expected to increase by 3 percent in terms of value but quantities are expected to go down by 18 percent in 2011, signifying growth primarily due to price inflation in raw materials cost, a spokesman of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) said.
The prime minister’s lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said it was possible to appeal.
The appeal process will drag this farce beyond March 2nd - Senate election date. After that elections can be called any day and Gilani will handover power to an interim government.
Shiv,
You've got some good ideas there. But another thing that I've come to realise over the years is the lack of learning in our policy circles. For instance, how does the country that is 435 times smaller than the US and 1/39th the population have a strong hold on the US foreign policy? The country I speak if is non other than Israel. A study of history shows that the US has vetoed almost all resolutions that go against the US, further if you notice, any ill-speak of Israel by a member of congress/senate leads to him/her "losing" the following election or being forced to resign. This is not coincidence. Neither is the US in love with Isreal. What is happening is a vast control of the US foreign policy through the media, lobbying and campaign funding. India as far as I can tell does not extensively use lobbies in to influence the US (there is more use now than there was a dew decades ago, however nothing major).
By shaping public opinion, Israel has managed to leverage the US power in its favour. Something I wish our country would do as well. It needs a lot of funding, but it seems our babus are more interested in filling their own pockets than helping the nation.
Shonu wrote:Shiv,
You've got some good ideas there. But another thing that I've come to realise over the years is the lack of learning in our policy circles. For instance, how does the country that is 435 times smaller than the US and 1/39th the population have a strong hold on the US foreign policy? The country I speak if is non other than Israel. A study of history shows that the US has vetoed almost all resolutions that go against the US, further if you notice, any ill-speak of Israel by a member of congress/senate leads to him/her "losing" the following election or being forced to resign. This is not coincidence. Neither is the US in love with Isreal. What is happening is a vast control of the US foreign policy through the media, lobbying and campaign funding. India as far as I can tell does not extensively use lobbies in to influence the US (there is more use now than there was a dew decades ago, however nothing major).
By shaping public opinion, Israel has managed to leverage the US power in its favour. Something I wish our country would do as well. It needs a lot of funding, but it seems our babus are more interested in filling their own pockets than helping the nation.
Shonu, OT but its apples and Oranges. Its not Israel alone which is driving this policy but American interests and its Araba allies. As long as the Arab junta keep hating Isreal there is less focus on the misgovernance in the Tinpot Dictatorships and monarchies and anger is directed at Israel, just like in TSP, aam abduls blame Yindus, America and Yehudis for their problems and GHQ rawalpindi which has probably caused half their problems.
Shonu wrote:Shiv,
You've got some good ideas there. But another thing that I've come to realise over the years is the lack of learning in our policy circles. For instance, how does the country that is 435 times smaller than the US and 1/39th the population have a strong hold on the US foreign policy? The country I speak if is non other than Israel. A study of history shows that the US has vetoed almost all resolutions that go against the US, further if you notice, any ill-speak of Israel by a member of congress/senate leads to him/her "losing" the following election or being forced to resign. This is not coincidence. Neither is the US in love with Isreal. What is happening is a vast control of the US foreign policy through the media, lobbying and campaign funding. India as far as I can tell does not extensively use lobbies in to influence the US (there is more use now than there was a dew decades ago, however nothing major).
By shaping public opinion, Israel has managed to leverage the US power in its favour. Something I wish our country would do as well. It needs a lot of funding, but it seems our babus are more interested in filling their own pockets than helping the nation.
It is not Israel that influences the US, it is the Jewish diaspora, and they have a history going back centuries.
But your basic point is valid. If such a small group can exercise such influence, despite the history of anti-semitism in the west, why should India not be able to influence the Paks at least, if not the US.
But to answer that question we need to first understand how such influence is created and maintained.
I once read an article in the ToI, decades back, by a famous British Historian. Sir Arnold? Toynbee. It was on this specific issue of Jews and Palestine.
Three things stood out:
a) one, the west had always persecuted the Jews.
b) The arabs, however, had stood by them with the limited influence thay had during the ascendance of western powers.
c) That whatever the west was doing for the jews was to assuage their guilty conscience for a) above and the holocaust.
Now getting at someone's conscience and then building the influence from thereon is a good step to being influential.
he also went to the extreme that the west should have given the jews their own state in the US, Wales or some european dominion, without subjecting the Palestinians to such bloodshed and deprivation.
LAHORE: After much criticism from the opposition, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has handed over eight ministries to cabinet members, assistants and advisors.
Sharif, who previously held 18 portfolios, still maintains ten additional departments including Health, Home, Transport and Tourism, among others.
tonybee is probably deliberately obfuscating one of the main reasons why the US will never, ever abandon Israel. And while the jewish diaspora is indeed influential, the real reason is a bit more complex.
I once read an article in the ToI, decades back, by a famous British Historian. Sir Arnold? Toynbee. It was on this specific issue of Jews and Palestine.
Three things stood out:
a) one, the west had always persecuted the Jews.
b) The arabs, however, had stood by them with the limited influence thay had during the ascendance of western powers.
c) That whatever the west was doing for the jews was to assuage their guilty conscience for a) above and the holocaust.
Now getting at someone's conscience and then building the influence from thereon is a good step to being influential.
he also went to the extreme that the west should have given the jews their own state in the US, Wales or some european dominion, without subjecting the Palestinians to such bloodshed and deprivation.
Apologies if OT
Cheers
There is another equally important factor that needs to be kept in mind when talking about US-Israel relationship
[...] Many conservative Christians say they believe that the president’s support for Israel fulfills a biblical injunction to protect the Jewish state, which some of them think will play a pivotal role in the second coming. Many on the left, in turn, fear that such theology may influence decisions the administration makes toward Israel and the Middle East.
Administration officials say that the meeting with Mr. Hagee was a courtesy for a political ally and that evangelical theology has no effect on policy making. But the alliance of Israel, its evangelical Christian supporters and President Bush has never been closer or more potent. In the wake of the summer war in southern Lebanon, reports that Hezbollah’s sponsor, Iran, may be pushing for nuclear weapons have galvanized conservative Christian support for Israel into a political force that will be hard to ignore.
For one thing, white evangelicals make up about a quarter of the electorate. Whatever strains may be creeping into the Israeli-American alliance over Iraq, the Palestinians and Iran, a large part of the Republican Party’s base remains committed to a fiercely pro-Israel agenda that seems likely to have an effect on policy choices.
[...]
No Republicans dare buck this coalition if they aspire for DC positions.
OT but important to understand the relationship. Read the article in full.
I once read an article in the ToI, decades back, by a famous British Historian. Sir Arnold? Toynbee. It was on this specific issue of Jews and Palestine.
pankajs is correct about the fundie influence underlying support of Israel. Another factor is that the Jewish vote in America, while small, is quite influential because there is a concentration of it in the largest swing state in presidential elections, viz, Florida.
SLAMABAD: Following the PIC medicine debacle, Sri Lanka has banned the import of medicines from Pakistan — a move that would badly hurt the export of locally-manufactured medicines, which had surged to over $400 million over the last two years.
$400 million of pharma export!!! lol someone forgot to put real currency sign there. Or is that the figure of total export so far since 1947?
And Subodh, if by karma, I had been born as a palestinian and been a refugee what would my mindset be?
I am a refugee from Sindh, but luckily placed in an environment where one, whilst going through hard times, had a chance to get back our lives. But the trials and tribulations, the grief and pain, though a distant memory,is still a memory of what was rightfully ours being snatched from us. The sacrifices we made to rebuild our family.
As SDREs we tend to blame our own ilk. Of MG accepting partition. But the blame lies elsewhere. In the schemeing Brit policy of divide and rule.
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