Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - September 15, 2009

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 29 Oct 2009 22:44

There is a news item that Said Bhaji is hiding in pakistan.

Pakistan, officials in that country have said. Pakistani security officials say they have recovered the passport of Said Bhaji, a member of the so-called Hamburg Cell, during an operation in the Islamic country's lawless South Waziristan distric

t.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 29 Oct 2009 22:53

Amber G. wrote:Offering Fateha

Which is evoking a Fatawa:
[We don't think] she knew she was doing anything wrong. If anything, its the Muslim men around her who should be held accountable. Intention matters in our Religion. .... But still she must die a painful death...

You dont pray on the graves of dead according to the laws framed by talibunnies and their wahabi masters, so .........(fill in the blanks)

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 29 Oct 2009 22:58

Amber G. wrote:There is a news item that Said Bhaji is hiding in pakistan.

Pakistan, officials in that country have said. Pakistani security officials say they have recovered the passport of Said Bhaji, a member of the so-called Hamburg Cell, during an operation in the Islamic country's lawless South Waziristan distric
t.

Al-Keeda 3.123 found during the visit "hillory" clinton.

Must be the usual "coincidence" in pakistan, of terrorists getting caught during visits of high ranking US officials.

Oh wait they found just the passport not the man himself, "hillory" is not quite high ranking then.

Rahul Shukla · Post by **Rahul Shukla** » 29 Oct 2009 23:12

Avinash R wrote:Al-Keeda 3.123 found during the visit "hillory" clinton... Oh wait they found just the passport not the man himself, "hillory" is not quite high ranking then.

I find that quite Hillaryous!

Sumeet · Post by **Sumeet** » 29 Oct 2009 23:14

Clinton puzzled at Pakistan failure to find al Qaeda

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's said on Thursday it was "hard to believe" that no one in Pakistan's government knew where al Qaeda leaders were hiding, striking a new tone on a trip where Washington's credibility has come under attack.

Scores of al Qaeda leaders and their operatives, including Osama bin Laden, are believed to be in hiding in the rugged border territory that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan, but both countries routinely accuse the other of being the main sanctuary

"I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to," she told a group of newspaper editors during a meeting in Lahore.

"Maybe they are not 'get-at-able'. I don't know," she said.

Clinton's pointed remark was the first public gripe on a trip aimed at turning around a U.S.-Pakistan relationship under serious strain, but bound in the struggle against religious extremism.

"I am more than willing to hear every complaint about the United States," Clinton said, ""but this is a two way street.

"If we are going to have a mature partnership where we work together" then "there are issues that not just the United States but others have with your government and with your military security establishment."

Clinton, who has sought to use her own personal outreach to overcome rising anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, earlier repeated her conviction that the two countries' common interests far outweighed their differences.

"I am well aware that there is a trust deficit," Clinton told students at a "townhall-style" meeting at Government College University in Lahore.

"My message is that's not the way it should be. We cannot let a minority of people in both countries determine our relationship."

Clinton's arrival in Pakistan on Wednesday was overshadowed by a car bomb blast that ripped through a market in the city of Peshawar, killing more than 100 people, in one of the largest recent attacks by Islamic militants seeking to destabilize the nuclear-armed country.

Clinton urged Pakistan's youth to stand firm against the forces of religious extremism, saying it threatened everything that both Americans and Pakistanis hold dear.

She carried the same message in her meetings with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and other high officials in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Clinton was due to meet Pakistan's army and security chiefs on Thursday, where she was expected to discuss Pakistan's latest military campaign against extremists in South Waziristan as well as the U.S.-led war against Taliban religious militants in neighboring Afghanistan.

PERSONAL AFFINITY

U.S. officials have cast Clinton's visit to Pakistan as a chance to counter anti-American broadsides from extremist religious leaders and to showcase Clinton's personal affinity for a country she says she knows and loves deeply.

On Thursday, she toured the massive red sandstone Badshahi Mosque in central Lahore, extolling the cultural achievements of a country more often in the headlines for political and religious strife.

But the tense security situation in Pakistan was clear. Gunmen stood guard in the mosque minarets, while Lahore's normally busy main streets were emptied and armed police kept bystanders penned back in narrow alleyways as Clinton's motorcade sped past.

While acknowledging the many bumps in U.S.-Pakistan relations, Clinton nevertheless asked for understanding, patience and commitment, saying her own experience in deciding to join the Obama administration after running against Barack Obama for the presidency was instructive.

"What we have together is far greater than what divided us," Clinton told the students, referring to her relations with Obama. "And that is what I feel about the United States and Pakistan."

(Editing by David Fox)

Rahul Shukla · Post by **Rahul Shukla** » 29 Oct 2009 23:26

FBI shared information about LeT plot against India: Chidambaram (Hindustan Times)

Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had shared documents with India about the arrest of the American national, whom the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) planned to use for a terror strike in India, before making it public.

"They showed us the complete file and affidavit sometime before it was made public," Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.

Chidambaram added that Indian authorities were working with FBI to do whatever was necessary in India.

archan · Post by **archan** » 29 Oct 2009 23:26

Rahul Shukla wrote:
Avinash R wrote:Al-Keeda 3.123 found during the visit "hillory" clinton... Oh wait they found just the passport not the man himself, "hillory" is not quite high ranking then.
I find that quite Hillaryous!

Our punjabi birathers would know this better but I believe it is correct to say "sadda dil lenda hilloray" to "mean my heart palpitates with happiness"

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 29 Oct 2009 23:27

IOL: ISI is going to lose its monopoly on the fight against terrorism. Deeming that ISI had unduly compromised itself with some Jihadist movements, several Western countries, with the United Kingdom in the forefront, are to help Pakistan set up a specific CT agency. The new agency will be put together by the a wing of British Home Office, and its network of counter-terrorism and extremism liaison officers on post in Pakistan.

archan · Post by **archan** » 29 Oct 2009 23:32

x-post. Pakistani expatriates continue to spread their unique culture in the countries that gave them jobs and better lives.

'Rename Buckingham Palace as Buckingham Masjid'

A fanatical UK hate preacher, Anjem Choudary, wants to turn Buckingham Palace into a mosque.

Choudary is calling for Buckingham Palace to be renamed Buckingham Masjid, reports the ‘Daily Express’.

The demand comes days before a potentially incendiary rally in central London. Choudary’s hardline Islam4UK group claims to have uncovered historical evidence that challenges the right of the Queen to live at the royal property.

Who was the British official that in his last days rued promoting paki immigration into Bartania? that could have been a miscalculation of dangerous proportions.

Choudhary saheb's paki connection: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjem_Chou ... background

Rahul Shukla · Post by **Rahul Shukla** » 29 Oct 2009 23:35

Pakistan bans BBC broadcasts on FM channels (PTI)

Islamabad, Oct 29 (PTI) Pakistani authorities have banned BBC news broadcasts on private FM radio stations across the country, the BBC said today. The BBC said the ban had affected over 50 per cent of its daily transmissions on private FM radio stations.

Rahul Shukla · Post by **Rahul Shukla** » 29 Oct 2009 23:43

Pakistan's forex reserves fall to $14.43 bln (Reuters)

KARACHI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to $14.43 billion in the week that ended on Oct. 24 compared with $14.48 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.

Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007, but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November last year -- largely because of a soaring import bill. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed in November helped avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.

The IMF, which increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July, has disbursed over $5 billion.

Pakistan is on 24/7 life-support in the ICU with Samuddin paying the hospital bills. A couple more years of this and the west will rue the day it supported the formation of Pakistan.

Nandan D · Post by **Nandan D** » 30 Oct 2009 00:03

If you use headphones, you can hear the shots, about 3 of them, just before the bomb goes off..

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 30 Oct 2009 00:31

IMO this is completely believable.

Taliban chief Hakimullah blames Blackwater for blast

Islamabad: Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud has claimed that the controversial American security firm Blackwater was behind the deadly bomb attack on a market in Peshawar that killed over 100 people.

Hakimullah questioned why the Taliban should target the public when it was capable of carrying out attacks in Islamabad and targeting the army's General Headquarters.

In an interview with BBC Urdu, he claimed Blackwater and "Pakistani agencies" were involved in attacks in public places to discredit the militants.

A powerful car bomb exploded at a crowded market in Peshawar yesterday, killing more than 100 and injuring 200 more. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan had earlier said it was behind an attack on the army's headquarters earlier this month.

About 15 people were killed during that attack.

Vivek_A · Post by **Vivek_A** » 30 Oct 2009 02:36

When Hillary was taking questions from the students, were the students allowed to wear shoes?

Vivek_A · Post by **Vivek_A** » 30 Oct 2009 03:10

TFT is out...

Is South Punjab a hub of terrorism?

Khaled Ahmed
The Pakistan Army can't take on South Punjab at the same time it fights in South Waziristan. Any war expert will tell you the idea is absurd. Hence it is appropriate to deny that there is more terrorism there compared to other parts

In a TV discussion, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah insisted that South Punjab was as much a home of terrorist organisations as any other part of Pakistan. He rightly pointed out that the terror masterminds captured after the recent GHQ attack were from Faisalabad. He did not agree with the normal delineation of South Punjab as a distinct region inside the province; he did not accept Jhang as a part of South Punjab.

Ex-commissioner of Peshawar, and now an expert attached to the FATA Secretariat, Khalid Aziz stated in a recent paper: “Southern Punjab comprises 13 districts having a total population of approximately 27 million. These districts include Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Bhakker, DG Khan, Jhang, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur, and Vehari”.

This is what most people who discuss South Punjab think. International scholars like Maryam Abu Zahab who have written city profiles of Jhang have assumed it to be a part of the southern Punjabi linguistic region. The Seraiki Movement includes it in the new province it wants to carve out of South Punjab.

Prof Tahir Kamran of GCU in his sectarian study of Jhang states: “Jhang is located in the south west of the Pakistani Punjab, 210 kilometres from provincial capital Lahore and 76 kilometres from Faisalabad, once its divisional headquarters. The district has four tehsils, Jhang, Chiniot, Shorkot and Ahmadpur Sial. Jhang shares its boundary with nine districts; on its North are Sargodha and Gujranwala, on the East Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh, on the South Khanewal and Muzaffargarh and on the West Khushab, Bhakkar and Layyah”.

Administratively, therefore, the status of Jhang can be challenged, that is, if there is an official division of ‘south and ‘north’, but its effect on South Punjab through Sipah Sahaba and its various offshoots is undeniable. Khalid Aziz is constrained to write: “While the insurgency situation in NWFP and FATA is well documented, it is Southern Punjab that is emerging as an insurgency hub. Both LT and Jaish-e-Mohammed draw a majority of their cadres from South Punjab, including Multan and Bahawalpur, also the headquarters of the latter”.

There is an element of “nationalist exaggeration” involved when people describe South Punjab. The Seraiki movement is weak these days, which forces its advocates to be maximalist in their demands. A map published in Khabrain (July 5, 2009) by the Seraiki Party contained 19 districts of Punjab and two from the NWFP. From Punjab, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Chiniot, Jhang, Sargodha, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah, Khushab, Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Khanewal, Multan, Vehari, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahimyar Khan were included. The Seraiki Party will take Dera Ismail Khan and Tank from the NWFP too, while it says 20 million Seraiki people were living in Sindh and Balochistan.

South Punjab differs from the rest of the province in its relatively weak writ of the state. The reason in the past was large landholdings and feudal power. The state was represented by federal deputy commissioners and the provincial police hierarchy but the local political leaders controlling the votes on their lands were always able to get the “ thana-kutchehri ” appointments doled out to officers who were loyal to them. That situation has become different over the past quarter century.

Now there are two vectors of power in South Punjab and they have decided not to cross in each other’s areas of dominance. What was once “feudalism, weak infrastructure and limited livelihood opportunities” has been compounded by the rise of the well-financed religious seminaries, some of them sectarian and competitively funded to protect their client communities. Because of their participation in state-run jihad the jihadi organisations have been able to challenge the feudal landlords.

The mutual tolerance of he two powerful factors is actually hinged on the feudal landlord’s decision not to “mess with” the armed jihadis. The jihadis on the other hand will not interfere in the feudal’s area of control if he leaves them alone. But it must be admitted that it is the feudal that has beaten a retreat to allow another player in the field. The Seraiki Tehreek too keeps clear of the jihadis and focuses more on separating the underdeveloped south from the developed north.

Editor Shireen Mazari who hails from DG Khan wrote in The Nation (April 29, 2009) about the dominance of the more jihad-oriented madrassas in DG Khan, significantly pointing out the “foreign funding” they were receiving: “In DG Khan, there are 185 registered madrassas of which 90 are Deobandi (with a total of 324 teachers), 84 are Barelvi (with a total of 212 teachers), six are Ahl-e-Hadith (107 teachers) and five are Fiqh-e-Jafaria (10 teachers)”.

She continues: “Of the Deobandi madrassas, only the Jamia Ataul-Ulum in DG Khan, with 200 boarders and 20 day-students ranging from 5 to 25 years and eight teachers, receives donations from Kuwait as well as from private local and religious trusts and is affiliated with the JUI. Another madrassa, Jamia Darul Rehmania, with the same credentials, offers education up to middle and has 350 boarders plus 230 day-students and 28 teachers…The total number of Deobandi madrassa students in the DG Khan district is 11,535. Interestingly, in this category, it is the large madrassas…linked to the JUI that receive foreign funding…almost solely from Kuwait”.

What does the world think about South Punjab? The Americans are worried that South Punjabi adjuncts of Al Qaeda and Taliban might actually beef up the number of suicide-bombers coming across the Durand Line. The first attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul was said to have been facilitated by elements embedded in South Punjab. The other reason why America is interested in Pakistan cleaning up South Punjab is India.

This is where the South Punjab plot thickens. The US wants Pakistan to engage the Taliban but Pakistan says it doesn’t have enough force to do so because it has to guard the eastern border where India is amassing troops and bringing forward its new missiles called BrahMos. When India is approached, the Indians say Pakistan is sending terrorists into India from its South Punjabi stronghold of jihadi outfits and it has to deter Pakistan through mobilising close to the border. British newspapers carry news of Jaish-e-Muhammad training its fresh instalment of terrorists in South Punjab.

The Pakistan Army can’t take on South Punjab at the same time it fights in South Waziristan. Any war expert will tell you the idea is absurd. Hence it is appropriate to deny that there is more terrorism there compared to other parts. Anyone familiar with the lay of the land would agree that a military operation near the western border cannot be paralleled by another operation near the eastern border. In any case, given the terrain and urban centres involved, Punjab will have to get the job done on its own with a much better equipped and trained police force.

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 30 Oct 2009 03:13

Vivek_A wrote:When Hillary was taking questions from the students, were the students allowed to wear shoes?

Good one! Vivek!

Vivek_A · Post by **Vivek_A** » 30 Oct 2009 03:16

The RAPE poohbah speaks for the TSPA...

Turn the page

Ejaz Haider
Pakistan and the US need to work out a joint strategy that accepts Pakistan's pre-eminent role in Afghanistan and Islamabad's security concerns. Until that happens, and given the debates within the US, including voices calling for a pullout, the two sides would continue to move in opposite directions

US-Pakistan relations are only skin-deep. Scratch below the surface and it is easy to find any number of issues on which the two states don’t agree.

The manner in which Pakistan received the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill shows that one side’s perceived generosity can be the other side’s perceived insult. In fact, more than the arithmetic of how many dollars are likely to flow from the US to Pakistan under a bill that seeks to triple aid to Pakistan in the next five years, the KLB Bill symbolises, like nothing else, all that is wrong with the relationship. Consider.

Pakistan is being bloodied in the war on terror. While America thinks Pakistan needs to fight this war for its own survival and to root out groups that both threaten Pakistan and the outside world, Pakistanis do not accept this causality. They feel, with some justification, that America’s Project Afghanistan is going nowhere and what is happening in Pakistan is a necessary upshot of the UN-sanctioned, US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Americans think Afghanistan can be stabilised through Pakistan; Pakistanis think their country will keep bearing the violent brunt of the US campaign in Afghanistan. There is no real consensus on the direction of causality. Finding common ground is even more difficult because with bombs going off in Pakistan almost every day, it is asking the Pakistanis a lot to not select arguments that suit their case. Ditto for the Americans.

While Americans want to stabilise the current Afghan political configuration, Pakistanis think that configuration, far from offering a solution, is increasingly a part of the problem. There is also evidence that Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his band of men in Kabul are in cahoots with India and ready to destabilise Pakistan. During a recent visit to Washington, a former senior official in the Bush administration confirmed to this writer that Karzai’s younger brother is involved in funding and arming Baloch separatists.(The younger brother who is on the CIA's payroll)

A hostile Afghanistan is bad enough for Pakistan; what makes it worse is the India factor. America seeks a closer strategic partnership with India. That makes Pakistan nervous for good reasons. Some Americans realise that what Pakistan may or may not do in Afghanistan or within its own Federal Administrated Tribal Areas would depend on what kind of role India can, or should, be allowed to play. The mention of India and how it impacts Pakistan’s choices in General Stanley McChrystal’s leaked report is a case in point.

Then there is the issue of cross-border movement. America’s logic on that score flummoxes Pakistan. America wants Pakistan to do more and clean up the area because not doing so allows elements hostile to the US to cross the Durand Line east to west and attack US and NATO-ISAF troops. This would be acceptable if only the US did not turn this logic on its head when dealing with the issue of those who cross over from west to east. Instead of accepting that foreign troops in Afghanistan fail to stem that movement, the US then turns around and accuses Pakistan of harbouring these elements and providing them safe havens!

Pakistanis also think the US may be collaborating with India and Afghanistan to destabilise Pakistan and using that as a pretext to snatch the jewels in Pakistan’s crown – i.e., Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. And this is not just the wing-nut theory; it has acceptance in a disturbingly broader circle.

Eminently stupid this may be, and the Americans are at pains to prove that it is so, it does show where relations stand.

In the middle of this came the KLB Bill. The bill was there for anyone to see, read, and comment upon much before it was passed and when it was being processed. Pakistanis, for various reasons, failed to do that. That was not America’s fault. In fact, Pakistan’s objections to the bill surprised the Americans who think their generosity is being nitpicked. Given the two views, it is hands across the sea.

So, can anything be done beyond what US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton, on her first visit to Pakistan, said rhetorically about “turning the page”? It depends on a number of factors.

Pakistan has to realise that US has genuine security interests in streamlining Afghanistan and getting rid of Al Qaeda. Also, America has limited leverage with India in terms of pressuring the latter into either lowering its salience in Afghanistan or dialoguing with Pakistan. Balancing the India-Pakistan act is a tough call and America is learning it the hard way.

The problem is that it is difficult for Pakistan to accept US interests in Afghanistan for two reasons: one, they seem to clash with Pakistan’s interests and so far the US has failed to provide any incentive structure to Pakistan; two, the US itself seems confused about what its doable objectives in Afghanistan are – as opposed to what may be desirable. Does it want to take out Al Qaeda or refashion Afghanistan? If it’s the former then it needs to review its full strategy; if it’s the latter then it is more of the same and the same up until now has failed to work.

Either way Pakistan realises that the clock is ticking on US presence in the region. That means contending with regional actors and hostile elements within Afghanistan. That also means that while Pakistan will use force against elements that attack it on its territory, it is understandably less concerned about groups that only operate inside Afghanistan.

While it will take a much longer piece to go into the details of how Pakistan and the US can – and must – begin to develop cooperative strategies to address the security threats in the region, let it be said that modalities aside they need to sit down and work out a joint strategy that underwrites and accepts Pakistan’s pre-eminent role in Afghanistan and Islamabad’s security concerns.

Until that happens, and given the debates within the US, including voices calling for a pullout, the two sides would continue to move in opposite directions.

Ejaz Haider is consulting editor of The Friday Times and host of Samaa TV's programme "Siyasiyat"

Vivek_A · Post by **Vivek_A** » 30 Oct 2009 03:20

Such Gup

Kindness of “enemies”

Huma Akram, late wife of Wasim Akram, and her family suffered greatly before she was flown out for treatment abroad. The callous attitude of the hospital administration disturbed an already distraught family. “Pehlay paisay jama karvao”, “falani davai khareed kay lao” etc were constant refrains in a case that should have been treated on an emergency footing. In contrast, the treatment received by the late Huma in the Indian city of Chennai where the patient was taken to hospital when her plane made an emergency landing, was exemplary. There was no question of jama karaoing any money before the treatment began. In fact, the hospital treated Huma for 3 days without asking for any bills to be paid. And it was only on Wasim Akram’s insistence that they reluctantly agreed to settle the bill after Huma had tragically died. Also, Huma’s Chennai doctor insisted that Wasim stay with him and his family at his home, which Wasim did. Thank God for the kindness of our so-called enemies!

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Oct 2009 03:21

anishns wrote:
Vivek_A wrote:When Hillary was taking questions from the students, were the students allowed to wear shoes?

Sorry if this is in bad taste..

link

Also, a picture from London (During a prayer before Pakis march some where in London)
shoes

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 30 Oct 2009 03:26

The banner headline ad on top of Dung's main page is:

Keep America Safe

Keep Gitmo open

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Oct 2009 03:33

^^^
Also once I saw "Another reason to be proud" ... right when the top head line was about a horrible suicide bomb blast.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 30 Oct 2009 04:30

Kashmir na Milla re Humko, Kashmir na Mila re Humko
Koi Bakistan bacchane ka karo re Uppaye.

Our own monsters ( Waiting For Jinnha"s Pure Islam )
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=205793

Thori Qi Aqal

Peshabghar has again become the victim of terrorists who believe in imposing a religious dictatorship by spreading terror for the achievement of their political objectives. One hundred and five Pakistanis lost their lives in the narrow and congested lanes of Meena Bazaar and hundreds of others were maimed and injured. Once again we hear the all-too-familiar cries of "Muslims can't to this." ---Of course they did.
( Bhai Sahib aabh Kore Mamla Kidhar Hai, { Abb Pakisatan Bang Gya Kore Mamla for World)
Bakistan is accused of being the epicentre of terrorism. Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism but that does not absolve us from the responsibility of controlling and curbing the activities of non-state actors such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed or other jihadi outfits bent upon unleashing death and destruction. In an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel President Barrack Obama's advisor Bruce Ridel said about Pakistan: "International terrorism, nuclear proliferation, drugs, democracy deficit, the threat of nuclear war, and Islam, all come together in an extraordinarily combustible way."

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 30 Oct 2009 04:39

Vivek_A wrote:The RAPE poohbah speaks for the TSPA...

Turn the page

Ejaz Haider

The porki 'elite','intellectuals' can write reams and reams of papers and editorials. But they all come down to the same point - Islam khatre me hai, hame Kashmir de do. Its all Indias fault. They can rather stop wasting pen and ink.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Oct 2009 06:15

Earthquake hits parts of northern region

SLAMABAD: Tremors of severe intensity shook large parts of Pakistan’s northern region around midnight, but there were no immediate reports of loss of life or damage to property.

Reports from Peshawar to Islamabad and Lahore to Mansehra and Swat and even parts of Azad Kashmir said tremors jolted houses, forcing many people to come out of their houses to avoid any injuries.

A senior official of the metrological department told journalists that it was an earthquake of high magnitude, with initial data on Richter scale showing its intensity of 6.1.

Meanwhile:
Death toll from Peshawar blast rises to 117

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 30 Oct 2009 07:37

The roots of terrorism
By I.A. Rawman
The roots of terrorism in Pakistan are indigenous; they lie in the enormous work the state has done, by its acts of omission and commission, to eradicate the ideas of liberal Islam and facilitate the rise of obscurantists leaving the entire area of intra-religious discourse open and clear to utterly conservative and dogmatic twisters of texts and exploiters of the faithful’s vaguely understood belief

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... -terrorism

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Oct 2009 07:43

Omar Abdullah on Pakistan

“I think Pakistan today is reeling under the sort of assault that they wouldn’t have imagined possible a few years ago. I think they have begun to realise the futility of supporting the sort of forces that they were supporting against India and particularly against Jammu and Kashmir over the last two decades and perhaps this is the time when we can engage them and reinforce this point that they have nothing to gain by supporting these forces — because today they are directed towards India, tomorrow they will be directed towards Pakistan,” Mr. Abdullah told a news channel in response to Dr. Singh’s statement about reaching out to Pakistan.

“And that’s exactly what’s happened. You can’t ride the tiger without running the risk of being swallowed by it. Therefore, I think the message the Prime Minister had for Pakistan today was important, was significant and he said everything that needed to be said, which is we are committed to a dialogue with Pakistan; we believe that the majority in Pakistan wants a good healthy relationship with India, but Pakistan also has to see that India has certain concerns that need to be taken on board,” he added.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Oct 2009 08:15

Advice to India from The Hindu

Equally, New Delhi must stop poking Pakistan in the eye with gratuitous comments after every other terrorist attack in that country.

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 30 Oct 2009 08:34

Some input from across the border....
Rahul is possibly our Rahul baba. So the place indicate by Headley
is New Delhi. But the real target location was NOIDA/Gurgaon area
-the posh business area to scare off the business establishments.
Is GoI taking measures to protect such sites?

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 30 Oct 2009 09:00

SSridhar wrote:Advice to India from The Hindu
Equally, New Delhi must stop poking Pakistan in the eye with gratuitous comments after every other terrorist attack in that country.

Excellente.

The Chindu, lke its commie soulmates, is a reliable barometer for what the GoI is doing right. Good, good.

arnab · Post by **arnab** » 30 Oct 2009 09:51

http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial ... 70632.aspx

Pakistanis seem to accept that they are in a sinking ship but prefer to blame the leaking hull on unknown swimmers rather than their unwillingness to plug holes. This is not a surprise.

***

To look too closely at themselves would require Pakistanis to acknowledge that the militants now waging war against them are their own creation, that they have guided their country away from a modern States’s inclusive polity and that if their sovereignty today is mortgaged to Washington, Beijing and Riyadh, it is because of their fruitless attempt to match India in every field.

****

Countries that require therapy rather than mere material assistance are not beyond a cure. Unfortunately, the cure often comes after a complete political and social collapse

***

A failed State first occurs when people begin to blame everyone but themselves for their problems.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 30 Oct 2009 11:09

Washington gasps at Hillary charm-el-shake offensive that leaves Islamabad stunned

"Her inner voice became her outer voice," Martha Raddatz, a veteran NBC correspondent said on the network, explaining that while many in the administration believed what she said to be true (that Pakistan is coddling terrorists), it was rare for America's top diplomat to say it publicly. Officials in Washington were trying to keep a straight face, but there were a few gasps, she added.

After having publicly doubted the bona fides of her hosts, she added, as an afterthought: "Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not gettable...I don't know. As far as we know, they are in Pakistan." At one point during the exchanges, when a journalist spoke about all the services rendered by Pakistan for the US, Mrs Clinton snapped, "We have also given you billions."

Clinton’s remarks rocked Washington on the eve of President Obama’s seventh, and possibly final, review of the Af-Pak strategy, slated for Friday. ''She is challenging them...it is a high-risk strategy,'' Richard Haas, a prominent policy pundit, said in a television interview.

But despite the charm offensive heading into a potential PR disaster, the word in Washington is that Uncle Sam will continue to lavish more guns and butter on Pakistan, as it has done for decades, this time in the name of defeating terrorism. If anything, Pakistan's own angry counter-offensive is poised to yield an even bigger bonanza.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Oct 2009 11:13

arnab wrote:http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial ... 70632.aspx
A failed State first occurs when people begin to blame everyone but themselves for their problems.

A failed state occurs when the State refuses to see the problem at all that is so obvious to everyone else. That is exactly what happened. It didn't happen recently. It happened in March, 1940. Why did that happen ? That happened because there was no strategic vision and the only vision was looking not beyond its own feet which was somehow to achieve the impossible dream of destroying India.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 30 Oct 2009 11:27

Sorry if posted before Clinton: Thats US taxpayer money...Pakistan doesnt have to take this money. Talat Hussain gets a GUBO on video. Ouch !

negi · Post by **negi** » 30 Oct 2009 11:42

Yeah but I wonder if this interview was more about re-assuring an average American who was worried about his money being missused than rapping the TSP .

arun · Post by **arun** » 30 Oct 2009 11:47

Amber G. wrote:Meanwhile:

Death toll from Peshawar blast rises to 117

The Chairman of the IEDology of Pakistan Trust and Editor-in-Chief of the Nation, Majid Nizami, delivers a magnum opus of a rant claiming Wednesday’s demonstration of the IEDology of Pakistan at Peshawar was carried out by India

:

India behind terror acts in Pak: Nizami

Published: October 30, 2009

LAHORE - Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust and Editor-in-Chief, The Nation Majid Nizami has said that Indian terrorists were committing terrorism in Pakistan while entering through Pak-Afghan border. ………………..

Majid Nizami said young generations should thank God Almighty that they were born independent otherwise we had to lead life with Hindus. He said Hindus did not want the division of India and Muslims despite being in minority ruled India for 1000 years. Nizami was of the view that only those people were involved in terrorist attacks who were not happy with their lives and most of them were being paid Rs3 to 4 lakhs per head by India to attack Pakistan after entering Pakistan through Afghanistan. ……………..

He asked the teachers to impart awareness to students about Two-Nation theory and tell them that Hindu and Muslims are two different nations having their own culture and customs. They worship idols and we are against idols and within this situation it was difficult for us to live together.

He said there was a time when there were only two to three shops of Muslims in Anarkali bazaar but at present, thanks God that there were all Muslims people running their business. ……………...

The Nation

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 30 Oct 2009 12:09

arun wrote: The Chairman of the IEDology of Pakistan Trust and Editor-in-Chief of the Nation, Majid Nizami, delivers a magnum opus of a rant claiming Wednesday’s demonstration of the IEDology of Pakistan at Peshawar was carried out by India :

India behind terror acts in Pak: Nizami

Published: October 30, 2009

LAHORE - Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust and Editor-in-Chief, The Nation Majid Nizami has said that Indian terrorists were committing terrorism in Pakistan while entering through Pak-Afghan border. ………………..

Majid Nizami said young generations should thank God Almighty that they were born independent otherwise we had to lead life with Hindus. He said Hindus did not want the division of India and Muslims despite being in minority ruled India for 1000 years.

The Nation

Probably better analyzed in BENIS thread. But on the looks of it Nizami looks like a "Hindutva" agent. He is claiming that Muslims can rule for 1000 years if they are in minority. Because in Bakistan, despite muslims being majority in the past 50 years or so, the sovirginity gap of Bakis is increasing due to:
i) all the GUBO by Bakis to amrikhans and taller than mountain friends
ii) Bakis do not follow perfect islam. More of it is needed, and they are unwilling to let maulana diesel to teach and implement the correct version.
By this remark, Nizami is actually asking muslims to become minority in Bakistan, so they can comfortably rule for another 1000 years in Bakistan. Tauba, Tauba. where is Maulana Radio when he is needed.

amit · Post by **amit** » 30 Oct 2009 12:23

kmkraoind wrote:Washington gasps at Hillary charm-el-shake offensive that leaves Islamabad stunned

This is interesting.

For the second time on visit to this region Hillary has said things which the Indian establishment - in fact India in general - wants to here. And what she says goes against the generally accepted position of the Obama Administration.

In Mumbai she said 123 exempts India. A lot of us thought it was a slip. Now on a "charm offensive" she does very plain speaking to the Pukes.

Is there a schism between the Man of Peace and the Former First Lady? Or is this a good old fashioned Good Cop, Bad Cop routine?

Somehow I get the sense that Hillary is trying to leave her mark on US foreign policy independent of Obama. Another shot at the presidency in future maybe?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Oct 2009 12:31

arun wrote:
India behind terror acts in Pak: Nizami

The Nation

From the above, an interesting admission . .

Iqbal Shafi said that before creation of Pakistan teachers worked hard for the character building of the students and that was the reason that leaders like Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal were there to get a separate homeland for Muslims.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 30 Oct 2009 12:32

[youtube]b3l85dCkXbw&feature=player_embedded#[/youtube]

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 30 Oct 2009 12:43

Even when PNS.Pakis-tanic is sinking,thanks to the internal explosions set off by its muntinous crew,the captain and his chief officers of the doomed vessel will blame India for torpedoing the ship,unwilling to acknowledge that the ill-fated ship was taken into dangerous uncharted waters where the icebergs and sandbars of Islamist fundamentalism lay waiting to rip the ship apart."Pirates" too,like Osama Bin Laden, laden with gold from the House of Saud and operating under the CIA's Jolly Roger, boarded the ship a long time ago,from the days when Gen.Zia had his hand on the tiller.The land of Afghanistan was the ship's course then,where the captain and the crew hoped to loot and plunder the poppyfields,where empires of Europe had waged war for centuries only to return with greatly reduced numbers ,ragged and bandaged ,demoralised in defeat.

With noses cut off and faces bloodied,the ghosts of the vessel have returned to haunt it,as the ship starts to come apart.The mutinous crew have now even started to mutiny amongst themselves .Captain-Gen.Zia and Bibi Bhutto,Pak's first female pirate chief,have both been ceremoniously sent to Davy Jones' Locker by members of the crew and passengers.In fact,for quite some time now the passengers,especially those from the staterooms and suites, have been taking to the lifeboats and hailing passing ships and bumboats for salvation.Ships flying the British flag are preferred ,where safe in Blighty,the passengers of the Pakistanic have resumed their tradiition of slitting throats,this time those of their rescuers,as they try to overthrow the House of Windsor and Parliament at Westminister,even atrociously demanding that the royal yacht Britannia be renamed as the Pakistania! Poor Naipaul was way off the mark with his "million mutinies now" ,mistakenly taking India for its neighnour the Pakis-tanic!

The further the ship sinks,the more devastating are the explosions,some say that the fire is getting dangerously close to the ships's engine room and nucelar reactor.Some of the crew are ready to sell the nuclear fuel before the ship sinks and several pitrate vessels are hovering close by waiting to loot the ship before it sinks.Despite the fire being unable to bring under control,the morons and cretins of the SS.America are refuelling the
Pakis-tanic with even more explosives and fuel! The captain of the America,Captain Black-bum (no relation to the legendary pirate Capt.Black-beard) and his first mate XO Hilarious,are clueless as to the state of the Pakistanic,erroneously thinking that more fuel and cannons will enable the vessel to sink the pirate vessels,the PS Taliban and the Al-Qaeda.All that the Pakistanic has been doing for decades is to head off in the opposite direction and bombard the coast of India,hoping top conquer that land and make off with the risches of Kashmir! sadly for the crew of the Pakistanic,despite innumerable raids and salvoes,the land of India is not sinking,its flag flies merrily in the monsoon wind and instead the Pakistanic often runs aground on the reefs and sandbars that protect India,holing itself in the process.The poor vessel,holed in the hull,with its moth-eaten sails in tatters is making water fast while being blown off course by a combination of poor seamanship and power drunk captains and officers.The captain's table consists of such a motley band of unscrupolous varlets and murderers that its course is truly doomed.