Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - Aug 21, 2013

member_22872 · Post by **member_22872** » 20 Nov 2013 21:15

Coup against a coup maker? That's some coup...clowns shouldn't die. TSP needs some sense of humour. We will end up closing BENIS thread, if the clown is made to swing on a lamp post.

rajanb · Post by **rajanb** » 20 Nov 2013 21:32

Received Via email from Foreign Policy Magazine.

Business as usual in Al-Pagalstan

Pakistan

Multiple attacks

At least seven members of the Pakistani Taliban were killed in North Waziristan on Wednesday when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the truck they were traveling in (BBC, ET). According to intelligence officials, Qari Saifuddin, a local Taliban commander, was among those killed in the attack near the town of Mir Ali. It is unclear who was behind the bombing, and no one has claimed immediate responsibility for the incident.

Elsewhere in North Waziristan, along the Bannu-Mir Ali road, at least two Frontier Corps security personnel were killed and seven others were injured Wednesday morning in a suicide attack on their checkpoint (AFP, Dawn, RFE/RL). The area has been cordoned off and a curfew has been imposed, as an investigation into the attack is ongoing. Abu Baseer, a spokesman for the little-known Ansarul Mujahideen group, called several media outlets to say the group was responsible for the attack, which he claimed was revenge for the death of former Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike on November 1 (AP).

Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs, told the Pakistani Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday that the United States has promised it will not carry out any drone strikes in Pakistan while the government conducts peace talks with the militant organizations operating in the country, though he did not provide further details about when these assurances were given (Dawn). According to Aziz, a team of government negotiators had been prepared to hold talks with Mehsud on November 2, the day after he was killed, and the peace process has been on hold since then. Aziz "quoted President Obama as saying that America does not want 70 percent of Pakistanis to hate it, but it was desperate " (ET). Administration officials in Washington have not commented on Aziz's claims.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 20 Nov 2013 21:58

sanjaykumar ji, i was referring to a subset of punjus in india, could be hindus, could be sikhs, could be agnostics/modern day liberals etc. they get taken in by all the pappi jhappi of the pakis. though it seems they are a minority of the larger group who as you say are not so silly, these aforesaid folks tend to be pretty vocal and hence get disproportionate airtime.

Punjabis who are WKKs escaped from nPakistan in 1947 among riots. They were helped by their "muslim friends" to move across the border while their muslim friends took care of their property left behind (some even gave token money for the property later). This category is Nayar, Gujral, Manmohan, Khushwant Singh, et, all. This category had top educated/ruling economic/political non-muslim elite in 1947.

Other people who lost their property, families in riots are/were very bitter. They are looking for the day when they will get back their stuff.

Milkha Singh lost his whole family and refused to go back to nPakistan until Nehru forced him.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 20 Nov 2013 22:15

JohneeG has a point, but I think it is slightly different from what he says.
I feel that the older gen is more likely to have WKKs than today's gen. The reason is many would have some buddy called Abdul with whom they played gulli danda with in some gully in Lahore. I remember the actor Shammi Kapoor (family from Peshawar who moved to Mumbai) who talked about a buddy he grew up with in Mumbai who moved to Pakistan and got an email from him after some 50 years. Story similar to the Google video. These guys may have grown up in Karachi or Lahore. I am sure LK Advani has a soft corner for Karachi which in some way may translate to Pakistan. On the other hand, folks like my grandpa had no connection to anyone in Pak since they lived far within India. In his old age he had some dementia problems and was constantly flash-backing to 1947 riots with anger.

Today's generation has severe self-validation and confidence issues. They want to be seen as progressive, modern and not like their parents and grandparents who believed in the "caste system" and "sati". They look towards the West for guidance on how to behave and love it when the West pats them on their backs and says "Good going boy!". These types turn into parrots for the US Govt and say things that makes people in the US/UK approve. These are usually anti India and anti Hinduism statements and ones that show Indian culture in a bad light. These become WKKs and hold Aman Ki Asha tamashas and want to be known as peaceniks. The ones with higher self esteem and who don't need gora love don't care about a pat on the back. They freely express what they think about India/Hinduism.

It is easy to be a peacenik/Paki lover than to be a Hindu nationalist in public. I have felt this myself, many Indians are fence sitters and don't want to be seen as associated with Hinduism when a gora is around. But the gora can freely talk about his church.

This was also evident when Slumdog Millionaire came out and my FB was overrun by desis praising it as true cinema, bring out "reality" etc. No one had a different view, that it showed India and Indians as filthy dirty backward creatures. I watched for a couple of weeks before I began posting on these threads. Interestingly enough, though I got some criticism, many people including my own relatives changed their views. My suspicion is that they didn't really change their views internally, but they were putting on a "SDM is awesome" show just for their gora friends to get them to love them.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 20 Nov 2013 22:52

SDM would have been a good, gritty movie showing the dark underbelly of India (applicable equally to western societies and their poverty-gangster intermixes) if not for the over the top self loathing, the bit about an American giving money patronizingly, the obligatory references to sh!t and the pore Muslims being brutalized by Hindu mobs.. the agenda of the idiot gora directing it becomes obvious. Some of these guys have serious entitlement issues about India and Indian culture.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Nov 2013 01:29

Khuda hafiz Pakistan

All rational analysis of Pakistan’s future is unanimous: there is no future to look forward to. You don’t have to be a PhD in political science to come to that conclusion. Daily life in Pakistan has become physically painful : from the constant fear of being held up at gunpoint to disruptive electricity shortages and the violent spread of extremism. These anecdotal examples are only physical manifestations of a much deeper rot; the writing on the wall is clear for anyone who actually wants to read it. Incidentally, my last column, published two days before my departure, was titled “Pakistan’s obituary” and I took that opportunity to pronounce the country dead. “Pakistan, the enigmatic, brash, much misunderstood country with a heart of gold, lost its protracted battle with the cancerous spread of a particularly crippling strain of extremism at the fateful age of 66 yesterday,” was the opening line of that article. On my flight out of Pakistan though, I wanted to disown the article already. It was a classic case of conflict between the heart and the mind, with the heart overpowering the mind momentarily.

Cheers

arun · Post by **arun** » 21 Nov 2013 06:50

Gary Bass, author of “The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide”, writes in the New Yorker on the genocide perpetrated by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on fellow Muslims of Pakistan’s then co-nationals in Bangladesh and the disgraceful US response of turning a blind eye to the genocide:

Looking Away from Genocide

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Nov 2013 08:04

Drone attack in Hangu kills five, injures four
Dhoor gagan Mey Urrne wali Drone Aaaa Aaaa, Dekh Bach Gya Ik Paki Baccha,Helfire Se Urra

PESHAWAR: A US-led drone strike in Tal area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hangu district killed at least five persons and injured four others early on Thursday, DawnNews reported.The drone fired missiles targeting a seminary in Tehsil Tal, according to the report.Those wounded included students of the seminary whereas the identities of the deceased could not be ascertained.Drones continued to hover above the area after the incident, locals reported.This was the first attack by the US in Pakistan after the last strike conducted on November 1 had killed the then chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hakimullah Mehsud, in North Waziristan tribal region.The attack comes a day after the Pakistani Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz said while briefing the Senate Committee that the United States had assured Pakistan of not conducting drone strike targeting the leaders of TTP if dialogue began between the two (Taliban and Pakistan government).

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Nov 2013 08:09

Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to 9.077 bn & Brain Reserve Nill
Man lagga Poaq Fakiri Mey

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $9.077 billion in the week ending November 8 compared to $9.509 billion in the previous week, the cuntral bank of pakistan said.Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 6.27 per cent to $5.27 billion in July-Oct, the first four months of the 2013/14 fiscal year, from $4.96 billion in the same period last year. The fiscal year runs from July to June.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Nov 2013 08:24

Jhujar wrote:Drone attack in Hangu kills five, injures four

Didn't a Pak minister claim yesterday that the US had assured him that there would be no more drone strikes ?

No More Drone Strikes During Taliban Talks, US assures Pakistan : Sartaj Aziz - DAWN 20 Nov 2013

Where is the rage boy these days with saliva drooling down both corners of his mouth ?

menon s · Post by **menon s** » 21 Nov 2013 08:29

Jhujar wrote:Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to 9.077 bn & Brain Reserve Nill
Man lagga Poaq Fakiri Mey

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $9.077 billion in the week ending November 8 compared to $9.509 billion in the previous week, the cuntral bank of pakistan said.Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 6.27 per cent to $5.27 billion in July-Oct, the first four months of the 2013/14 fiscal year, from $4.96 billion in the same period last year. The fiscal year runs from July to June.

Poor lungi wearing mallus remitted 12 bn dollahs from Gelf and abroad. ! the tall and fair so less? WHY?

arun · Post by **arun** » 21 Nov 2013 08:33

SSridhar wrote:
Jhujar wrote:Drone attack in Hangu kills five, injures four
Didn't a Pak minister claim yesterday that the US had assured him that there would be no more drone strikes ?

No More Drone Strikes During Taliban Talks, US assures Pakistan : Sartaj Aziz - DAWN 20 Nov 2013

Where is the rage boy these days with saliva drooling down both corners of his mouth ?

I am in a generous mood this morning

. Perhaps a case of the US taking the nuanced view that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan had yet to commence talks with the Taliban and hence it was alright to un-cage the Islamic Republic’s National Bird

.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Nov 2013 09:29

To Please Pakistan, USA to Declare Drones As NSA After 2014. NSA drones will only go after NSA in NS areas.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 21 Nov 2013 10:06

Now now haqqani boys are suddenly getting picked up by national bird.
US drone strike in Pakistan province kills five

PESHAWAR - The first US drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed five people Thursday, two of them belonging to Afghanistan's Haqqani network, officials said.

This was the first US drone strike in the country after Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a similar attack in the North Waziristan tribal region earlier this month.

The latest attack targeted a religious seminary belonging to the Haqqani network -- blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan -- in Tal, a town in a district bordering North Waziristan.

"The drone strike targeting the seminary killed five people and wounded one other," police official Farid Khan told AFP

He said identities of the victims were not immediately known.

However, two local security officials identified two of the dead as Mufti Ahmad Jan and Mufti Hameedullah, both members of the Haqqani network.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 21 Nov 2013 10:08

SS saar, what is your take on this sudden attack on Haqqanis? Did something change on the ground in US-TSP or ISI-Haqqani relationships?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Nov 2013 14:39

Dilbu wrote:SS saar, what is your take on this sudden attack on Haqqanis? Did something change on the ground in US-TSP or ISI-Haqqani relationships?

Dilbu, I refer you totwo of my posts. The first one, posted last month and the second one, posted a few months back in the Af-Pak thread. They might shed some insight.

Simply, the US is compelled to act because though it says that if the Loya Jirga (on session now) and the Aghan Parliament do not accede to the US demands to station about 10000 soldiers on its own terms & conditions it will withdraw lock-stock-and-barrel, it innately *wants* to station these soldiers on the Afghan soil. It foresees problems from the Haqqanis. The TSPA has successfully weathered so far the immense pressure brought to bear on them by the US by citing various excuses. There is little time left for the US to act. Hence the urgency.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 21 Nov 2013 14:55

^^
Thanks. Makes sense.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Nov 2013 16:43

Jhujar wrote:Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to 9.077 bn & Brain Reserve Nill
Man lagga Poaq Fakiri Mey

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $9.077 billion in the week ending November 8 compared to $9.509 billion in the previous week, the cuntral bank of pakistan said.Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 6.27 per cent to $5.27 billion in July-Oct, the first four months of the 2013/14 fiscal year, from $4.96 billion in the same period last year. The fiscal year runs from July to June.

LIQUID FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

Jhujar Ji,

The Foreign Reserves IN Pakistan are as follows :

END PERIOD : 8-Nov-13

NET RESERVES WITH SBP : US$ 3.8454 Billion

NET RESERVES WITH BANKS : US$ 5.2323 Billion

TOTAL LIQUID FX RESERVES : US$ 9.0777 Billion

Thus the Government of Pakistan has only US$ 3.8454 Billion at its disposal. Of this US$ Two Billion has been “Parked” with SBP by Muslim Brother Countries.

The Forex with THE BANKS (other than SBI) “Belong” to Pakistani Private Individuals are NOT AVAILABLE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN.

Cheers

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 21 Nov 2013 16:53

SSridhar wrote:Didn't a Pak minister claim yesterday that the US had assured him that there would be no more drone strikes ?

Yes, no more drone strikes that day. Tomorrow or tonight ? - that's another matter. They should have read the fine print.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 21 Nov 2013 16:56

Four-fathers get permit to hunt their illegitimate children

Emir of Kuwait to join in Houbara bustard hunting

The federal government has issued 33 special permits to dignitaries of five countries of the Gulf region to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the hunting season 2013-14, it emerged on Tuesday

the power and influence of petrodollars

How about the influence of their four fathers?

The foreign hunters included at least four kings/ emirs/ heads

Yep! That's it.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 21 Nov 2013 17:06

^^

Emir of Kuwait to join in Houbara bustard hunting

Quote:
The federal government has issued 33 special permits to dignitaries of five countries of the Gulf region to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the hunting season 2013-14, it emerged on Tuesday

These visits are for personally selecting their annual uptake of desirable paki kids and women as Slaves presented for them by the ever grateful local overlaards ( ganja and kabila TSPA army etc) as a mark of ever blooming and perpetually renewing Paki so virginity .

Ohh and lest I forget for Bustard hunting too.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 21 Nov 2013 17:28

Is matlab of peacelands similar to this? Radio silence of international media, NGO about such secular practice including permits to hunt internationally protected birds must be mark of civilized and independent people. pakis have become slaves in own country made on religious lines and surely this is also part of being more civilized everywhere as pakis.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Nov 2013 18:10

FO condemns US drone strike in Hangu

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan on Thursday condemned the US drone strike in Hangu, the first in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the country.

Earlier on Thursday, a US drone fired three missiles at a seminary in Tehsil Tal of Hangu. Local says students of the seminary were among six people killed in the drone strike.

According to police sources, three of those killed were members of the Haqqani network.

Cheers

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Nov 2013 18:14

What happened to the fearless jihadi Khan who promised to stop all NATO supply trucks for killing Hakimullah ? First, he postponed the promised 'sit-in' due to Shi'a-Sunni issue in Rawalpindi. Then he exemped his own ministers of K-P from the sit-in. Now, what is holding him up ?

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Nov 2013 18:44

The Forex challenge

The SBP reported its “total liquid foreign exchange reserves as on November 1, 2013 at $9.5 billion out of which $5.3 billion represented foreign currency deposits of residents and non-residents with commercial banks. The SBP’s inclusion in its “liquid foreign exchange reserves” of foreign currency deposits held with commercial banks by the private sector is legally and operationally invalid.

The government had allowed commercial banks to hold foreign currency deposits of both residents and non-residents under FE Circular number 25 of the SBP dated June 20, 1998. It has a legally binding provision that “the balances of new foreign currency accounts would not be required to surrender to the State Bank of Pakistan” and that commercial banks are “free to keep/invest the same” abroad or in Pakistan. Thus, the SBP has no right of use on the foreign currency deposits with commercial banks. The banks are required to match foreign exchange deposit liabilities with a corresponding amount of foreign exchange asset holdings of their own.

The SBP’s inclusion of these dollar deposits in the tally of “total foreign exchange reserves” amounts to window dressing of reserves. In fact, an increase in such deposits should be treated as flight of capital rather than an increase in reserves. Excluding them, the SBP had no more than $4.2 billion as foreign exchange reserves as on November 1, 2013

Even a part of these reserves represents compulsory deposits in foreign exchange of commercial banks with the SBP to meet the special reserve requirement of the SBP on foreign currency deposits. These deposits are practically owned by commercial banks and should be set aside in a special account and not shown as reserves.

Additionally, there are short-term foreign currency deposits of foreign central banks and governments held by the SBP. These cannot be used without the risk of defaulting on their repayment. Finally, there are forward sales of foreign exchange by the SBP for import financing. All the amounts under these heads should be deducted from reserves in determining the level of ‘free reserves’ at the disposal of the SBP. With all these adjustments, the ‘free reserves’ of the SBP will most probably be negligible or negative on November 1, 2013.

Cheers

rajanb · Post by **rajanb** » 21 Nov 2013 18:46

SSridhar wrote:What happened to the fearless jihadi Khan who promised to stop all NATO supply trucks for killing Hakimullah ? First, he postponed the promised 'sit-in' due to Shi'a-Sunni issue in Rawalpindi. Then he exemped his own ministers of K-P from the sit-in. Now, what is holding him up ?

SS:
He was reverse swinging

Out of habit he has to try going the opposite way.

But as per the international.pk I think he is starting it on Saturday, hoping that the mayhem between the Sunnys and Shiites will give him and excuse to walk off the field muttering "Its not cricket", in the greater interests of Porkiland.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, Imran Khan condemned the US drone strike in Hangu and said it had put the lives of residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in danger.

During a news conference here on Thursday, Imran Khan said the PTI would hold a protest against NATO supply lines and drones on Saturday. Khan urged the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to join the protest which will be held on Ring Road in Peshawar.

Imran called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to end his dual policy of telling the US one thing and the Pakistani people another.

The PTI chairman informed the media that an emergency meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was being called in which the provincial government’s decision would be sought for the stoppage of Nato supplies.

Earlier on Thursday, six people were killed when a drone fired three missiles at a seminary in Hangu. The drone strike was the first in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Foreign Office spokesman, Aizaz Chaudrhy condemned the strike and reiterated that drone attacks were against Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. (three senior Hackanee sidekicks, as per The Observer, were supposedly cutleted)

Jazzakoolaidarrah

rajanb · Post by **rajanb** » 21 Nov 2013 18:53

Peregrine wrote:The Forex challenge
The SBP reported its “total liquid foreign exchange reserves as on November 1, 2013 at $9.5 billion out of which $5.3 billion represented foreign currency deposits of residents and non-residents with commercial banks. The SBP’s inclusion in its “liquid foreign exchange reserves” of foreign currency deposits held with commercial banks by the private sector is legally and operationally invalid.

The government had allowed commercial banks to hold foreign currency deposits of both residents and non-residents under FE Circular number 25 of the SBP dated June 20, 1998. It has a legally binding provision that “the balances of new foreign currency accounts would not be required to surrender to the State Bank of Pakistan” and that commercial banks are “free to keep/invest the same” abroad or in Pakistan. Thus, the SBP has no right of use on the foreign currency deposits with commercial banks. The banks are required to match foreign exchange deposit liabilities with a corresponding amount of foreign exchange asset holdings of their own.

The SBP’s inclusion of these dollar deposits in the tally of “total foreign exchange reserves” amounts to window dressing of reserves. In fact, an increase in such deposits should be treated as flight of capital rather than an increase in reserves. Excluding them, the SBP had no more than $4.2 billion as foreign exchange reserves as on November 1, 2013

Even a part of these reserves represents compulsory deposits in foreign exchange of commercial banks with the SBP to meet the special reserve requirement of the SBP on foreign currency deposits. These deposits are practically owned by commercial banks and should be set aside in a special account and not shown as reserves.

Additionally, there are short-term foreign currency deposits of foreign central banks and governments held by the SBP. These cannot be used without the risk of defaulting on their repayment. Finally, there are forward sales of foreign exchange by the SBP for import financing. All the amounts under these heads should be deducted from reserves in determining the level of ‘free reserves’ at the disposal of the SBP. With all these adjustments, the ‘free reserves’ of the SBP will most probably be negligible or negative on November 1, 2013.
Cheers

Ultimately, I feel with the Fourfathers feeling frustrated with the Khans Re: Syria and Iran, they may ultimately recognise their bustard bachhas in Porkiland and snuggle up to them, fund them, get them to give them a nuclear umbrella, save their $$$ starved @rses, and become the next providers of beggars food for the Porkis. And also flirt with China, courtesy the Porki snake oil salesmen.

arun · Post by **arun** » 21 Nov 2013 22:03

Russian/Ukranian Dnepr launch vehicle lofts a Pakistani pico satellite from Yasny in Russia :

Pakistan's first CubeSat satellite launched

The satellite is the fruit of a student project with a miniscule mass not exceeding 1.33 kgs with details here:

Clicky

A separate report advises mass at an even more miniscule 1.1 Kg

:

Pakistan’s first Cubesat satellite,iCUBE-1 launched

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 21 Nov 2013 22:15

I am getting worried for India's lead in space technology.

Baikul · Post by **Baikul** » 21 Nov 2013 22:40

Lilo wrote:^^
Emir of Kuwait to join in Houbara bustard hunting

Quote:
The federal government has issued 33 special permits to dignitaries of five countries of the Gulf region to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the hunting season 2013-14, it emerged on Tuesday
These visits are for personally selecting their annual uptake of desirable paki kids and women as Slaves presented for them by the ever grateful local overlaards ( ganja and kabila TSPA army etc) as a mark of ever blooming and perpetually renewing Paki so virginity .

Ohh and lest I forget for Bustard hunting too.

Truly is is said that you cannot escape your DNA

From selling their birds to be hunted down by Emirs who fly in for that purpose, to selling their people to be hunted down by flying machines, is just a logical and natural next step.

A simple way to understand Pakistan would be by applying the 'framework' of Olx.in- sab kuch bikta hai.

THe whole country is one large (e) Commerce exchange.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Nov 2013 22:45

anupmisra wrote:
SSridhar wrote:Didn't a Pak minister claim yesterday that the US had assured him that there would be no more drone strikes ?

Yes, no more drone strikes that day. Tomorrow or tonight ? - that's another matter. They should have read the fine print.

This was Drone strike and not strikes. Khan promised only one missile at a time.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 21 Nov 2013 22:47

Meantime back at the Ranch :

Turf war : Seven dead in fight over coal firm

HYDERABAD : At least seven people were killed on Wednesday evening in a clash between two groups over the possession of a coal company in Jamshoro.

Cheers

Baikul · Post by **Baikul** » 21 Nov 2013 22:53

^^ Pakistani version of investing in developing their vast untapped energy resources onlee.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 22 Nov 2013 04:28

Agri exporters face $400m loss due to ban on import by Russia

KARACHI : All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) on Thursday expressed concern over a loss of around $400 million due to temporary ban on export of agriculture products by Russian Federation since October 1, 2013.

The justification for the ban was presence of certain pest in Pakistani potato exports to Russia, said Abdul Wahid former Chairman of PFVA at a press conference.

Cheers

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 22 Nov 2013 07:37

sanjaykumar wrote:I am getting worried for India's lead in space technology.

Pakis would be better off building toilets instead of spending their precious $230 on this wasteful venture.

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 22 Nov 2013 07:47

anupmisra wrote:
Pakis would be better off building toilets instead of spending $230 on this wasteful venture.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 22 Nov 2013 11:36

The ouster of the heretics: what really happened in 1974 - Naddem Paracha, DAWN

I urge everyone interested in Pakistan to read this and understand how the Ahmedis were ex-communicated. Good work by Nadeem Paracha.

vic · Post by **vic** » 22 Nov 2013 13:02

It seems that USA has turned its attention to Haqqani boys for the "first time(?)". Are they trying to disable the groups who can trouble the post US withdrawal Afghanistan?

rajanb · Post by **rajanb** » 22 Nov 2013 13:58

Meanwhile back at the animal farm:

(Posted in full from Intl.Pk

LANDI KOTAL: Nato supplies including Pak-Afghan transit and other trade activities have been suspended in protest against Thursday's suicide attack in Khyber Agency, Geo News reported.

Sources said that Customs clearance remains suspended Friday in protest against the suicide blast at Torkham Customs House in Tehsil Landi Kotal.

At least two people were killed and 25 injured in Thursday's suicide attack at the Customs House on Torkham border.

So does Im The Dhim go out in the field, on Saturday, to protest and stop NATO supplies, or stay at home and say "its not cricket."?

Meanwhile a Lover's Tiff

From the same source.

PESHAWAR: American and Pakistani officials sharply disagreed Thursday about whether a seminary was struck by a US drone, in an unusual attack that inflamed tensions over the CIA drone campaign, said a report published in Washington Post.

According to Pakistani officials, three missiles were fired into a compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province about 5 a.m. local time Thursday, a rare strike outside the Pakistani tribal areas near the Afghan border that are usually targeted by US drones.

Pakistani officials say the drone hit a madrassa, or seminary, killing six people, including two teachers. The dead included Maulvi Ahmad Jan and Maulvi Hameedullah, who were top surrogates for Sirajuddin Haqqani, the second in command of the Haqqani militant group, which has ties to al-Qaeda.

A US official disputed that the strike was aimed at a madrassa. Instead, the official said, the target was a compound (can also be considered a Non-State madrassa) associated with the Haqqani network, which is accused of multiple attacks against American forces in Afghanistan.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that a madrassa was in the vicinity but said it was not damaged. US officials have seen no indication of civilian casualties, he said.

Umar Khan Bangash, a local politician who lives in the area, said the missile hit the 15-room seminary. He and other Pakistani officials said the madrassa is frequently used by refugees from Afghanistan and suspected militants affiliated with the Haqqani network.

Citing intelligence sources, the Reuters news agency reported that Sirajuddin Haqqani was spotted at the seminary as recently as two days before the attack.

Haqqani is wanted by the United States for a 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including one American, according to the FBI.

Pakistani officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter freely, said Haqqani was not at the compound during the attack.

The Haqqani network is considered one of the most ruthless militant groups in the region and operates training camps in Pakistan.

Sirajuddin Haqqani’s brother, Nasiruddin, who was also a leader of the group, was fatally shot two weeks ago under mysterious circumstances as he left a market on the outskirts of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

The body of Nasiruddin Haqqani was removed from the scene before police arrived and was buried by relatives, Pakistani officials said. It is unclear who killed him.

Thursday’s drone attack could further complicate relations between the United States and some Pakistani leaders, as well as intensify debate within this country over an appropriate response to the strikes.

Although the United States has carried out dozens of drone strikes in tribal areas in northwest Pakistan, provincial officials said Thursday’s attack was the first in other areas in more than five years. ( Expansion Plans?)

Even before the strike, Imran Khan and other political leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were planning to protest the US drone campaign by halting NATO convoys that cross the province to reach landlocked Afghanistan.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 22 Nov 2013 14:03

Enough about Iran, Pakistan's nuclear threat should be our top concern

by Douglas MacKinnon, foxnews.com

November 19th 2013

Like many politicians, many in the media have a herd mentality and push or follow the flavor-of-the-week-month, or even year, “crisis” of the moment. More than that, like these less than resolute politicians, many in the media will kick the can down the road when the real problems before their eyes have no easy solutions.

Such being the case with the “impending threat” from Iran.

Really? Is the radical Islamic leadership of Iran crazy enough to eventually use nuclear weapons assuring the instant destruction of their nation, or are they instead “crazy like a fox” playing the United States and other nations for fools while using these foreign governments as foils to prop themselves up before their own people?

Day after day, week after week, and now literally year after year, we hear constantly about “soon to be unleashed nuclear threat from Iran.”

For a number of experts in our nation and around the world, the “can being kicked down the road” by our politicians and the media is the real and ever escalating threat posed by Pakistan and not that of Iran.

In a somewhat bizarre moment of candor from President Obama -- as related by actor George Clooney -- when Clooney asked Mr. Obama several years ago what kept him awake at night, President Obama eventually answered “Pakistan.” Strange that he would admit that to Clooney and not the American people, but no matter, how right the president was and is to fear the multiple threats emanating from that nation.

Going back to the media and politician hype regarding Iran, it is almost always coupled with a mention of the State of Israel.

During my time in the Pentagon, I had the opportunity to work with the Israeli Defense forces. Today, I fear President Obama is moving further and further away from supporting our best ally and friend in the Middle East for reasons known only to him.

As that reality is upon us, some of the leaders and people of Israel seem to be getting caught up in the same “Iran hype” which floods our media and losing sight of the more lethal threat to their safety.

Addressing that real threat, a journalist in Israel recently sought to remind his nation of the dangers posed by Pakistan. In his piece, he quoted Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress who said in part: “The nuclear threat from Iran is a real one, but the nuclear threat from its neighbor Pakistan is just as dangerous if not more so...Pakistan, unlike Iran, already brandishes about 100 nuclear warheads…Pakistan has emerged as the world’s number one source of jihadi suicide bombers and ground zero for the training of Islamic terrorists around the world.”

A few months earlier, Dr. Rafael Ofek, a former senior researcher and analyst in Israeli Intelligence and an expert in the physics and technology of nuclear power, warned of the same threat.

He said in part, “All eyes are looking to the direction of Iran, but in the meantime, Pakistan has accelerated the build-up of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and has been hard at work fitting these weapons onto short-range ballistic missiles. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal already amounts to more than a hundred bombs.”

More importantly, Dr. Ofek stressed the very real possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons or its nuclear weapons technology, falling into the hands of Islamic terrorists or it being outright given to them by Pakistani scientists or government officials sympathetic to the theocratic ramblings of the terrorists.

Make no mistake, the government of Iran is a threat on multiple levels. From the U.S. perspective, Iran exports terrorism and it is directly responsible for the killing and maiming of thousands of young American military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan through its program of supplying IEDs or IED technology to the terrorists attacking our troops.

For that alone, they should always be held accountable.

That said, are we endangering our own safety and that of Israel by over-exaggerating the nuclear threat posed by Iran while drastically under-estimating the growing threat posed by Pakistan?

Someone in authority had better answer that question before it’s too late.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the memoir “Rolling Pennies In The Dark.” (Simon & Schuster, 2012).