[/quote]wig wrote:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/201101 ... ote]Salman Taseer was murdered because of his stand on the blasphemy law regarding Holy Prophet. There is a strange coincidence. His father too had praised, defended and arranged for the funeral of Illamddin in 1929 because Illamddin, who had killed Rajpal Malhotra, the owner of Hind Pocket Books and father of former Punjab Governor Surender Nath because of his comments on Holy Prophet.
asprinzl wrote:Cant Indians live for a couple of months without onions?
address given for the registration is Noor Hospital, Delhi, Karnataka, 67890
SOMETIMES, it takes a friend`s murder to put things in perspective, and to show us exactly where the battle lines are. Salman Taseer`s brutal killing, apart from causing deep pain and grief to his family, friends and supporters, has again underlined the yawning rift in Pakistani society.
More than the assassination itself, the proud smirk on the killer`s face, and the vocal support he has been receiving from a significant section of the media, lawyers as well as religious parties, shows us where Pakistan stands today. It is this hate-filled environment that has made rational discourse virtually impossible.
Lacking the intellectual tools to conduct a reasoned debate on the issues of the day, religious elements in our society cling to their rigid dogma, using threats to make their point instead of logic. For anybody who disagrees with them, murder is the automatic, default response. The fact that ideological killers are seldom punished encourages them further.
Salman refused to be cowed down by these bullies, and paid the price for his courage. But how many are willing to take a similar stand? Certainly none from the PPP. The ruling party has usually rolled over when it comes to taking on the religious right. Indeed, apart from Salman Taseer and Sherry Rehman, other senior members of the ruling PPP have ducked for cover whenever the controversial blasphemy laws have come under discussion. When Sherry Rehman moved a private member`s bill to make these laws a little less iniquitous for the minorities, she received no support from her own party.
And while Nawaz Sharif, Altaf Hussain and Maulana Fazlur Rahman play politics to destabilise an already unstable government, they do not seem to realise that the enemy, represented by Mumtaz Qadri, Salman Taseer`s assassin, is already within the ramparts of the state. No doubt Nawaz Sharif and the maulana think they can strike a deal with the likes of Qadri, but they should remember the fate of other politicians elsewhere who thought they could share power with extremists.
Much is being made of the fact that a fanatic like Qadri could be assigned to a VIP security team. But in today`s Pakistan, this is the norm, not the exception. Our state schools as well as our madressahs have become breeding grounds for extremism. These ideas are then amplified across much of our media. This kind of constant brainwashing makes it hard for people to think independently and rationally.
Successive governments, both civilian and military, have shut their eyes to what is being taught at our educational institutions. Ditto for the sermons in many mosques that are in reality little more than incitement to violence. Ditto again for the retrogressive, anti-West propaganda that passes for informed debate on many of our private TV channels.
After Salman`s murder, the blogosphere has been full of angry and anguished postings from people who were appalled by this evil act. Well-meaning people, they are trying to connect with like-minded bloggers to formulate a response to the tragedy. They were particularly indignant over a major Urdu newspaper`s seeming support for the killer, as well as the religious groups who appeared to be threatening those mourning Salman`s death.
The reality is that civil society is hopelessly outgunned by the forces of darkness. Abandoned by the state, and opposed by an implacable, well-armed foe, ordinary, peaceful citizens of Pakistan have few allies in this unequal battle. While people like Qadri, impatient to be in paradise, are positively itching to be killed, normal people would prefer to live out their allotted years in relative peace and security.
This difference in approach to life and death is one reason the jihadis have the wind in their sails. If even hand-picked cops can turn their guns on the people they are supposed to be guarding, what protection do ordinary citizens have? Another factor that multiplies the right`s street power is that most of the angry, bearded faces you see on your TV screen demonstrating against virtually everything belong to people who don`t really do anything. Whereas most members of civil society have real jobs, the rank and file of religious groups get stipends, or employment with local mosques that does not interfere with their activities as political agitators. Guardian
Declan Walsh, reporting on Salman Taseer`s funeral for the , wrote: “As graveyard workers shovelled sticky winter clay onto the coffin, many Pakistanis wondered what was disappearing into the grave with the outspoken politician.” Guardian
Tolerance of any difference of opinion, for one. In the same issue of the , Mohammed Hanif wrote about a TV discussion in which both the presenter and a guest seemed to agree that the Punjab governor had been killed for his open criticism of the blasphemy laws. The implication was that somehow, Salman`s views justified his murder. The same school of thought holds that Benazir Bhutto could have avoided her fate had she not stood up in her bullet-proof vehicle.
Both are typical instances of blaming the victim. By absolving the killers of their guilt, even mainstream media figures help to create an environment where murder is justified.
I first met Benazir Bhutto after her return from exile in 1986 at Salman`s home where, at her request, he had invited PPP women workers who had suffered under Zia`s martial law. Salman had also asked a few friends over to meet Ms Bhutto. Reflecting on that evening, I thought that two qualities the host and the guest of honour shared were courage, and an abiding respect for other points of view. May both of them rest in peace.
Onion prices are a politically sensitive issue in India. Several state governments have been brought down in the past by the onion price issue. So politicians are desperate to bring prices down. Hoarders are having a gala time.asprinzl wrote:Cant Indians live for a couple of months without onions? As far as I can see...surplus cotton can be stored for quite a long time. If you have surplus onion and if you refuse to export that surplus onion to India then you need to store those surplus onions if you dont find alternative market. How good are the Paki long term storage facilities? And onions have a certain shelf life....after that they rot. If Pakis refuse to export onions to India....let them onions rot. Diet without onion for a couple of months will not be the end of the world if that sacrifice would teach Pakis a lesson.
Avram
This I guess is Karnatakas' revenge for 'Bangalore, Kerala'?Anujan wrote:Pro-Qadri website registered on fake India address
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk ... nal/2/71/2address given for the registration is Noor Hospital, Delhi, Karnataka, 67890
And btw, our man Aatish could easily plug into the RAPE network as well (or is he DIE 
) - his girlfriend number one used to be Emma Windsor daughter of Princess Michael of Kent, no less. A marriage was on the cards apparently, but the girl's mother, apparently thought she would be better off looking after monkeys in the Kalahari than babies in India. However, one U.S. official said Akhtar has extensive ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and is someone who should not be free to walk around the streets of Pakistan or any other country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Former U.S. intelligence officials and analysts said Akhtar's release is yet another sign of Pakistan's reluctance or inability to crack down on the most dangerous terrorist organizations.
"I think it is clear that Akhtar is going to go back to the front lines of the fight against the United States, which complicates our mission in Afghanistan, and threatens the stability and security of the region in general," says Charles Bacon a U.S.-based intelligence analyst.
Pakistani and U.S. analysts say Akhtar's release reflects a growing lack of control by the country's security agencies over one-time prodigies who have broken away and turned their weapons on the state.
Mohammed Amir Rana, who runs the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said freeing Akhtar was a desperate attempt by the security agencies to reunite militant groups whose members have splintered into smaller groups and in some cases, turned against Pakistan because of its support for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and its attacks on the Taliban at home.
Bhutto had named Akhtar as a person she feared might try to kill her.
To protest his innocence, Akhtar's lawyer has filed suit against Bhutto's widower, President Asif Zardari, complaining that Bhutto had referred to his client as her would-be assassin, said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. Bhutto named him as the bombmaker in the October attack on her in her posthumously released book.
"But the real reason is simply that there are elements in the (intelligence) agencies who are sympathetic to these guys," said Siddiqa, referring to militants.
No charges were ever brought against Akhtar over Bhutto or his suspected involvement in an earlier assassination attempt against former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf, according to Jane's Defense.
Akhtar's operational chief Ilyas Kashmiri had connections with some of the Mumbai conspirators. He was linked to David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani American in jail in the United States for his involvement in the Mumbai attack. Akhtar, who ran al-Qaida linked training camps in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, has also been linked to five American would-be jihadis arrested in 2008 in Pakistan.
Akhtar was also alleged to have masterminded a plot to overthrow her government in 1995, according to Bhutto, but escaped to the United Arab Emirates. During her tenure she had issued a warrant for his arrest.
"It is law that a man being investigated and interrogated in sensitive and high-profile cases should be under house arrest and strict vigilance by the police," said the Punjab Law Minister Sanaullah. But once the investigation is done and no charges brought, the suspect must be released, he said.
"The one thing I can offer is that Pakistan has had trouble holding the leadership of banned terrorist organizations and extremist groups accountable for anything, either because of perceived legal constraints or concerns about stirring an extremist hornet's nest," said Juan Carlos Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration.
This {Taseer's assassination} represents a significant victory for the insurgents who are threatening to seize control of Pakistan but it's important for Westerners to remember that the majority of Pakistanis voted for moderates like Taseer.
ISLAMABAD, 10 JAN: The assassin of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer today confessed in a Pakistani court that he had acted alone in killing the politician and that he had been planning the attack before being deployed to guard him.
Even before Qadri's confession, an official of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was detained for his alleged role in motivating Qadri.
Islamabad: He is a self-declared warrior against US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. He allegedly ran terrorist training camps there when the Taliban was in power. He was suspected of involvement in the attempted assassination of two Pakistani leaders.
And today, Qari Saifullah Akhtar is free.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, the top judicial official in Akhtar's native Punjab province, said he was released from four months of house arrest in early December because authorities finished questioning him in connection with the October 2007 attempted assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and found no grounds to charge him. Bhutto was killed in December the same year.
However, one US official said Akhtar has extensive ties to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups and is someone who should not be free to walk around the streets of Pakistan or any other country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Former US intelligence officials and analysts said Akhtar's release is yet another sign of Pakistan's reluctance or inability to crack down on the most dangerous terrorist organisations.
The leader of Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hafiz Saeed, was freed from custody on more than one occasion and is currently free. Lashkar-e-Toiba, headquartered in Punjab, is believed to be the mastermind behind the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
As part of Pakistan's battle with neighbour India, the military and intelligence helped train and arm militant groups who fought in the disputed Kashmir region. Many of those groups cut their teeth on guerrilla warfare in the US-backed 1980s insurgent war against Russian soldiers in Afghanistan.
But military and intelligence officials have said their relationship with such groups was severed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which marked a turning point that moved Pakistan into a closer alliance with the US. However there are lingering concerns that some links with militants remain.
Pakistani military officials say the military and intelligence services fighting insurgents in the northwestern tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan are stretched too thin to open another front against militants in the Punjab. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media.
A number of militant groups active within Pakistan are headquartered in Punjab, where 60 percent of Pakistan's 170 million people live. Religious tensions have been running so high in the province that its governor, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards last week for criticizing blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for a variety of religious offenses, including insulting Islam. The bodyguard has been celebrated as a hero by many in Pakistan.
Military officials said that gathering actionable intelligence in the tribal regions, where some al Qaeda's leaders are believed to be hiding, has been deadly. A senior intelligence official said Pakistan has lost more than 50 spies killed by militants.
"I think it is clear that Akhtar is going to go back to the front lines of the fight against the United States, which complicates our mission in Afghanistan, and threatens the stability and security of the region in general," says Charles Bacon a US-based intelligence analyst.
Pakistani and US analysts say Akhtar's release reflects a growing lack of control by the country's security agencies over one-time prodigies who have broken away and turned their weapons on the state.
Mohammed Amir Rana, who runs the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said freeing Akhtar was a desperate attempt by the security agencies to reunite militant groups whose members have splintered into smaller groups and in some cases, turned against Pakistan because of its support for the US-led war in Afghanistan and its attacks on the Taliban at home.
Bhutto had named Akhtar as a person she feared might try to kill her.
To protest his innocence, Akhtar's lawyer has filed suit against Bhutto's widower, President Asif Zardari, complaining that Bhutto had referred to his client as her would-be assassin, said author and defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. Bhutto named him as the bombmaker in the October attack on her in her posthumously released book.
"But the real reason is simply that there are elements in the (intelligence) agencies who are sympathetic to these guys," said Siddiqa, referring to militants.
No charges were ever brought against Akhtar over Bhutto or his suspected involvement in an earlier assassination attempt against former president General Pervez Musharraf, according to Jane's Defence.
Akhtar's operational chief Ilyas Kashmiri had connections with some of the Mumbai conspirators. He was linked to David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani American in jail in the United States for his involvement in the Mumbai attack. Akhtar, who ran al Qaeda linked training camps in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, has also been linked to five American would-be jihadis arrested in 2008 in Pakistan.
Akhtar was also alleged to have masterminded a plot to overthrow her government in 1995, according to Bhutto, but escaped to the United Arab Emirates. During her tenure she had issued a warrant for his arrest.
Gerard wrote:How America can make a difference by Shehrbano TaseerBut please. Lets see that money first.
This has bee known since the early 90s at least. Not worth loosing sleep over.rahuls wrote:Guys you must see this, an interesting interview with Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU_JuaBnw4k
Edit: In part 3 @3.38, he says that if Isreal, US or any country attacks Pakistan then Pakistan should nuke India, this coming from a former Paki chief. Gurus, if any one knows, how true is this, is it part of formal Paki strategy ?
Muppalla, I have a refinement to what you have written.Muppalla wrote:
(1) The divisions between the bearded ones and the army has widened from 2004 onwards and the gap has increased due drone attacks.
(2) There is serious need to remove this gap to take the relationship between beards and Army if Pakistan has to get back to glorious past
(3) All the security guards and other security is nothing but the ones carefully drafted by Army
(4) In pursuit of show of loyalty to the beards inside Army and outside - the Army has orchestrated dumping few RAPES. Army itself has many fellow RAPES but however, in the larger interest of the nation it is okay to dump few of them.
It would be interesting to compile a list of notables who praised or defended Illamddin. Just as it turns out most Khilafat types were later members of the Muslim League (but the Muslim League line is that Gandhi gave encouragement to fundamentalists by Khilafat - but then Muslim League was made of fundamentalists, no?).wig wrote:an intersting article in today's tribune published from chandigarh on the family of the late salman tasseer and his late father.
Salman Taseer was murdered because of his stand on the blasphemy law regarding Holy Prophet. There is a strange coincidence. His father too had praised, defended and arranged for the funeral of Illamddin in 1929 because Illamddin, who had killed Rajpal Malhotra, the owner of Hind Pocket Books and father of former Punjab Governor Surender Nath because of his comments on Holy Prophet.
Interesting idea, it will be a total sham to begin with. But with the current khante gobermound any thing is possible. In this case we may be looking a slow motion collapse of the TSP.Anujan wrote:Shiv-ji
A "national reconciliation guvrmand" (made up of Khakhis with a smattering of the lotas) cannot be ruled out. In fact, it will be sold to Unkil as the only possible way to massively restructure Pakistani economy and the Jihadis. If you remember, when Mushy sided with Unkil there were massive rage-boy protests after every friday prayer. Later it turned out that it was a dog and pony show to extract even more from Unkil....
In late 70's the cause for Janata Party's fall from central power was the escalating price of onions, if memory serves me right.shiv wrote:Onion prices are a politically sensitive issue in India. Several state governments have been brought down in the past by the onion price issue. So politicians are desperate to bring prices down. Hoarders are having a gala time.
anupmisra wrote:And, the argument to end all arguments (delivered only by a paki):
Qadri is not a religious fanatic
This was disclosed in the initial report submitted to Interior Minister Rehman Malik.Officials are investigating how the idea of attacking Governor Taseer came to his mind because he is not religious fanatic.
Mumtaz Qadri never enrolled at any Madrassa
Last week's murder of Punjabi Gov. Salman Taseer is being described as a setback for moderates in Pakistan.
"Politician's Death a Blow to Tolerance" read one headline. Another said the killer represented the "enemy within."
That's way too optimistic.
Fact is, "tolerance" in Pakistan now seems beyond reasonable hope. The Islamists aren't an enemy of the state -- they virtually are the state.
…………. in Pakistan, Qadri isn't some rare Islamist militant; much of the country sympathizes with him.
Taseer's death was no setback for tolerance, but, rather, evidence that moderation has little hope in Pakistan. The West denies that ugly truth at its peril.
Good point. An obvious paki admission to this two-proged problem with their mindset. One can also look at it from a twisted paki way by saying that madrassas breed fundos to take care of "external problems", which is state sponsored. In-bred fundos without the madrassa bachelor of arts (in mayhem) degrees are meant to take care of "internal problems".krisna wrote:And, the argument to end all arguments (delivered only by a paki):
Qadri is not a religious fanatic
This was disclosed in the initial report submitted to Interior Minister Rehman Malik.Officials are investigating how the idea of attacking Governor Taseer came to his mind because he is not religious fanatic.Mumtaz Qadri never enrolled at any Madrassa
Corollary-
1) Madrassas breed fundos
2) fundos need not come from madrassas.
Support for Jack Straw's comment on the prevalence of the involvement of those originating in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in sexually grooming underage girls:arun wrote: {Snipped}................ More on the subject of Jack Straw‘s comment that those who originate in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are involved in the sexual grooming of young white girls in the UK :
White girls are 'easy meat' for Pakistani men: Jack Straw under fire for making 'offensive' remarks on sex abuse cases
And when you add the penchant for sexual grooming of young white girls of those who originate in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to their traditional penchant for IT aka Islamic Terrorism, you get this head line:
From terrorists to sexual predators: Who'd be a British Pakistani man right now?
Bakistan is a religious ghetto ruled by Kabila gaurds a.k.a TSPA with a RAPE mask.uddu wrote:Liberal Bakistan? Then what is Bakistan?
to see such Bakistan...Please do take a look at the major U.S. arms sales and grants to Pakistan since 2001 (prepared for the Congressional Research Service by K. Alan Kronstadt) by clicking on the image below. Now see for yourself how much of this equipment is meant for counterinsurgency or counter-terrorist operations inside Pakistan, and how much is meant for conventional warfare against an enemy on its eastern borders.
Hari Seldon ji,Hari Seldon wrote:Even as we speak none (or at most one) of the crore commanders of the PA is a beard. Agreed, fundoos like Hamid Gul need no beard and the clean shaven india haters are actually perhaps more dangerous, but slowly as the % of beards in the crore commander groups grows, we can rest assured, TSP's rent-seeking abilities so critically dependent on running with the hare and hunting with the hound will have vanished only. Looking forward to that day.
Great when this awareness spreads amongst the white girls all over the world. Let the Pakistani men die of thirst, sitting in a lake of fresh sweet water. The more the word "Pakistani" comes up in this debate the better. No need to keep back.arun wrote:Support for Jack Straw's comment on the prevalence of the involvement of those originating in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in sexually grooming underage girls:arun wrote: {Snipped}................ More on the subject of Jack Straw‘s comment that those who originate in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are involved in the sexual grooming of young white girls in the UK :
White girls are 'easy meat' for Pakistani men: Jack Straw under fire for making 'offensive' remarks on sex abuse cases
And when you add the penchant for sexual grooming of young white girls of those who originate in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to their traditional penchant for IT aka Islamic Terrorism, you get this head line:
From terrorists to sexual predators: Who'd be a British Pakistani man right now?
Yorkshire MP backs Straw in Pakistani 'grooming' row
Pakistani Foreign office summoned the acting Indian High Commissioner to seek details of investigations into the Samjhota Express bombings.
anupmisra wrote:The headline says: Pak demands India to apprise of Samjhota probe
The body of the text below says:Pakistani Foreign office summoned the acting Indian High Commissioner to seek details of investigations into the Samjhota Express bombings.